1999 XK8 4.0L Convertible in Bahrain
#1
1999 XK8 4.0L Convertible in Bahrain
Hi to all from a new Forum member.
As a professional civil engineer, I've been tinkering with restoring cars for many years as a hobby. Past experiences are on a 1970 Triumph GT6, a 1998 BMW Z3 and I recently decided to have a go on a 1999 Jaguar XK8 in Bahrain. Started this project in March 2018 with a car which had sat in storage for two and half years. I got it going, on the road as a daily driver, and now am looking to get the car back to Concourse condition.
Bit of a story how I got the car. I sold my Porsche as it was too reliable and boring just sat in the garage. It's annoying when everything works and there's nothing to do. Word got round in Bahrain that I was looking for a fixer-upper and a VIP let me look around his garage. I always fancied a Jag, but never had one, and the VIP had two Jaguar - a 1995 XJS and a 1999 CK8 convertible. I chose the latter and the VIP virtually gave it to me on the condition that I restore it to original.
Few strange things I've noted about car ownership in the Arabian Gulf. Labour is very cheap so it's unusual for people to do car work themselves, as it's cheap to get a garage to work on it. Workshop quality varies tremendously so finding the right garage for your job means you go to many different places. To work at home, tools are hard to come by, especially as you cannot hire tools.
Driving my XK8 convertible with the top down is best during the winter, as the summer temps are regularly 45degC (113degF) and that's shade temp. Conversely if you have car AC problems, there's a garage on every corner who can help you.
As a professional civil engineer, I've been tinkering with restoring cars for many years as a hobby. Past experiences are on a 1970 Triumph GT6, a 1998 BMW Z3 and I recently decided to have a go on a 1999 Jaguar XK8 in Bahrain. Started this project in March 2018 with a car which had sat in storage for two and half years. I got it going, on the road as a daily driver, and now am looking to get the car back to Concourse condition.
Bit of a story how I got the car. I sold my Porsche as it was too reliable and boring just sat in the garage. It's annoying when everything works and there's nothing to do. Word got round in Bahrain that I was looking for a fixer-upper and a VIP let me look around his garage. I always fancied a Jag, but never had one, and the VIP had two Jaguar - a 1995 XJS and a 1999 CK8 convertible. I chose the latter and the VIP virtually gave it to me on the condition that I restore it to original.
Few strange things I've noted about car ownership in the Arabian Gulf. Labour is very cheap so it's unusual for people to do car work themselves, as it's cheap to get a garage to work on it. Workshop quality varies tremendously so finding the right garage for your job means you go to many different places. To work at home, tools are hard to come by, especially as you cannot hire tools.
Driving my XK8 convertible with the top down is best during the winter, as the summer temps are regularly 45degC (113degF) and that's shade temp. Conversely if you have car AC problems, there's a garage on every corner who can help you.
#2
#3
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Delaneys Creek,Qld. Australia
Posts: 28,379
Received 6,317 Likes
on
4,367 Posts
#4
Welcome to the forum David,
Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.
Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8-xkr-x100-17/ to the XK8/XKR forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.
Please add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.
You can also visit the Other Areas Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/other-areas-43/ to find other members in your part of the World.
Enjoy the forums.
Graham
Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.
Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8-xkr-x100-17/ to the XK8/XKR forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.
Please add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.
You can also visit the Other Areas Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/other-areas-43/ to find other members in your part of the World.
Enjoy the forums.
Graham
#5
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Dural, Northwest Sydney. Australia.
Posts: 38,917
Received 3,813 Likes
on
2,789 Posts
#6
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: PHX some of the time
Posts: 116,730
Received 6,250 Likes
on
5,450 Posts
Welcome to Jaguar Forums David,
Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.
If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help
Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.
If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help
#7
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Summerville, South Carolina
Posts: 24,354
Received 4,180 Likes
on
3,643 Posts
Trending Topics
#8
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Tehama County, California, USA
Posts: 25,178
Received 8,946 Likes
on
5,293 Posts
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Jason Smith
PRIVATE For Sale / Trade or Buy Classifieds
37
08-06-2013 06:29 PM
Martigre
PRIVATE For Sale / Trade or Buy Classifieds
0
11-30-2010 05:32 PM
PRIVATE For Sale / Trade or Buy Classifieds
0
01-26-2007 11:13 PM
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)