Figured I would go ahead and introduce myself and say thanks to the board for all of the great info!

So back in 2000, my dad bought an anthracite black XJ8L. I was in 7th grade at the time and have a lot of memories riding around with him. He loved the car and it had always been one of his favorites. In 2003 he sold the car and has since had several other XJ models, but to him, none were as nice as the X308.

In August, I was on the internet and came across a listing for a 2000 XJ8L.




It was anthracite black with cashmere interior and had 58,000 miles. The listing was from Pennsylvania however said it was a southern car with 2 owners. I am from Birmingham, AL, and the listing stated that the car had been in Alabama its whole life. VIN ended in 8065. Naturally I was curious if this was his old car. We had no paperwork left around the house with the old VIN. We tried calling the dealership and Jaguar Credit for prior info but didn't get anywhere. We contacted Nationwide for an old statement. They said their online files only went back to 2005 or so, but they would request a copy of the statement from their archives department, which kept records on microfiche.

After about a month of waiting, I got an email with the VIN



I couldn't believe I had found his old car! Also, I was surprised to see that car looked like had been pretty well maintained and was low mileage. I pretty much decided to buy it based on sentimental value alone to surprise him.

So I bought it sight unseen. After some negotiating, the car was loaded up and made the trip down from Pennsylvania.



Here was the day it arrived back in Alabama.





I was able to get my first good look at it. Overall it was pretty much what I expected, no big surprises. The first thing that had to go however was some hideous pin stripe that the second owner had installed.





The car only came with one tibbe key and fob, so I bought a used fob from eBay and programmed it to the car. I went to the dealer and had a new key cut. They said they no longer programmed the key but gave me the name of an indy shop in town that did a bunch of jag work.

To my surprise, the guy at the indy shop recognized the car and said he had worked on it. He told me that it was owned by an older gentleman who had recently passed, but the car had been very well maintained. Upgraded thermostat / water pump, had recent brake flush, new battery, oil / coolant recently changed.

I had been getting the dreaded "restricted performance" light intermittently and had him run a diagnostic check. Ended up being a back coil pack on cylinder 1. I was able to grab a new coil pack on the way home and installed it in the driveway, and the light has been gone ever since!

Then I found out that the hood latch can break lol.





So I broke out the drill on the driver's side wheel well and manually popped the latch (big shout out to the forums for the help)...then made sure that wouldn't happen again. Crimped the metal together for a permanent fix.

Then I ordered some new front shock mounts since the originals were shot and installed them.





Then I scored a great deal on a set of XJR asteroids in Atlanta to put on later, but wanted to make sure the car looked all original when I gave it to my dad. I had some new Potenza S-04's installed later.



So I cleaned up the jag and took it over to the house to give it to my dad. He was pretty blown away and couldn't believe it was back in the driveway!





After handing over the keys, I decided to throw on the XJR wheels and give the car a proper detail. The previous owner or the dealer attempted a detail however there were holograms and swirls all over the car which needed correction. Here is a pic which sort of shows the swirls



I used a Porter Cable 7424 random orbital for the detail. Washed, clayed, swirl removal, polished, and waxed the car. Took about 2 days to get it right. Here are a few pics afterwards.







And then the tag arrived!

 

Welcome ! The black cat looks like it's found it's way back home, son of the year candidate for sure lol.

Stick around it's a great resource here.

 

Thanks!

I also recently replaced the J-gate trim and also fixed several old burned bulbs around the selector and cruise button









Next up, I plan to replace the primary / secondary tensioners. I bought a complete kit from Christopher Parts. Just trying to get the nerve to start tearing it all apart!

 

Wow, great story!

Pretty amazing to have been able to "find your old car", especially a US LWB, and for it to be in such good shape and low miles.

The tensioners are a bit of PITA with Jaguar's timing methodology, but really not bad if you take your time, and maybe follow some of the step-by-steps on this forum.
Black Onyx's guide is a good one (Tmingi chain and tensioner replacement)

Keep us updated with progress.

 

Indeed, I had the exact opposite result lol. I sold a semi-local guy my '01 white onyx LWB which I had wrecked the front end. I painstakingly gathered all the necessary parts to restore it , all in the exact color & year, I mean meticulous curation, paying hefty cross country shipping fees etc.

Well my work went gangbusters & I just didn't have time to get it done. Tired of watching it fester I listed it on Craig's List w/ the disclaimer that I had every single piece to repair it & wanted to ensure it would be restored by whomever bought it. Therefore the price would be even lower than normal despite all the extra parts.

Well I met a guy originally from Cornwall England who really radiated an affinity for these cars & said he'd always wanted one since a youth etc. He assured me he was going to restore it to it's former glory & stay in touch. Well he never contacted me back & 3 years later I'm driving through his small town on the way to the beach & I pass my once beauteous car scooting down the road windshield busted, all the previous damage rusting etc. Utter disgust came over me lol I mean how could anyone give me that spill & even more so, how could he drive the car like that ?! Windshield broken,hood bent up, both front fenders crumpled etc. I was just laughing hysterically as my concubine in the passenger seat looked @ me w/ bewilderment lol.

 

You ... are the exact 'owner' this forum wants ... and needs.
Congratulations on this amazing story, and on the great work done.
Welcome here, and congrats once again!

 

Gorgeous automobile, awesome story, bet your dad was stoked!

 

Welcome to the forums,

Well done - amazing to find the vehicle and then for it to be in such good condition. I understand PA climate can be as hard on vehicles as our English rain and road salt so it could have really suffered after leaving AL.

I had the same model (VIN ending F11176). In the UK it was badged as Jaguar Sovereign and, unlike the PO striping attempt on yours, had a factory painted silver coachline.



Black on the XJ looked superb but needed washing twice as often as any other colour and also regular attention with the Porter Cable.

Graham

 

Thanks guys! These cars are cool enough but the fact that I get to cruise around in his old car makes me happy.

Graham, love the look of your factory stripe. It fits the car very well. I just had to get rid of the stuff the PO attempted. Not only did I not like the colors, but the raised borders collected all sorts of old wax and cleaners. The porter cable really cleaned up the old reside and markings. And you're right, we saved the Jag from the harsh road conditions before it could see winter weather. I've lived in the Northern US before and it's pretty unforgiving on the cars!

And King, I've been in a similar situation. Sold my 2004 Cobra with low miles to a local guy who gave me the similar "will take good care of it" story...ended up putting it in a ditch and last I checked had a salvage title lol