Hello folks, my little brother is offering me, for free, his Jag that has been sitting for 8 years. The car has been in locked storage in Lawton, Ok. My question is; what will I find when I open the storage door, and, what will be my first steps towards recommissioning the car?

 

Welcome to the forum Paulie,

There's a whole range of possibilities from an immaculate vehicle which has been properly laid up and stored to one that has been parked up unattended and needs a complete rebuild. The reality of what you find will probably lie somewhere in the middle.

You need to expand on the background details.

1. why has it been stored for so long - accident damage / mechanical issues?
2. has it had any attention during that period?
3. what facilities are available to work on it at the lockup?

Make no mistake at the outset. Recommissioning any car after that length of time takes work and money. With a Jaguar it takes more of both.

Graham

 

bring a camera to the opening of the vault. 8 Years can make for an interesting find.

 

The back story: My brother, who is in the military, buys the car from ebay. A one owner car out of Dallas with 75k on the od. My brother drives/repairs the car before being deployed. Fast forward 8yrs, the car is mine and I would like to throw the jag on a trailer and tow it back to Colorado Springs where I live. Time is on my side. Rust is what I fear the most.

 

A one owner car is unlikely to have been neglected as far as routine maintenance and repairs were concerned prior to the lay up unless there was an engine or transmission failure and the PO just wanted rid of it. Sounds like your brother has experience in buying and would have avoided anything like this. However, it's still going to take some careful waking up!

I'd agree rust is your main concern. The sills and floors are particularly vulnerable but members are reporting issues with some advanced corrosion the front and rear screen apertures. Both of these are cosmetic rather than structural but the bodywork also rusts around the rear suspension radius arm bolts which compromises safety.

You're 575 miles away from Lawton? If it was me, I'd trailer it home and then spend some time making a careful assessment of everything needed to make it roadworthy before starting to spend the $$'s. The order in which you approach the work can make a huge difference to the eventual cost.

Graham

 

A Dallas car is likely to have suffered less from rust than those from northern states, however will have had more sun, so paintwork can suffer dulling and the leather can get hard and crack. Good advice to trailer it, as with 8 years OOU, I would no trust it with a near-600 mile journey. Of course if you were two blocks away, then OK.

Was the car just abandoned in the garage, or was it run from time to time. Much depends on the amount of neglect. AS a first off, you will have to replace ALL fluids - oil, coolant, brake fluid. YOu'll need to check out brakes and integrity of the fuel supply. Quite a lot to do, but it will be worth it as the drive experience of these cars is sublime. Believe me, I had one for 14 years. Not only that, its just a beautiful car to look at too.