Hello from Nashville.
I have been a Forum member a while and owned Jags over the years including the current STR. As I get older, comfort is getting to be a priority. A 21 YO can climb into a Lotus but a 60+ YO does so reluctantly.
Recently I sold what is likely my last "old English DHC".
A modern classic...a Mk II or 340 was on my list before the STR. There a number of V8 conversions even a MKII Jag 4.0 SC from the UK.

Interested in a very clean driver, nice enough for local shows and club drives, reliable, preferable fitted with air conditioning. Getting a bit late in life for a lot of wrench turning so this one will not be the next restoration project. Auto tranny maybe a 5 speed or 4 with the o/d for highway cruising. Estimate 12-15k miles annually.
1.Is a 3.8 strong, cool running and reliable enough for a long day trip say 4-500 miles? I have always admired the Jag 6 cyl. but
2. would a V8 conversion be a better choice.
3. Any suggested guidelines on market values? what should I avoid?
4. been around cars long enough to understand buy as much car as you can..
Phil in Tenn
pwtrusty@yahoo.com

 

If you do not want to wrench on it yourself that is fine as you can always orchestrate your desires with good shops to do the work or if you have the bucks to me what you are describing is a Beecham MKII

Beacham Jaguar MK2 - Supercharged Classic Restoration with XJR V8

but that is pretty big bucks around 100K new or whom knows you might get lucky and find a used one with an owner desparate for a cash?

Many people like myself are building our own version of that within our own personal budgets. You could build a restomod like I am probably for $25-35K not doing it yourself. It is rare to impossible to find a good restomod already done so most build their own. A restomod would be best swapped with a modern LS1 or LS3 all aluminum block and heads.

If you really want a reliable daily driver as you describe yet nice enough for car shows to me you need to spend at least $30K for a restored stock one and make sure the motor has been fully rebuilt to be half way reliable but if you are older you should drive one to make sure you are ok with how they drive as remember they are old cars so they wont start like a new car, the performance was good back in the day but not up to modern car performance.

It is hard to answer your posting as we do not know how much your budget is. These cars are prone to rust so if you do not spend a fair amount they will need total stripping, etc. to get the body to show quality. Also the wood is what makes these cars and it can cost 2-5K just on the wood if it needs a lot of work. For me I knew I was going to put a LS1 v8 so all I cared about is a rust free car and was lucky enough to find an older v8 converted car with decent paint and decent interior. I still scraped the old v8 and drive train and am replacing all suspension, etc. new interior.

Restoring one to stock for reliability or making a modern restomod are both a lot of work so to me you should decide which you really want. Then if you can see if you can find one already done as it could take 1-2 years depending on your budget. If you have enough dollars I think the Beecham would make you happy but not cheap