Hi: I enjoyed my '86 XJ6 15 years ago and want to purchase another series III. I have been looking for a few months and have come across a nice XJ6. It is a 1982 and I am aware cosmetically there are slight differences inside and out between the early 80s vs the last few years but I don't know if there were problems with the earlier XJs such as electrical, engine or transmission. I was leaning towards an '86 or '87 thinking the last few production years had the most of the bugs worked out. Your thoughts are always appreciated. Ren

 

At 39 years old it has stood the test of time....regardless of any bugs early models may/may not have had. Faced with the early model/late model decision I'd go by actual present day condition. A really nice, well kept '82 would be a better buy than a fair/neglected '86-87.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug. I read some old posts and a few people raised a concern about bad engine blocks around '81/'82 but I tend to agree with you regarding the 'test of time". She's a nice example of the British racing green with saddle interior. To bad it isn't a vdp edition as it's a bit plain inside but near excellent condition.

 

An 82 is around the time the slotted blocks came in, this following a large program of quality improvements instigated by John Egan who became CEO of Jaguar in the early 80s when the company was split off from British Leyland.
Where has the car spent most of its life ? Rust is normally the killer on Jaguars of this era.
Have a read here: -
The Jaguar XK Engine / AJ6 Engineering
The author was working for Jaguar during its "troubles"

 

Thank you Fraser for your feedback and attached article. Fortunately rust is not a major concern. It seems to run and behave well so I am leaning towards this example was built well and with 150,000 miles has proven itself to fundamentally sound and will continue to run with proper regular and preventative mechanical maintenance. Ren

 

Well, at 150k miles, clearly somebody looked after it pretty well if it's as good as you say ! A Jaguar shop I once used in the late 90s told me that these were the last of the repairable Jaguars ! Pretty much spot-on, but they ke thing is virtually every job you might have to do is suitable for DIY, although badly rusted body shells are best left alone in my book !

 

Fraser, I found out today from the seller that he purchased the car from a British gentleman who took proper care of the car. This is all word of mouth as I have not been able to put eyes on the car. Ren

 

In retrospect, I think I'd look closer at the '87s next time because they have normal clear-over-base paint. The S3s until then had TPA (thermoplastic arcrylic) that is harder to fix if there's an issue. Like on many cars, my painted horizontal surfaces are crazed--cracked right through the paint from repeated expansion and contraction via heating and cooling. It cannot be sanded down and painted over, it has to be removed to start over. Or if you had to match one panel to the rest of the car, I can see you getting the colour right but not the sheen.

 

I you ever come to Connecticut i have an XJ6 1990 CA car 114000 mile drives great no leaks come to see

 

My 83 has it's original Thermoplastic in Grosvenor brown. Some dings and fading here and there. No crazy cracking. When washed and clean still shines nicely and is a "looker".

 

Exactly! Looks amazing when it looks amazing...but some cars suffered terribly...maybe hotter climate cars??

 

Summers around here can get plenty hot !!!! As far as I know it is a CA car.

 

Haha of course Carl I felt stupid as soon as I hit SAVE. Could it be that cars that sat outside in the sun were damaged more than those that were garaged? The sides of my car are perfect but the hood, roof, trunk lid are crazed.

Anyway I'm really thinking that even if a TPA-paint car has good paint like yours but gets damaged and needs a repair...might it be hard to match a new finish with the old one?

 

DD can you explain further your reason of making such submission?