Bargain British Barge- Jaguar XJ

[alec.e]

I wanted a cheap winter car to get me from work and back, I considered other barges, but decided to stick with what I know... This is my 3rd X350, my first was a XJ6 and then my Super V8.

So as of yesterday, here is my XJ6 with 93,000 on the clock


It is Ultraviolet Blue exterior and Dove/Granite interior, pretty basic spec with no nav. It does have heated seats, heated winderscreen and folding mirrors thankfully.
The bodywork needs some attention, there is an intermittent air suspension fault and the interior is filthy. The price? £1500.

[carinaman]

I'll be interested to know how the ownership experience goes. They'll be an opportunity to check the fuel tank straps?

[DaveyBoyWonder]

I had a random advert pop up on instagram yesterday for some place selling an XJ. I know nothing at all about them but it seemed like a hell of a lot of car for not much money. £2k with a (baby?) 3.2 V8 and looked like it was immaculate. Had been looking at a little Mini Cooper S project or something but half tempted by a massive barge just to waft to the coast/work and back in sometimes.

[Mark Benson]

I had an X350 XJ6 in poverty spec, one of the best cars I owned, lovely relaxing cars to do big journeys in.
I'd originally bought it as a winter car too, but kept it for 18 months - nearly 30mpg in a big Jag!

Specialist told me the intermittent air suspension faults are usually just the diaphragm in the pump weakening, especially if it happens more in cold weather and clears after a restart - the ECU gives the suspension a fixed period of time to raise and if it's not there it throws a fault.
A weak diaphragm takes longer to inflate the suspension fully, especially in colder weather.

Rebuilt 2nd hand pumps are easy and not to expensive to come by. I never bothered.

[Lotusgone]

Looks good and I hope it serves you well.

Being utterly bleedin' selfish, it'll be interesting to follow your progress in considering an XJ over an XK8.

[PrinceRupert]

Superb, following. Minded to upgrade the 75 to an X350 at some point to scratch the V8 itch.

[Welsh Pirate]

Your first two X350s inspired me to purchase mine. I hope this one is as enjoyable as your other two!

[alec.e]

Thanks for the nice words, so here are some honest closeups of areas to deal with
Exterior looks decent from 6 feet away:


Removable towbar fitted, a blanking cover required here


Broken reflector


Bumper needs re-seating


New wing time here




On to the interior- pictures don't truely capture the filth!

Back seats are not too bad...


Yuck!
















Found this Nokia Bluetooth Handsfree- that will some in handy


I have collected some parts from a local scrapyard which luckily has a X350 in
-New wing (needs spraying)
-4x suspension sensors just incase
-Bumper reflector
-Interior switch to replace slightly damaged one
-1/2 Wood/leather steering wheel

All that for £70!

300+ miles completed now since I bought it, average indicated 31.7mpg. Sadly, not all is well as I now have a ABS fault- fingers crossed it is a sensor.

[0a]

What a bargain.

Cheaper than my recent x308 acquisition and no doubt objectively better.

[AlVal]

People assume its a big heavy tank but the extensive aluminium in them makes en surprisingly nimble.

[carinaman]

Thanks for the photos and scrapyard haul update.

[Muddle238]

My favourite generation of XJ.

I keep looking at these on eBay and AT, I’d love to have a dark green XJ8. Can’t think of a better car to waft along the motorway with.

Look forward to following this thread.

[alec.e]

Here is the steering wheel from the scrapyard, the colour is Sable


Using Furniture Clinic products I had lying around, I mixed up some paint to match the Granite colour of my interior. At the same time fix scuffs, ect. I re-used the existing airbag.


To the interior clean...
I used products I had lying around, nothing special.
-Carpet shampoo
-No nonsense degreaser (very diluted as it is powerful stuff)
-Doves soap bar and water
-Turtle wax leather cleaner/conditioner
-Scrubbing brushes and drill attachment brushes.

An afternoons work later:






I replaced the fog/trip switch panel




Rubber coating was soaked off the cupholder and resprayed matt black


Woodwork hand polished with Ultimate compound


The original floormats were scrubbed with drill attachment


Need a better gearknob!




The new steering wheel fitted

[Northbrook]

Fantastic work!

[SirGriffin]

Superb job in the interior, I too managed to find a wood wheel for my S-type, it was black instead of Sable, but I decided to leave the black part unchanged and just fit it with the Sable airbag. The result looks really good, there's enough black switchgear to theme with the wheel.

Like you I find the gearknob horrible, I can only assume it's faded over the years, however lots of other ones I've seen are the same! Replacements are a fortune.

For future reference, a professional valeter told me to use Vanish soap on interior trim - it really does work well.

30mpg is pretty good for that car.

[Muddle238]

Wow, incredible results! Looks like a totally different car. Out of interest, did you have threads on your other X350s?

[TR4man]

What a transformation on the interior - you must be feeling pleased with that!

[Macron]

Fast work Alec!

When are you swapping the lump for your usual charged unit, and when do you lower it and sort the alloys?!

[carinaman]

Northbrook said:

Fantastic work!

+1

[105.4]

PrinceRupert said:

Superb, following. Minded to upgrade the 75 to an X350 at some point to scratch the V8 itch.

Do it. Having previously owned a 75 1.8 Conniosser and now owning a 53 plate XJ6 Sovereign, as nice as the Rover is, the XJ is noticeably better in every single regard.