Normally, I would go for it in a heartbeat. But I have reservations because of 1 thing:

The engine threw a rod.

I know the XJR engines are basically AJ16s, but they're built stronger than a regular, so I don't completely feel at home slapping a regular AJ16 in.

The best candidate I've found on ebay is $600 at 170K miles.

It's an incredibly stupid idea. I know this. But I'm still curious about just how daunting, if not impossible, this whole idea is? I'm prepared for a money pit, as long as it's not a completely lost cause.

The XJR in question

The candidate Engine

 

since the car is not drivable, it's hard to assess the condition of other parts, such as rear differential, transmission, shocks, general driveability, etc. so potentially budget for those items as well.

I'd also inquire whether the ebay engine has been tested (leakdown and a compression test?)

silver lining is you will end up with a spare engine and you can pick and choose the right part for the running engine. For instance if the donor s/c is noisy, you have a spare.

unrelated to your inquiry, but interesting observation nevertheless... on my XJR, I seem to recall the oil filter being on the right side (passenger side), but the ebay engine pic seems to show it on the left side (driver's side)...

 

170 Miles on the ebay engine? thats alot of miles..

 

A couple of thoughts:
The car in Texas looks lovely and well cared for. Is there any background as to how it "threw a rod"? It seems very out of context that it would have been abused to the extent necessary to throw a rod, so I am wondering if this has been definitively established as what is wrong. The engine bay looks too clean for the photos to have been taken after a rod exiting the side of the block. Could the fault be something else? Gearbox? Torque converter?
I wouldn't be put off the replacement engine by the mileage alone. The AJ16 will happily cope with many many more miles than this. The ad states the car is California emission spec, and I am not sure whether the Texas car is the same. It would be worth ensuring the price for the engine included all of the relevant ancillary parts (or might it be easier just to buy the whole car?) It would be good to know whether the engine will run in the existing car, or to have them video a look at the oil and water etc.
There are unlikely to be many in the queue to buy either of the ingredients for your plan, so there may be an opportunity to negotiate on price.....
Good luck, it looks very tempting!

 

If you enjoy a project it might be fun.

But.....

As mentioned the car itself is a more risky purchase because it can't be driven.

Plus....

If you have your heart set on an XJR/6 then do some more shopping around. You can find decent, complete running examples .....ones not requiring an engine replacement....for $4000-$5000. Maybe add another thou for an extra nice one!

Cheers
DD

 

If you are specifically looking for a 'project' then this might be fun, but in that context I'd think the car would be cheaper. After all, a car isn't worth much without its core functionality such as a transmission or engine. Unless exceptionally special, most cars that have a 'blown engine' are worth about as much as their scrap value.

Given that this one has nearly 100k miles on the clock, which for its age is numerically low and it does look well cared for, it isn't as if this is a 50k time capsule. So to me $3500 is too high.

So if it were me, unless I wanted a project for the sake of a hobby, and the cost wasn't really an object, I'd personally pass.

If you aren't looking for a project, I'd wait for an equally nice example without a blown engine for $1-2k more.

As others have asked, I wonder how the engine failed? It can just happen due to defect or malfunction, but that is unusual.

And the eBay engine is very high mileage, and you don't know its history.

.... I guess if you can get the car for something like $1500 it would seem like a better deal to me.... even having to consider the headache of replacing the engine would give me pause. But that's just my opinion

.

 

Your money, your choice, but I agree with Al, the market value of the car as it sits is probably WELL below $3.5K.


Still, IF you can accomplish the engine swap for $3k and IF everything else is sweet on it....you'll be $6.5K deep and that's somewhere near the market value of a well-kept, pristine version of the car......I believe I'd try to locate a mill a bit closer to the car's mileage, though. AJ-16's were plentiful and cheap in the DFW Scrapyards here a few years ago. I reckon the supercharged versions quite a bit more scarce, still worth a search though.

 

Pass on it unless he goes to 1500. Then you can get a fantastic engine or even a whole car and build the XJR for about 4000 or less.

 

as for the Craigslist car, I'd be very interested in seeing the "*FACTORY TENTED WINDOWS"

 

...must have been trying to kill the termites before they got to the wood!

.

 

Considering the 97 XJR6 I just picked up for about $1.5k more than that one is a running/driving example with nearly perfect interior (needs some paint work though) I would have to say pass unless you're looking specifically for a weekend project. My two cents..

 

If you can get this car at a good price , I'd say get it. Here's why: (keep in mind the following is mostly based on photos of a car I haven't seen)

Someone at some point appears to have invested a lot of time and money to the car seemingly sparing no expense. Sounds like when the most expensive part went he had to decide if he wanted to spend more money swapping the engine, or buying a new 'toy'. Usually the allure of something new wins. Let's face it, an engine swap is no big deal, we used to do it all the time as teenagers.

With another engine you will be able to keep the current one's ancillaries as spares which is good to have. It's also the perfect time for changing the dreaded, lower rad hose and replacing various bushings, sensors, thermostat, and motor mounts. Clean up the engine bay and check for condition of rack, etc.

Only thing that would make me question the car is the state of the transmission and the rear end since unable to drive. How long ago was it taken off the road?

Sounds like an opportunity to have a really nice xjr that can last you a long time but you need to get it a lot cheaper and you need piece of mind the trans and rear end are ok.