A couple of months ago, I posted about digging the 1988 Jaguar XJ-SC out of a relative’s garage.
I bought it on eBay in 2012 (for $2,225.00, I found the receipt), and frankly hadn’t done much with it for a variety of reasons. The brakes were somewhat weak and the horn didn’t work when I bought it, so I didn’t want to drive it too much. I wanted to keep it inside, so it went into a relative’s unused garage about an hour away.
The rest of the story is pretty predictable. It was out of the way, it was inside and safe, and it was just far enough away that checking on it or starting it regularly was an inconvenience.
I replaced the master cylinder myself along the way, but that only improved the braking somewhat. Fast forward to 2018, and my youngest turned 16. He started asking about the Jag, and he wanted to get it out, get it cleaned up, and get it on the road.
So, a couple of months ago, it took a ride on a rollback to a local mom and pop tire shop that was willing to work on it.
After they got it in the shop and tore into it, the list of needed parts was: front and rear calipers, front and rear pads, front rotors, front bearings, and of course a thorough brake flush once this was all done. The Pirelli tires looked new, but were almost 15 years old. For safety’s sake, we mounted a set of new Michelin Defenders.
All told, the labor bill was about $1,000.00 and the parts and tires about another $800.00. Plus, a new battery, drain and refill the coolant, etc. So, we invested as much as we paid for the car to begin with, but it was pronounced road-worthy. It’s probably worth $10,000.00 on a good day, so we haven’t lost money.
Once we got it to our house, of course a good bath and several coats of wax were in order.
To get a tag, we needed to pass inspection. The horn had never worked, so we set out to fix that. Fortunately, there was simply a broken wire connection at the horn itself. Once we got the horn working, the next issue was that the headlight switched was seized “off”. I removed it, cleaned it with electronic cleaner, and greased it with dielectric grease. It still would barely turn for reasons that will remain a mystery to me. I found one eBay from a Jaguar breaker yard for $50 that plugged right up, and voila, all the lights worked fine.
We have driven about 250 miles lately and everything, knock on wood, seems fine. It’s too cold to try the A/C and I assume it needs conversion and charging anyway. But the automatic climate control comes on and heats the car just fine, and responds to the controls like it is supposed to. The cruise doesn’t work, but that’s it. Wipers, hazards, power windows, power mirrors, power lumbar, stereo, power antenna, and heated front seats all work fine.
The transmission is a GM THM400, so it will outlast the rest of the car. The fluid is clean and it shifts smooth as silk.
The engine runs well, with no smoke and smooth acceleration. It had a lumpy idle when cold and always took 2 or 3 tries to start when cold. I replaced the ignition coil and fuel filter, which were factory originals according to their date stamps. I reasoned they were cheap, easy places to start, even if it brought no relief. That cured it! One or the other, or both, must have been the cause. It starts the first try when cold, and idles smooth as glass now.
I have new ignition wires, cap and rotor too, but that’s a more involved project that involves removing a number of items for access. At least the plugs are up top, in the “V”. Maybe I’ll let sleeping dogs lie for now.
We got out last weekend and got these pictures around town on a dry, unseasonably warm day.
When warmer weather comes, I have some dye from the UK for the cloth top. You can see the removable rear hardtop (from another car) has been out of the weather more than the T-tops, which are more bleached. And while it shows well, there’s more detailing to be done on the wheels and along the hard to reach bits like the rockers. There’s some dings here and there, which I’d like to get a paintless dent removal person to work on.
But for now, we just enjoy having her back home.
Gorgeous! Living in the UK I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with the hardtop, but it looks great. The US spec lights and the wire wheels go together beautifully.
You have a true unicorn: A Jaguar V-12 that isn’t nickel and diming you to death. Enjoy.
And I am jealous.
I am also very, very jealous, but happy you’re having such good luck with your car. May it and the good times continue!
Really, really beautiful. That long sleek profile which is so missing from todays cars. Although I am a fan of the coupe with the strange rear this looks good too.
One day I will find myself a nice 3.6 coupe to be used as a daily classic.
Extra points for you for not selling earlier but storing and getting it back on the road again.
Beautiful cat! It looks like a million bucks, and I’m glad it didn’t cost a fortune to get going. I love stories like this.
Gorgeous car! Excellent pictures.
Beautiful ! It’s always a gamble buying a used Jaguar, but it looks like you got a good one. Nice to see someone who will actually care for it. Once a luxury car depreciates by the 3rd or 4th owner, they have been neglected to the point where the next stop is the junkyard. Some people don’t understand that vehicles like this can’t be treated like an everyday Toyota and end up buying high end luxury cars without knowing the cost of repairs or maintenance. All it takes is a moderate cost item to fail, then the cost to repair exceeds the value of the car. I know someone who recently bought a 2001 Audi A6 for $1900, then was shocked to find out it needed over $7k in repairs once the timing belt broke about a month later. These type of vehicles are really for enthusiasts and not for people who need cheap A to B transportation. Some have the midset of “oh look it’s a Mercedes for $3500” but then a Camry from a similar year costs about the same so they will pick the Mercedes thinking it’s a no brainer. These type of buyers usually don’t know much about cars and don’t take into account that the Mercedes was probably dumped because of maintenance costs and repairs needed even though the car may *look* pristine. It’s all about who can be the most flashy for instagram. There is a questionable neighborhood near me that is littered with 10-15 year old S500s, BMWs, and anything that was over $60k new at the time, all in various states of disrepair and running condition. Many of them have had cosmetic “enhancements” that do nothing to help the situation. A 15 year old German car is probably not the best choice for transportation on a budget.
You have lived everyone’s dream. You found a cool exotic old car, bought it inexpensively, and have brought it back to its former glamorous self – also inexpensively.
It is good that you got through that danger zone when you had lost interest. Many of us would have put the car up for sale.
While this has never been one of my must-have cars, yours is gorgeous! I’ll bet the sound of that V-12 is lovely.
The backgrounds on your photos are well chosen. They add a lot to a fine article you have given us.
+1 I was thinking just that myself also. Great photography and angles on the car.
I had a ride in an early 80s version, a 2 door, of these. What a beautiful car, smooth as silk. The owner had that car for years. Unfortunately his roomie dropped a piece of nickel conduit pipe from the second floor, directly onto the hood of the Jag. The owner never found out the truth about what happened.
One of your license plate lights is a little dim and the plate is slightly crooked :-). But those are the only faults I can find here. The car looks marvelous, I hope you and your son enjoy it as much (probably more) as the first owner who first picked it out. Great job!
Yes indeed! Good eye. I replaced the license plate lenses, as they had turned to brittle plastic dust. One bulb is brighter than the other, so maybe I need to start with new bulbs as the lenses are new and matching/clear.
The license plate, well, in true Jaguar/British car fashion, the screwholes in the trunk lid are not level. So what you see is the best end result. Maybe I could drill out the holes in the plate itself and produce some leveling that way.
Great shots of a wonderful car. I’m able to appreciate these much more now, and I really like the version you have. Congratulations on getting it back on the road and looking so good. I hope you’ll update us again some time.
If my dad had one of these when I was 16 I’d have badgered him to no end to get it up and running. Great work on a stunning and unique car! Lovely photographs as well, I hope to see updates on this beauty in the future.
The Jag looks great and I’m sure it’s a fun driver. I’ve always wanted and older Jaguar (from the 60’s or 70’s) and this is great inspiration. Always good to see a classic back on the road and being cared for!
Lucky kid!
Absolutely beautiful! He’s a lucky young man!
Perhaps next item to replace would be the OEM Jaguar ECE headlamps (made by Valeo). If you decide to bag the set, make sure they are for the right-hand rule of road.
Avoid the US headlamps because they have plastic lens that yellows over the time and don’t light up the road at night very well.
I do like the Euro lenses….but funny thing is, in a couple of XJ-S Facebook groups I’m in, the USA sealed beams are a popular conversion for overseas owners. Not everyone, of course, but they are popular. I guess everyone likes something a little “different”.
It has to do with inadvertent “Scirocco effect” in 1970s. When Volkswagen marketed its first generation Scirocco in Europe, it offered the rectangular headlamps for the base trim level and quad round headlamps for the higher specced or sporty version. Lot of people who bought the base trim level opted to “upgrade” to the quad headlamps.
The probable reason why US sealed beam headlamps are “popular” is they’re so cheap but not so effective at night. They cast too much light upward which cause problems during the rain, fog, and snow condition. Usually, the owners who like round headlamps go for ECE headlamp kits from Cibie or Hella.
Nice explanation, thanks! I have to stretch to remember the last “daily driver” with sealed beam headlights I had. Probably my 1991 Prelude I wrote up as a COAL. It had flip-up rectangular sealed beams.
I’ve seen the ECE type kits before but don’t know much about them. They are popular with restomod 60’s and 70’s US muscle cars, it appears.
As I once read in an Audi A4 forum, it’s cool to be US Spec in Europe, and to be Euro-spec in the US
Great looking car. Congrats on a job well done! Old Jags are a thing of beauty, especially when they are in good running shape.
Well played!
It’s nice to read this. I’m used to stories like this ending in despair. Not all old British cars are basket cases – they just need knowledgeable, capable owners.
It’s interesting reading along in the FB owner groups. A lot of people trying very hard to keep their XJ-S running, or get it running again. Makes you wonder how many more have been abandoned for each one “saved”.
Knock on wood, mine appears to fall in a “sweet spot” in terms of parts, reliability, and fire avoidance in the engine bay. After many years of all-Lucas ignition, they went to Lucas “Opus” for a brief time, then to Magneti Marelli.
The original Lucas is dodgy, and Magneti Marelli has a well-known fire problem. I have “Opus”, which is GM HEI through and through. Simple, reliable, and cross-reference parts anywhere.
I didn’t know any of this, of course, when I bought it. I guess the unknown is part of the adventure of an old car.
With the roof down that’s actually the nicest XJS shape – those side windows give the profile a nice coupe feel that the buttresses don’t. Gorgeous example; I’d agree with Oliver re: euro headlights.
Nice Jag. I was looking at a red XJS V12 and came really close to buying it. I turned up buying a XK8 and it was a tough call on which car to get. Going with the XK8 was based solely on it being a newer car. I sure wish I had room for a red, tan interior, V12 XKS convertible in my garage. Of course have to have the US market head lights.
It’s great to see you go the Jag up and running great again. I always had a soft spot for these Jags. I hope you and your son have many happy miles with the car.