Hello all,

I am currently a college student at the university of North Carolina Charlotte and the proud owner of a 95 Mustang that I have slowly rebuilt into a daily driver after purchasing it with a blown head gasket, leaky transmission, and damaged body. I worked as an entry level mechanic at a large shop near my hometown for over a year while in high school. Compared to the master technician I may be no mastermind, but I am always up for a challenge, ready to learn, and good with my hands. I grew up in Maryland, thirty minutes out of DC and am currently home on winter break.

I now plan to embark upon a slightly more dangerous journey into uncharted waters. My neighbor, a widowed woman, who knows zilch about anything with 4 wheels, has said that she is looking to remove her Jaguar from its rotting place in the garage. She asked another of my neighbors if he was willing to purchase the car. He told her that I may be interested-which of course I am.

Now, I know very little of Jaguars (or any british automobile) especially pre-Ford era. This car, I have only seen it from behind, sitting in the garage, appears to be a circa 1991-1992 XJS-V12 and in good exterior condition. However I do not think that the car has been started since the wealthy woman purchased a Lexus sports car approximately 6 years ago.

Im assuming due to her lack of expertise:
The fuel was never drained before storage
The tires were left on to flat spot and dry rot
The car was never/ rarely started and the battery is dead
Fluids will need to be changed, possibly all engine and trans seals are kapoot.

I'm willing to invest time and money (yes I'm busy with school but working on another project car is much more productive (and rewarding) than drinking and partying at school. I am on full academic scholarship and have saved up enough to pay for a traditional 4 year college and am now not spending it (of course I want to save as much as possible but a few thousand in this car is acceptable).

I know I will need lots of assistance and patience on this project. I've been through the process on the small scale with my Mustang although I understand parts and info were easier to come by with that car.

My question:

Is this car worth my investment- time and money? If so, how much should I offer? It's a low mileage V12- does it have value despite sitting 6 years?

Thank you and please reply. Hope y'all had a great holiday season,
David

 

Welcome to the forum David,

Good to have you with us.
For help and advice head on over to the tech section XJS - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum don't forget the regional section also Mid Atlantic - MD VA DC DE WV - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum
Tread carefully before diving in, these cars can be money pits.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't already done so you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Welcome to this friendly Forum, David.
Follow Norri's advice and ask the V12 experts. I'd guess they will say a car in that state is virtually worthless - as someone once said about Ferraris 'the cheapest thing about them is buying one'.
If you want to have a go then you'll get all the help you need for sure.
Enjoy your membership here.

 

Thank you for the guidance; I have posted in the XJS forums and hope to receive some informative responses. Maybe I will be a Jag owner in the near future!

 

Welcome David
First, as a parent with two kids in college, let me congratulate you on the scholarship. I wish my kids studied harder in high school to recieve such an honor, or at least saved up some money to pitch in when the time came to go. Maybe I would be able to entertain the thought of installing a Paragon body kit from one of our fine members here. Anyway........

Welcome to the forum! If you do decide to embark on this task I wish you luck and can say that if you do decide to dive in, there are many people on the forum who would be happy to help you with any questions you have or any guidance you need to get the job done. I'm excited for you....should be alot of fun!

Bruce

 

Welcome to the forum David,

Follow Norri's link to the XJS tech section for help, advice and information. Some of the guys there have done major work and several projects include very useful pics in the threads which will give you a good idea of what can be involved in putting one of these back on the road.

The XJS is one of the most challenging Jaguars to restore but also one of the best to own. Hope this one turns out OK.

Good luck and enjoy the forum.

Graham

 

Hey there and welcome aboard David....... good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

The guys in the XJS section will be more than happy to help I'm sure...

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos,
use the search facility etc, can be found here within the following link Helpful_information

Please also take the time to check out the regional section for your area!
There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

I've manually upgraded you to Full forum access so you can better view the site and all its features
Please Jump on in and enjoy the site.................