Check out the following link on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...TQ:MOTORS:1123

Is that really a Vanden Plas??? The reason I ask is that it seems to be missing about 15cm of length. You can see it for sure in the pictures of the back seat.

I know about the boxwood trim in the paneling as well as the fluted grill and trunk plinth, but what about the length? Also on the picture of the trunk where you can see the Vanden Plas key hole plate it looks as though the longer plinth from the XJ6 was previously affixed.

It's just very curious. Were there changes to what made an X300 Vanden Plas between 95 and 97? I know what my backseat looks like (no pun intended) and I know about the other details. This just does not look right.

I'd like to know what you all think. These things are a dime a dozen right now and I am still in the market.

Peace!
Jack

 

1995 i know they had SWB VDPs 96 and up i believe is when they became LWB also V12 was brought back in for 96 and 97 MYs i think

That car looks rough up close tho if it was me id pay a little more and find a nicer one even if it wasnt a VDP...like you said a dime a dozen so just be patient, it will pay off

 

I had '95 Daimler aka VDP w/ swb as well .

 

Can't swear to it, Jack, but I think ALL X300s were SWB for the '95 model year...in the USA at least.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug, et al

You know what I find really interesting is a Luxury car without a glove box. When I bought my 95XJ6 I didnt even realize there was no glove box until I got home. It was the sort of thing that I just knew was there, so I didn't even question. Go figure.

That Vanden Plas on ebay went for somewhere around 2700$ I couldn't believe it. Right now is a good time to buy an X300.

To be brutally honest, I am not sure why someone would want one of the 98> XJ6 or VDP. It seems like all I hear are bad things. These X300s really just seem to be good cars.

How much less reliable was the AJ6 than the AJ16?? I am considering that next for the collection.

Peace!
Jack

 

About mid way thru the '95 model year glove boxes were reintroduced on the X300s. I think Jaguar even offers (offered?) a retrofit kit.

I've never owned a Jag with the AJ6 engine but I've never heard that they were unreliable in any way.

As for the X308s, I like them well enough, especially the XJR :-). The interior styling doesn't appeal to me that much (I think Jaguar got carried away with the swoops and curves theme) and there does seem to be more to worry about with the V8 engines....but I wouldn't specifically avoid owning one by any means.

Many believe that the X300s were the creme of the crop. I tend to agree.

Cheers
DD

 

Only '94 XJ40 didn't come with the glove box for the sake of passenger airbag .
I love X300s too , I dunno but I might buy one of those namely XJR

 

Not sure about the glovebox retrofit, I thought the airbag mounting arrangement was in the way.

Ditto to every other word of Doug's post.

 

My 11 year old very adeptly and gently removed the glovebox from the 97 VDP while I removed the knee shield area of the 95 XJ6. When we tried to switch, I found three things.

#1. Not all creams are equal. What looked to be the same color from 20 feet apart was definitely not the same color when placed in the vehicle.

#2. The glovebox from the VDP would not bolt up to the base of the airbag mount. The screw holes did not line up properly.

#3. My 11 year old son is very intuitive when it comes to mechanical things. He identified the mechanism that prevents the door from dropping open suddenly and was able to reattach the black plastic anchor without me even discussing it with him.

Yes, that would be me bragging.

So, we reassembled things back into the proper cars and left things in their original state. A glovebox only ends up being a place to stuff junk anyways.

I think my vote is going to have to be that the X300 is the creme de la creme. Any vehicle that can run so well with only one vacuum line is a masterpiece in my opinion. Lifting the hood of the X300 and looking at the engine, it just looks nice. It's not like exposing the beating guts of a beast, it is like removing the armor from a knight, only to expose the beauty beneath. Lift the hood on an s-10 sometime, it's just not as pretty, and where do all those little plastic tubes go??????

Peace!
Jack

 

Nice piece of writing, that. Seriously.

 

Never seen the kit myself, only heard about it from another fellow who got his hands on one. I presume the the "kit" arrangement somehow allows for the air bag and the end result is different than the glove boxes used in in regular production.

<shrug>

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks man, I appreciate that. I'm still beaming about my son. He just stepped up and said, "Here daddy, let me do this." Before I could argue he was asking me how to properly unsnap the glove-box bulb connector.

Peace!
Jack

 

If you ever come across one Doug, I would like to have one. I am one of those that likes to have places to put stuff. I'm a single dad, four kids, we need lots of stuff.

Peace!
Jack

 

Its off to engineering school for the lad ! :-).

Heh heh. Isn't it funny how, often times, its the littlest thing our children say or do that give us the most satisfaction?

Speaking of kids and cars, both my daughters, when they we just wee things, were my "gear shifters" when I owned MGs. I'd work the pedals, they'd shift the gears. We had the timing down pat. On downshifts they even learned to pause in neutral for half a moment so I could double clutch. Silly, eh? Well, it was a lot of fun at the time...like a little game :-)

My youngest was just fascinated with the fuel tank switch-over on the old Ser III and would become a bit miffed if I didn't allow her the switch the tanks.

Oh well, back to regular programming. Thanks for prompting a little stroll down memory lane.

Cheers
DD

 

I vaguely remember my dad letting me do that years ago. I learned how to drive a 4spd long before I even got to drive.

I haven't tried that with mine because we don't currently have any manual transmissions besides the one my son has off at college.

I do let the boys back the jag down the driveway after we change the oil.

At this point the particularly mechanical young'n aspires to be a professor of archaeology. Go figure. Maybe he'll just be a professor that doesn't depend on someone else to do his work. Whatever he does, I hope he's happy.

Peace!
Jack