Hello to all the members out there! I have fallen for a Jaguar 420 1966 that is all in one piece , but does not start, and it has been in storage for about 30 years in an underground parking. Currently it is sitting in the sellers driveway for the last 2 years covered but in the elements. Canadian summer and winters.
There is no ownership history known about the car, so the project will be full of surprises. It is an automatic.
To me it looks fairly nice for its age. With a lot of hard work and long hours of DIY, I think I can get it running and looking much better. I have been getting some discouraging advise, which makes me nervous to jump in and buy it. The word money pit comes to mind!

Any advice about restoring this would help.

Thanks

 

That is a nice car. I even forget this over and over - all an engine needs is fuel (with air!), spark and compression. The big expenses are shabby body/interior

 

Thanks,
Yes the engine is the key to get it going. If there is no real damage to it's insides, there is a series of steps to troubleshoot it back to life. carbs - fuel tanks and lines, spark, compression and timing. I need a new battery for sure, there is none.
Thanks again for commenting.
Jimmy

 

It looks like the air filter assembly had wandered away. In the trunk/boot perhaps? If not, thin "pancake" type filters can be used until a proper air cleaner assembly is sourced.

Michaelgilbert is correct, restoring the interior on a "big Jag" can be extremely labor intensive and expensive. Unlike the MK-2 and S-types, supplies of parts are also rather limited.

I wish you luck/success in the project, should you opt to take it on...

 

You are correct sir, the air intake is in the boot! I have read that this type of air intake is not the best......but one step at a time. I do not think I will be able to get car until spring. The owner did not like my offer that much. Does anyone have their opinion for an offer on this restoration project? I do not want to buy something that I might have to scrap if it has crazy damage
Thanks for reaching out
Jimmy

 

Whilst it has been standing for 30 years, remember it was on the road in Canada for about 30 years as well, so plenty of time for rust and deterioration to occur. If you are thinking of restoring the car, it will be very expensive if you contract the work out. Of course, if you have a large, commodious garage, and tools available, and are an ardent DIYer then the costs reduce. To give you an idea of how long things can take, I rebuilt a Mark 2 in the 80s, and it took me 7 years, doing most of the work myself. I was fortunate to be able to find an unused bare shell to transfer my rusted car onto. I got married the same year I started the restoration, (1981), and here we are still married 42 years later ! I had it easy as I lived in Birmingham and had lots of contacts in the motor industry there.

If you can post-up more photos, more advice can be given.

 

Fraser, Do you want to see the good , the bad, and the ugly! There will be rust for sure. The under carriage is rusty, but I have no photos of it.
My thinking is that once I get to the rust, it will have to be removed, and if metal has disappeared, new sheet, plate and even structural beam could have to be welded back on. Not that I want to have to do that, but if that is what it takes. Always wanted to teach myself to weld!
Thanks for replying to my post
Jimmy

 

I love that you've taken this on as a project! The 420 is a relatively unusual car, in that it was a development of the s-type into the first xj6s and only built for 2 years. That said, you may get a better response in the mk2/ s-type area since the body is essentially a modified S-Type . Best luck!

 

Hi Jerry,
It is not mine yet!
I was hoping to get an idea of how much one should pay for this restoration vehicle. Motor turns freely I am told. But does not run. And the rest is what you see in the photos.

Any ideas ?

Jimmy

 

I know I paid too much for my 66, and spent a fair amout more than that and 6 years to just make it safely roadworthy. It is far from done, desperately needs interior work and more yet ,but its so much fun to drive that i think its worth it. A fair price especially for a project is a very personal thing.

 

Thanks for the words!
I have to wait for spring.
The car is not mine.
The ad has been removed. But the car sits under a blanket of snow in the owners driveway awaiting another round of advertisement!
I have to be patient, but ready to prance on the Big Cat!
Jimmy