I have been doing a little bit of lurking here and have been very impressed with the calibre of the online Jaguar community. This board seems to be populated by a goodly number of knowledgeable enthusiasts.

I don't have a Jaguar yet, but am starting to look seriously. I am focussing on the Series III XJ6, which has always attracted me for its "grace, space and pace".

I have read the XJ6 XJ12 buyer's guide on this board, lurked here and have ordered the XJ6 shop manual to better familiarize myself with the car's systems.

I'm reasonably handy with a wrench (I do virtually all my own maintenance on my '89 Alfa Spider, '72 Alfa GTV and '72 Alfa Montreal), and familiar with DOHC engines. From what I gather, Jaguars suffer from some of the same issues as Alfas (weak grounds, rust prone in all the same places) and benefit from some of the same strengths (good engineering, good venerable engine design, bullet-proof L-Jetronic FI in later cars, beautiful to look at...).

Can anyone provide any Jag or Series III specific advice? Am I correct in assuming that the later (1985-1986) 4.2 engines with channels between the bores are less prone to head gasket failure than earlier long stud models without channels? Most of the cars I am seeing are in 80-100,000 mile territory: are there any commonly expected maintenance issues which I should be looking out for in this mileage range? Any advice of this kind would be appreciated.

 

they are more reliable than your Alfas, and faster too.

just look for a car that has been well cared, don't buy someone else's problem. It doesn't matter if it's a Jaguar or a Maserati, just start out with the best example you can find. Check for rust, the cooling system, engine leaks, tranny leaks, any leaks at the twin tanks, in the trunk/boot spare tire compartment, exhaust system rust and cracks, usually the Y pipe catalitic cracks, replace it with a Euro Y pipe without a cat. These cars came from the factory with many General Motors and other american-made & European parts, so replacements are available. ("what your mechanic does not want you to know"):

Air Pump, Diverter, & Check valve - GM Delco - Autozone
Power Steering pump - GM Saginaw pump - Autozone
power window motors - GM
transmission - Borg Warner 66
a/c compressor - GM Harrison A6 - Autozone
Delanaire a/c system - Made in Texas
Evaporative Fuel System Check Valve - GM
Oxygen Sensor, Fuel filter - Bosch - Autozone

you did good buying the Shop Manual but I hope you didn't buy a Haynes or Chilton Manual, those are a joke. You want the Factory Manual.

 

Thanks, Jose! This is exactly the kind of stuff I need to know.

And yes, the one I ordered from JustJags is the factory manual.

 

excellent! everything you need to know is there, except how to redo the headliner, but we can tell you how here. It really is a piece of cake.

 

The Ser IIIs are great cars. Not just great Jaguars, but great cars. The most modern of all antique automobiles.

Head gaskets are hit-n-miss. Failures are not unusual but, OTOH, some engines seem immune.

Although minor, the 86-86 Ser III XJ6s have some upgraded interior trim features that are a bonus.

"Hard parts" for the old BW 65/66 transmission are getting increasingly hard to find individually. Used core transmissions are easy to find, though....as are good used parts in general.

Good advice already given by Jose.

Cheers
DD

 

First I've ever heard of that!

The Delanair system was made by Delaney Gallay Company of London....although I guess it's possible that they also had a manufacturing facility in Texas.

Gallay Limited, History.


Cheers
DD

 

Delanaire was a Texas company. If they had a manufacturing plant in London, first time I hear of that.

 

The manufacturing plant was in Ammonford :-)

Not trying to pick a fight, and I'm always happy to stand corrected and learn new things, but I really think you're incorrect.

You can find the patents and illustrations of the Delanair MkII system on-line attributed to a fellow named "Nesbit" of Essex, England with references to Delanair of Ammonford, England.

Delanair made a wide variety of automotive heating and a/c parts including both add-on "kits" and "factory installation" parts.

My Porsche enthusiast friend says that some 60s vintage Porsche A/C systems were Delanair "kits" installed by a large company in Texas that specialized in retro-fitting susch systems.

It is also well known that 50s-60s vintage Jaguar a/c units were developed and manufactured by a Texas company called "Arctic Air". Jaguar worked closely with Arctic Air. I have to wonder if that's what you're thinkng of? However, Arctic Air and Delanair are not the same company.

As near as I can tell the Delanair division of Delaney Gallay was sold to Valeo (a large automotive supplier) in the 90s. In fact, later XJS/XJ40 systems are labled "Valeo".

Again, I'm happy to stand corrected :-)

Cheers
DD