I recently purchased a 1995 X300. It will need some work, but I was very impressed with the ride quality and feel of the car during my 700 mile, uneventful drive home. I plan on getting it on jacks and giving it a thourough inspection and replacing suspension and brake components and give it a repaint (no major areas of rust that I can see now, but the finish is tired). Are there any places around the car to which I should pay particular attention?

 

Congratulations! The X300 is addicting.

Any sign of moisture inside the car? There a two spots under the hood that are not obvious, one one each side of the firewall, just below the bottom corners of the windshield. Here, water can follow wires through a grommet and into the cabin. You'd have to remove the black plastic covers along the top of the inner wings to see.

 

The plastic screws that hold the windshield wiper trough above in should be sprayed with some penetrating oil a couple of days ahead

beside the manuals at the top of the X300 section see this link

Repair Manual - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

You can do a bite test of the climate control system in this video and page 110 of the Jaguar 703 document posted below


see also for New Customer Handover Video

 

Congrats on your purchase. I believe that this is the best engine that Jaguar has ever made. The suspension is always a problem spot on an older Jag. Get that squared away so you can drive and enjoy your car.

 

Thanks for the insight. I'll start posting photos of my progress. Today begins the journey...

 

Yup, that old rubber does break down, so bushings and mounts are on the list, probably ball joints and tie rods, too.

 

I've put the car on jacks, disassembled for repaint and inspected for rust. Far less rust abatement needed than I expected; a good thing. The underbody has been repaired where needed and undercoated. Differential and engine/transmission seals look good, rubber is passable. Looks like the previous owners performed regular maintenance and lubrication. The original dampers had been replaced with Monroes (ugh) so those have been replaced with KYB Gasadjust (I put these on my XJS ten years ago, and they are still sound). Brake rotors and pads have been replaced with R1 Concepts drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads ( again, I put these on my XJS a couple years ago and have been very pleased with them). Brakes bled and fluid replaced with Pentosin. Now begins the work of paint prep: cleaning, sanding, filling dings, masking. The front seats have the usual wear, and I'll replace the seat covers with Lseat leather covers (another XJS experience). The clock will be repaired (I guess this is a common problem, considering there is a repair kit made specially for the purpose). The original speakers are trashed, so those will also be replaced. It won't be long now!

 

 

 

Filling the dings and masking in preparation for painting. Jaguar Glacier White with pearl coat and clear coat to finish it off.

 

You might want to consider the "Andy Bracket" . It moves the location of the crank pickup by 5 degrees and really adds to the mid range torque. I found on a supercharged engine it improved fuel economy by about 2mpg as well. I'd say it's the best and cheapest bolt on horsepower you can get for these engines. Contact email is at the end of the thread, it recently changed.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...engines-66536/
You might also want to consider the monostrut for the rear suspension, instead of the individual struts the X300 has. You can find the monostrut on X308's.

 

Yes! I have been wondering where to get one, thanks.

 

I see someone's added wheels from a later Vanden Plas to spruce up the look. Great progress already!

 

Check the oil filler cap gasket. Mine became hard and brittle and I will losing oil around the cap.

I couldn't find a replacement gasket online so I ended up buying rubber gasket material and cutting my own.