Jaguar xjc 4.2
Discussion
Below are 2 pictures of my car. The first looking good the second after being stuck outside for too long 
.
I’m finally in a position to start bringing her back.
I’ve owned the car since 2002 and I’m the 3rd owner since new. Its previously had a full body restoration in 89/90 and I’ve had a few repairs done also, but she got left on my front garden to allow building work and has been stuck there for nearly 3 years with 2 dead fuel pumps.
So probably lots of rust underneath now.
Rather than patch repair I’m going to have the body back to metal and give her a proper new lease of life again.
I’m not keeping the colour original as if I’m spending good money I’m after something of my taste rather than what was ordered in 1977. Ive already made some non standard alterations but like to think they fit well being Jaguar parts. This won’t be a purist restoration but hopefully something nice and useable once complete.
I’m currently waiting for the car to be picked up and assessed for work to be done. This won’t be a quick fix but will take time as budget allows.
If anyone is interested by all means chat away or just read as and when I post.
Nothing more to say really
. I’m finally in a position to start bringing her back.
I’ve owned the car since 2002 and I’m the 3rd owner since new. Its previously had a full body restoration in 89/90 and I’ve had a few repairs done also, but she got left on my front garden to allow building work and has been stuck there for nearly 3 years with 2 dead fuel pumps
.So probably lots of rust underneath now.
Rather than patch repair I’m going to have the body back to metal and give her a proper new lease of life again.
I’m not keeping the colour original as if I’m spending good money I’m after something of my taste rather than what was ordered in 1977. Ive already made some non standard alterations but like to think they fit well being Jaguar parts. This won’t be a purist restoration but hopefully something nice and useable once complete.
I’m currently waiting for the car to be picked up and assessed for work to be done. This won’t be a quick fix but will take time as budget allows.
If anyone is interested by all means chat away or just read as and when I post.
Nothing more to say really
Buff Mchugelarge said:
That is very cool 
love the wheels
Check Harrys Garage on YouTube, he's got an Xjc V12 which he's done bits to and it's very similar looking to yours.
Thank you, had a look at Harry’s v12 and yes I like the suspension upgrade. love the wheels Check Harrys Garage on YouTube, he's got an Xjc V12 which he's done bits to and it's very similar looking to yours.
I did a manual gearbox conversion on mine about 10 years ago and have a set of triples on the straight six now. No fuel pumps though and I can’t get it jacked up on the muddy front garden to fix it.
Above pictures were taken when it all worked
j4ckos mate said:
My dads old boss had one of these
big silver one, im sure it was a daimler though, and it had twin tanks
really deep purple coloured interior, as a kid i could barely open the door they were that heavy
I’m sure the Daimler velour trim was deemed a higher spec than the Jaguar leather in the 70’s. The twin tanks were used On series 1-3 but the bizarre thing is you have a switch on the dash to pump from one or the other tank. If one tank is empty and you don’t swap tanks your engine stalls. big silver one, im sure it was a daimler though, and it had twin tanks
really deep purple coloured interior, as a kid i could barely open the door they were that heavy
TR4man said:
RobXjcoupe said:
Wasn’t left in a field, just my boggy front garden. 
Well my lovely lady said time to fix the Jag and who am I to disagree
Having your partner's permission is half the battle!Well my lovely lady said time to fix the Jag and who am I to disagree
So why not get the old Jag looking good again
M666 EVO said:
Holy sweet mother of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jebus.
That is a lovely looking thing. Personally I would have left it as an auto for max wafterbility but still, I doff my cap.
The original auto 3 speed wasn’t a wafter tbh well unless you drove everywhere at 30mph. The 5 speed I fitted came from a series 3 xj6 and made a huge difference to the then original 2 carb fed engine. Had fun getting the speedo working after as needed an electronic drive rather than cable drive but figured it all out with standard Jaguar parts That is a lovely looking thing. Personally I would have left it as an auto for max wafterbility but still, I doff my cap.
HaylingJag said:
hello rob,
good to see you getting this sorted, it must have been a scare for you, going thru what you did. Go for it mate, as life aint gonna wait for anything...........
Ref the fuel pumps, i stripped my twin pumps out when the tanks were cleaned and flushed and replaced with a single electric pump up on the front inner wing. Filters were bought out from inside the tanks to in line jobbies positioned in each rear wheel arch. easier to keep an eye on and change when required. The plumbing was adapted to draw from both tanks simultaneously keeping the weight balance at the rear end........just a thought,
Darren
ps could still be interested at the right price;)
Thanks for petrol tank advice. Best thing with pistonheads is reading about possible mods regarding different aspects of our cars.good to see you getting this sorted, it must have been a scare for you, going thru what you did. Go for it mate, as life aint gonna wait for anything...........
Ref the fuel pumps, i stripped my twin pumps out when the tanks were cleaned and flushed and replaced with a single electric pump up on the front inner wing. Filters were bought out from inside the tanks to in line jobbies positioned in each rear wheel arch. easier to keep an eye on and change when required. The plumbing was adapted to draw from both tanks simultaneously keeping the weight balance at the rear end........just a thought,
Darren
ps could still be interested at the right price;)
Regarding my scare, that I’m afraid was very real but helped due to the quick thinking of my better half and her a an e nursing skills.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be doing my best to jack each wheel above the ground to make sure the brakes haven’t siezed so the car can be prepped for towing, pushed, heaved etc off my boggy front garden then loaded up onto a trailer for an assessment on work to be done.
Gut feeling says to replace both floor pans as even if they haven’t rotted through anywhere the metal will be thinner due to any surface corrosion and floors are not that expensive.
Been thinking of fitting a series 1 bonnet with the larger front grill then using the series 2 height front bumper location to create front quarter bumpers and on the rear a one piece rear bumper.
They are the only body mods I would to do. Then get the car sitting lower but an even stance rather than the current nose down look she has at the moment.
Gut feeling says to replace both floor pans as even if they haven’t rotted through anywhere the metal will be thinner due to any surface corrosion and floors are not that expensive.
Been thinking of fitting a series 1 bonnet with the larger front grill then using the series 2 height front bumper location to create front quarter bumpers and on the rear a one piece rear bumper.
They are the only body mods I would to do. Then get the car sitting lower but an even stance rather than the current nose down look she has at the moment.
Earlier today I was out on the front garden to jack up each corner to see if the brakes had seized onto the disks. Well the car had sunk into the ground about 50mm and I couldn’t get the jack under the front of the car (the front has short springs fitted). So started jacking the rear using an off cut of 8”x2” timber under the jack to stop it sinking into the soft soil. Cut a long story short, the rear wheels were siezed up on the handbrake, the fronts rotated perfectly.
Man with the tools will arrive next week with a 4x4 and trailer and extra help to move and take the old girl away for an initial inspection to agree a budget of sorts before stripping begins.
My brief look underneath showed very little rust to the floor but like most things on 70’s classics it’s the horror you find once back to bare metal.
Still a while to wait for that to happen though but I’ll post pictures as and when accordingly
Man with the tools will arrive next week with a 4x4 and trailer and extra help to move and take the old girl away for an initial inspection to agree a budget of sorts before stripping begins.
My brief look underneath showed very little rust to the floor but like most things on 70’s classics it’s the horror you find once back to bare metal.
Still a while to wait for that to happen though but I’ll post pictures as and when accordingly
tortop45 said:
Well have a look at j leno.s garage his latest feture a xjc 4.2 on u tube.......
I was expecting some v8 converted car, so a nice surprise to see a near standard xjc. The engine bar was extremely clean with that nice slightly lowered stance.I’ve been thinking about colours for my car, even my Mrs was chipping in but of all the pictures I could find online the best looking coupes seem to be dark blue. I had thought of a mid silver with ox blood interior but on looking at the interior trim I do have plastic parts which would require painting and therefore could get scratched and show its original colour through. So although i would like a different variation of colour inside and out it looks like a more modern metallic or mica navy blue with a new original biscuit colour interior is probably the way forward at the moment
Today whilst it wasn’t raining I started to remove the interior before the car is trailered away. Mainly the nice stereo I fitted in the boot, parcel shelf and interior door panels. The door panels were sodden and only the vinyl covering preventing the water getting inside the delicate jaguar aluminium kick plates were also removed to find sodden carpet underneath. I may replace those with aftermarket stainless items and remake the items underneath also in stainless together with stainless fixings. The door seal rubbers are only ten years old but obviously still let water in from somewhere. I don’t think the coupe was particularly watertight from new so only way of prevention is garaged once rebuilt. Well looking forward to the car being trailered very soon
the delicate jaguar aluminium kick plates were also removed to find sodden carpet underneath. I may replace those with aftermarket stainless items and remake the items underneath also in stainless together with stainless fixings. The door seal rubbers are only ten years old but obviously still let water in from somewhere. I don’t think the coupe was particularly watertight from new so only way of prevention is garaged once rebuilt. Well looking forward to the car being trailered very soon TR4man said:
Pleased to hear that things are starting to get moving.
Looking forward to your updates (and don't forget that we like photos!)
I’ll post photos once the car is stripped before it gets media blasted. She should be trailered away Tuesday but rain is due that day and it’s currently in my boggy front garden facing the wrong way to navigate down a makeshift dug slipway between the front garden 3ft high retainer wall and the front of my house. If she gets down without further injury I’ll be very impressed.Looking forward to your updates (and don't forget that we like photos!)
Last year I had a Range Rover get stuck on that front garden with all 4 wheels spinning and the car getting lower in the mud. All good fun I suppose
I must admit it didn’t take much effort to drag off the boggy front garden. The rear wheels were locked on the rear calipers even though it was parked up without putting the handbrake on. Once the back wheels caught the concrete drive it didn’t take much pulling to free them.
So now while I’m waiting for the estimate I’m thinking should I change the colour or keep it as totally original but new and even put the original steel wheels and hubcaps back. I’m lucky to have it’s service history and original order from new which tells me keep it original. So maybe just use a metallic navy blue instead of the original plain gloss navy blue? A new biscuit colour interior but with navy blue piping and navy blue carpet instead of brown carpet perhaps?
Hmmm I dunno
So now while I’m waiting for the estimate I’m thinking should I change the colour or keep it as totally original but new and even put the original steel wheels and hubcaps back. I’m lucky to have it’s service history and original order from new which tells me keep it original. So maybe just use a metallic navy blue instead of the original plain gloss navy blue? A new biscuit colour interior but with navy blue piping and navy blue carpet instead of brown carpet perhaps?
Hmmm I dunno
MX6 said:
Love my old Jag's. Such great looking cars these in particular, one of my favourite coupes.
I wouldn't say it should be original OEM spec as long as it looks vaguely period correct. I'm not a fan of the modern (XKR?) wheels there but the Kent's look a bit tame for me. How about a nice set of banded steels (like those you sometimes see on E Types) or some deep dish minilite type rims perhaps?
The Kent’s look good if they are the steed coupe type. The steels with the chrome hubcap and chrome outer trim do look smart and I like the white wall tyres proper seventies together with a black vinyl roof. I agree a more period type of alloy is what’s needed if going with the larger diameter and width. I wouldn't say it should be original OEM spec as long as it looks vaguely period correct. I'm not a fan of the modern (XKR?) wheels there but the Kent's look a bit tame for me. How about a nice set of banded steels (like those you sometimes see on E Types) or some deep dish minilite type rims perhaps?
Wheel choice is a long way off at the moment but I am thinking of a set of 18” made with the centres to replicate the steels so I can even clip on a set of chrome hubcaps. Together with lowered rear to match the front it could look smart without looking brash. If a day did come to sell on I would offer it with standard wheels.
A couple of things no one has noticed are the clear front indicators from an e-type and the set of clear headlamp lenses. No hid conversions just good quality osram nightbreakers and on the rear the all red tail lamp lenses, American spec I think. I was after the really early series 1 xj6 reverse lamp lense which holds the red reflector also so as to get rid of those awful after thought reflectors currently fitted.
I have a growing list of parts ready for the next stoneleigh Jaguar spares day
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