Discussion
Hi.... A friend of mine who remembered how much I loved an old XJ40 Sovereign I used to have has just alerted me to a XJ12 that is for sale in exactly the same colour and trim that my Sovereign was in....
The trouble is that I know nothing about the 6.0 V12 apart from, if it goes wrong I may as well just bin the car, and that it is going to drink fuel.
However.... It is cheap enough that if it did go badly wrong I could afford to bin it, but I would like to think I could get some use and enjoyment out of it before that ever happened. Whilst I have not seen the car in the metal, as yet, it looks and sounds like it is a very clean example, but what should I look out for exactly? And at 125,000 miles, what should have been changed and replaced?
And the other big question..... What do these things manage to the gallon?
Any help and info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard.
The trouble is that I know nothing about the 6.0 V12 apart from, if it goes wrong I may as well just bin the car, and that it is going to drink fuel.
However.... It is cheap enough that if it did go badly wrong I could afford to bin it, but I would like to think I could get some use and enjoyment out of it before that ever happened. Whilst I have not seen the car in the metal, as yet, it looks and sounds like it is a very clean example, but what should I look out for exactly? And at 125,000 miles, what should have been changed and replaced?
And the other big question..... What do these things manage to the gallon?
Any help and info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard.
I've never owned one, but would gladly kill to do so...
Therefore, I think they do about 18mpg on a run easily dropping to single figures around town with a lead foot. The V12 is virtually as bombproof as the straight 6 but the usual XJ40 rust issues need to be considered - however, all the V12s were last of the line so many quality issues were addressed by then.
Any piccies for me to drool over?
Therefore, I think they do about 18mpg on a run easily dropping to single figures around town with a lead foot. The V12 is virtually as bombproof as the straight 6 but the usual XJ40 rust issues need to be considered - however, all the V12s were last of the line so many quality issues were addressed by then.
Any piccies for me to drool over?
Thanks.... I dont have any pics i can upload, but here is the advert for the car....
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/JAGU...
I am sure you can figure out which one it is
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/JAGU...
I am sure you can figure out which one it is
It's sub 20mpg all day long. I test drove a V12 a few year ago when considering getting rid of my 6 cylinder and going up to the big boy. I drove two that clearly were down on power. Poor servicing perhaps (the rear two plugs are very difficult to get at and as a result it is safe to assume that some don't get done) or poor compression....sounds expensive. So I would say look for how sharpe the engine feels; anything that feels sluggish/not smooth walk away. Everything else is repairable. Parts easy for these models.
I've got a 1993 XJ40 XJ12 (actually called the XJ81).
These cars are very heavy on fuel, I have honestly only ever seen economy around 18mpg at very steady motorway speeds. Around town expect less than 10mpg, as little as 5mpg if you have lead boots like me!
Problem is that it is so addictive winding up that big V12 with the box in sports mode, they sound so sweet and are suprisingly quick.
They aren't hugely fast from a standstill with a weight of 2400kgs to lug around but once moving it should feel genuinely fast and very responsive, I'm amazed how much it loves to rev.
Engines are pretty bulletproof, the 6 litre bottom end has forged steel crank and rods, timing chains and tensioners can wear but should last well with regular servicing.
Blue smoke on start up indicates worn valve stem seals and/or guides, not an easy fix. It's usually the rear-most cylinders up against the bulkhead which will have any problems due to running hot, hence the stem seals going brittle etc. although as a rule a well maintained cooling system is well up to the job.
Obviously servicing costs a bit more with 12 plugs, 10 litres of oil, 25 litres of coolant etc,
and many things are harder to sort due to the complexity of it all. For example, to replace front wishbone bushes you have to remove the downpipes to get the fulcrum shafts all the way out, which could mean snapped studs in the manifolds which could mean having to take the heads off to remove and helicoil the manifold!
As said before, they are generally pretty well built as Ford had sorted most of the quality issues by 1993, but they are a lot harder on things like brakes, bushes, shocks and tyres than the 6 cyl models.
Any scaremongering aside though, these are proper feel good cars! You cannot help smiling and feeling just that little bit special behind the wheel of one.
Remember these cars were over £50,000 when new and it shows in the way they drive.
There is quite a bit which can be done to improve them further such as exhausts/manifolds/throttle bodies and ecu chips from AJ6 engineering, together with uprated shocks and poly bushes, but thats a whole different story!
I bought mine thinking I would hoon around in it for 6 months and then flog it when the fuel economy started getting to me. Problem is, the bug bit me hard and four years later I still have it and she is now undergoing a pretty major restoration with heaps of tasteful mods along the way......I suppose that says it all really, go for it!:
These cars are very heavy on fuel, I have honestly only ever seen economy around 18mpg at very steady motorway speeds. Around town expect less than 10mpg, as little as 5mpg if you have lead boots like me!
Problem is that it is so addictive winding up that big V12 with the box in sports mode, they sound so sweet and are suprisingly quick.
They aren't hugely fast from a standstill with a weight of 2400kgs to lug around but once moving it should feel genuinely fast and very responsive, I'm amazed how much it loves to rev.
Engines are pretty bulletproof, the 6 litre bottom end has forged steel crank and rods, timing chains and tensioners can wear but should last well with regular servicing.
Blue smoke on start up indicates worn valve stem seals and/or guides, not an easy fix. It's usually the rear-most cylinders up against the bulkhead which will have any problems due to running hot, hence the stem seals going brittle etc. although as a rule a well maintained cooling system is well up to the job.
Obviously servicing costs a bit more with 12 plugs, 10 litres of oil, 25 litres of coolant etc,
and many things are harder to sort due to the complexity of it all. For example, to replace front wishbone bushes you have to remove the downpipes to get the fulcrum shafts all the way out, which could mean snapped studs in the manifolds which could mean having to take the heads off to remove and helicoil the manifold!
As said before, they are generally pretty well built as Ford had sorted most of the quality issues by 1993, but they are a lot harder on things like brakes, bushes, shocks and tyres than the 6 cyl models.
Any scaremongering aside though, these are proper feel good cars! You cannot help smiling and feeling just that little bit special behind the wheel of one.
Remember these cars were over £50,000 when new and it shows in the way they drive.
There is quite a bit which can be done to improve them further such as exhausts/manifolds/throttle bodies and ecu chips from AJ6 engineering, together with uprated shocks and poly bushes, but thats a whole different story!
I bought mine thinking I would hoon around in it for 6 months and then flog it when the fuel economy started getting to me. Problem is, the bug bit me hard and four years later I still have it and she is now undergoing a pretty major restoration with heaps of tasteful mods along the way......I suppose that says it all really, go for it!:
Edited by oversteerxj12 on Sunday 7th December 14:09
Agree with Oversteer. I had a 6.0L XJS a few years back. The engine is magnificent and very strong/reliable if looked after properly (they don't like to overheat).
Fuel economy cannot be a consideration in purchase (indeed the recent high prices are probably the reason you can pick them up so cheap right now). You might scrape to 20mpg if you drive it off a cliff.
Very charismatic mode of transport in an increasingly anodyne world.
Get it bought.
Fuel economy cannot be a consideration in purchase (indeed the recent high prices are probably the reason you can pick them up so cheap right now). You might scrape to 20mpg if you drive it off a cliff.
Very charismatic mode of transport in an increasingly anodyne world.
Get it bought.
Gassing Station | Jaguar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff