In keeping with my status as Patron Saint of Lost Causes, I cruised up to Nashville and towed home another '98 Vanden Plas.
(I really should talk to U-haul about some sort of frequent flyer discount on their auto transport trailers!)

This one is a virtual clone of the car I acquired a couple months ago, but in much rougher shape.
My original car has some gremlins concerning electrical switches and sensors, so hopefully this car will prove to be a good investment, partswise.
(That's the story I told my wife, so I'm sticking to it!)

Oh yeah, for those of you still in the frozen grip of winter, our wisteria is blooming.
neener neener neener!
Retro

 

There is a place in Heaven for saviors of fallen women, worn-out cars, and doggies . .

Or, at least I hope so!

 

Will 2 out of 3 do?

 

What ..... you got something against fallen women?

 

. . . .don't assume, he might be a cat person(?) Betting -- since Mark frequents this forum -- that one is saving wornout cars!

 

retromotors is one sick puppy, and maybe a cat person too. But, I can definitely relate. What color is that thing man ? It looks pretty nice. More pictures ?

Cheers !

 

So, Retro, how are you going to bring yourself to carve it up for parts, being a Patron Saint of Lost Causes and all? Is it a rolling basket case? Dead motor, shot tranny? You planning on picking it clean and scrapping the bones? Just don't linger too long behind the wheel of it, she'll seduce you with her tarnished charms.

 

Oh yeah, we've got an equal opportunity zoo around here.
2 cats (7 legs between them)
3 dogs (full complement of legs)
Innumerable fowl: chickens, guineas, geese and one lone duck.

The car is anthracite (or whatever Jaguar calls metallic black), identical to my other one but has seen a lot more sun.
Trust me, it looks lots better in pics than in person.
I'll post more pics as I try to undo some of the horrors that Bubba has inflicted on this poor kitty.

The actual purchase and collection of the car was the comedy of errors that I've come to expect from all my endeavors. I'm pretty wordy at the best of times, so I'll save that saga for its very own thread. Suffice to say that one onlooker commented "well, that was almost a youtube moment ....!"

 

Your option #1 is probably closest ... rolling basket case.
Wait ... wait ... that ain't right either, 'cause it isn't rolling!
Some kinda way they've got the security system locked down, so the tranny is stuck in park. That in effect makes it a dragging basket case.
That factor alone is a major contributor to the "saga" I mentioned in my previous post, and also the reason the car is on the trailer backwards.
(BTW, that method of loading is not recommended. The heavy front of the car being that far back promotes a distinct "tail wagging the dog" effect at speed.)

Condition of engine & trans all unknown at this time. More to come!
retro

 

I stopped to look at a similar VDP in a driveway in Indiana. Looked good from the curb, but up close the leather is shot, wood is bad, bad wheel arch rust, terrible sunburn, one flat tire, on and on. I know the owner, so know the engine and/or trans make it undrivable, explaining the sad & forlorn driveway condition. Any lesser make of car, the neighbors would probably be sending a petition around.

So, what is this parts car worth? When I was younger, I rescued 2 different sad XKE's and was offered $300 for each at separate times when they were on trailers, so I assumed that must be the low-dollar beater price at the time. What is the XK8 beater price now?

 

Got it off the trailer this morning. Ended up being a lot easier than I thought.

Wish I had remembered there is a manual override on the shifter, it would have saved much angst and work up in Nashville.
This is in the driver's handbook, but for those who don't know or have forgotten, here's the procedure:



1) Remove the little torx head plastic screw on the shifter base plate.
2) Insert the key, or anything tubular, into the hole and press down gently.
3) The shifter will now move out of Park, but won't go all the way into reverse until you remove the key (or object) from the hole.
Piece o' cake!

 

Some of the standard X308 woes, plus some that are totally uncalled for!



Here's what happens when a Bubba wants to remove the door card, but doesn't know about the hidden screw under the armrest. Grrrrr!
Oh yeah, the door check arm is also screwed. Just got finished repairing that on my other car.



Pretty nasty steering wheel, steering column lower panel dangling loose.



We don't need no steenkin' retro hippie lava lamps, we got lava mirrors!
(Can't you just hear some Cheech & Chong stoner voice sayin'
"Wow man .... that's really faaarrr out!")

Sunroof is messed up ...won't close 100% even with manual activation.

The alleged "new" battery is trash. Very possibly Bubba'd into that condition.

 

A bunch of strange symptoms and non-functioning electrics showed up relating to the bad battery. I installed the battery out of one of my backup vehicles, replaced a suspect ground cable, and everything settled down somewhat.
Finally got the odometer to display, only showing 91k miles.

Just messin' around seeing what was what, turned the key and damn if it didn't start right up. Blew my mind!
Shut it right down, added a little distilled water to the cooling system, checked the oil level and took it for a short drive down the street.

The trans didn't want to shift out of whatever gear it starts out in (2nd?), but I think it shifted up one more on the return trip. Now displaying a trans fault, so probably has the dread gearbox failure.
But hey, who knows! It's early days yet, and I have lots of things to check over.

 

Pete, I'm gonna give you a sorta indirect answer.
The asking price was $1,000. There was substantial negotiation after that.
retro

 

I usually disconnect cable from transmission and switch gears to neutral by hand.

 

If you read transmission manual for a few hours, you'll get a chance to find some easy problem.
I bought a Ford with bad transmission once, it needed $3 plastic clip.

 

That's a heartwarming thought, but the ZF 5HP24 isn't noted for being susceptible to $3 fixes.

However, I'll give it every chance to redeem itself. After all, the car has just been awakened from a long nap, plus it had a defective battery. We've all seen the strange symptoms that can cause.

For all I know everything may turn out fine.

 

Doggone if this car didn't make a liar out of me again.
The only thing better than a $3 fix is a no dollar fix!

Took a little 10 mile cruise, and the transmission is working great now, no fault indicated or felt.
Considering that the license plate on the car expired June of '13, I guess it just needed a little exercise.

I think this car might run better than my "good" one. Feels pretty peppy.

 

Retro Motors,
It is just trying to seduce you into falling in love with it. It will still leave you broke and alone. LOL

 

It'll have to just settle for alone, the broke part was accomplished ages ago!