I am looking at a 3.8 S Manual overdrive is which has had the EZ power steering fitted and a 123 electronic ignition. As I want to drive the car regularly are these good upgrades or do they “damage” the originality of the car? It looks really nice and for €21K seems like a good deal. Lots of engine, gearbox and clutch work done by the leading specialists here in the Netherlands. It has matching numbers and a heritage certificate.

 

If it has a heritage certificate, then the powers that be that approved that status doesn't seem to think it damaged the originality of the car, does it not ?
One can always install the original distributor back it and remove the electric power steering.

Are you buying it for an investment or ease of use ?
Most people would want those upgrades, thus making the car more desirable.

I've read that the 123 ignition system does away with the mechanical advanced weights making one of the top electronic upgrades when it comes to the ignition _ it's quite well made too.

 

Both are excellent upgrades.

 

I want to drive it. I realise it’s not really an investment but it would be nice not to lose money on it. I drive my XK8 as much as possible only getting out my old LS430 in bad weather (or when the XK is under repair).

 

The only thing I might do is change the ratios of the manual steering box down to about 2.7 turns lock to lock. Peter always recommends ICS steering in Birmingham, England. They make a high ratio manual box: If you don't mind a bit more twirling of the steering wheel leave it as it is.
Jaguar Mk1 & Mk2 Close Ratio Steering Boxes

 

It's not like a new car that loses 40% of it's value the minute you drive it off of the dealer floor. It will maintain it's value & likely grow as long as you look after it. Values are rising at present & especially in Europe.

 

I saw an S Type go in France last year for 38,000 Euros with no particular heritage ~ not owned by a film star or the likes that still required full restoration.

 

Just check properly for rust. Take a fridge magnet with you but don't be fooled. There is quite a lot of lead wiping on these cars. C pillar seams, where sills meet the front fenders, around the front lights & grill. The best way to check the sills is to pull out the plugs in the rear wheel arches & boroscope the inner & outer sills. I have a totally rust free car that has lived at altitude in our dry highvelt for it's entire life ~ one owner, a doctor.

 

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Their styling has stood the test of time. They are magnificent. This is a US car hence the lighting colours. No orange indicator lights.

 

Small modifications that are not too visible and make the car more better to drive or more reliable can only increase the value. EZ and 123 are Dutch products, well known there and in most of the rest of the world and I don't see a problem with them.

My priority in buying an S, 420 or Mk2 would be rust: a car with a sound body can save a lot of time and cost unless you own a bodyshop or are prepared to do a lot of panel work yourself. That may be doubly true in the The Netherlands where my experience was that good and bad bodyshops were very expensive. Keep in mind that cars that look good may contain a lot of filler. A point I continue to make: inspect the doors fit. The waste line under the side windows should be continuous without jumps of more than 1mm at the B-post. The gaps between the doors and the door posts should be uniform over most of the height, narrowing a little at the top. If the door fit is poor, either the car has corrosion damage or has had a low quality restoration.
https://petersjaguarpages.wordpress....oor-alignment/

 

+1^ ~ Martin Robey can supply repair panels but they are expensive. One good thing about the S Type is that it has triple sills & is thus a more stiff car than a Mk2.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I also focussed on (lack of) rust when I purchased my XK8, took me two years to find a rust free example. Both cars I am now looking at were imports, one from the US and one from Italy. I have some "plastic" magnet strip so I will take that with me when I go to inspect the cars further. I am not good with body work. I can tackle most mechanical jobs but bodywork is beyond me. Here are the two I am looking at.

https://www.autowereld.nl/jaguar/mar...6/details.html
https://www.autowereld.nl/jaguar/s-t...8/details.html

 

I assume by heritage certificate the OP means a certificated by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, if so then you can get one for any UK build MK2, S-type etc, and its not related to its current condition/configuration, it just tells you what the original production record for the car stated (chassis number, engine number, body number, colour etc.).

 

Orlando's outer sills being replaced which clearly shows the centre sill (with round holes in it). Fortunately his inner sills were well protected by the Borg Warner DG250's propensity for leaking fluid & thus fine.

 

The same car today: Has stayed in the family for it's entire life. Grandfather, father & now son.

 

Took a look at the car today and got to drive it. The guy has had it for 10 years and has put a huge amount work (and money) into it. The paintwork is not perfect and the headliner is sagging but apart from that seems like a very solid car. New clutch, tyres, IRS completely overhauled, brakes, overdrive all sorted. It started well (has a manual choke) and pulls like a train. He has also keep all the original parts (power steering pump, steering wheel, ignition). This one has been driven regularly which I think a prefer over the other car that has been kept inside for the last 6 years.

I think €21K is really quite a good price for such a well sorted 3.8 S MOD (convincing myself!). I don't need to go for a concours finish but there is enough to do for me to make it a really smart car.

 

Sounds like a very good deal to me and especially if the IRS has been overhauled. It's one hell of a big job. Ask me!

 

This is half of the IRS (i.e one side). Torsion bar mountings are there & can be fitted as an option. Differential sits in the middle of the "Bridge Piece" and then all is repeated on the other side.

 

Classic British (over) engineering. I am convincing myself I have to buy this one!