barn find xj6c many ?'s
 

hello xj6 forum, my first of many soon to come posts. on this side.

I have found a 2nd owner 77 xj6c from what I can see the body is in pretty good shape. the engine runs I was able to drive it. found out as driving, something from the carbs is leaking fuel like crazy out the air cover.
interior is alright, the back seat bottom is hard and tearing.
front seats no ters. wood alittle cracked.
it's blue. no vinyl roof with a sunroof.
he rebuilt the engine/trans around 1992 and it's just sat around the last 20 years barley used.
the rubbers on the car are hard as rocks. I hope I can fid the c
glass seals for the doors.
will hopefully be picking it up next week. the 87 year old owner wants to fix the carbs for me.

my questions are many.
I'm pretty knowledge able about the my digital P v12, the aj16 supercharged.
but no nothing really about the carbed 4.2 XK motor.
I'm sure there pretty easy. anything I should check on?

I want to go see it again this week to make my final check over.

do ya guys have any good pointers, things I should triple check over?
I'm super excited about this car.

I'm not a coupe authority, but....

Make sure you can actually get any door or window rubbers/weatherstrips that you might need. My understanding (FWIW) is that they are very hard to find. Also make sure the rear windows operate as the mechanisms can be a problem.

Same applies for any coupe-specific trim pieces that ight be missing.

Grant will come along and help you with carb questions. I've never touched a Stromberg in my life.

In one of the sticky threads at the top of this section is a Ser I-II-III buyers guide that'll give you some additional things to look for.

Cheers
DD

thanks Doug.
I know the back windows are stuck closed. I'm thinking a fuse.

Burlen Fuel Services supply Stromberg parts. There is also the notorious AED (Automatic Enrichment Device), which could also be playing up. Again, see Burlen for spare parts or even a new one.

Home Page - Zenith Caburetters

They may have a US agent.

The XJ Coupes were notorious for rust below the rear side windows due to a failure by Jaguar to arrange adequate water drains for water passing by the side windows. On the normal saloons this water went into the door and out the door drains, but on the coupe it passes into the sills.

Doug's advice re rubber seals is good; don't be in a rush to take them off before you have new ones. Only around 5000 of these cars were made in total, so anything specific to the Coupe will be hard to find. Mechanically, they are the same as the XJ 4-door saloon.

The rear window mechanism is more complex due to the need to make the windows fold down at an angle to clear the wheel arch in order to disappear. The saloon rear door windows only go partly down. Sir William wanted an unobstructed line when all the windows were down, hence the complex mechanism.

rust
 

Coupes rust from the inside out. The rear 1/4 windows allowed water in the body and the single 3/8 drain hole would quickly clog with scale and allow more water to accumulate. The area in front of the rear wheels, which encompasses the mount for the rear trailing arm needs to be checked carfully. If it's rusted its not a deal breaker. It's an opportunity to deconstruct it and and reinforce it because the structure there was insufficient when new.

The sills rust too. They also had insufficient drains early on. The floor pans also rust just like any series two.

Make sure all the side glass is good. It's difficult to find. Seals have recently become hard to get too.

thanks.
I'll check out those areas.
and report back

If it's not too rusty buy it!!
Check for all the usual places for a series 2 as well as the ones mentioned above for the coupe.
Even if it has some rust it's worth considering because of the rarity and hence the resale values. 3 to 4 times the 4 door ones.

Buy a rusty but mechanically sound four door for parts if necessary as all parts except doors, seats and windows will interchange.
Mind you I might be a bit biased towards the XJC........but a lot of people are.

You can always change the strombergs for SUs and fit a manual choke.

this is such great info guys.
which is better stromburgs or SU?s manual choke would be nice.
this will be my 1st venture into the easy world of carbs. I need to to my HW

If you do purchase the coupe one of the first things to do is soften up the leather seats as they are specific to coupes only; I have a1977 Daimler coupe I believe they only produced about 200. Daimlers. When I purchased mine 8 years ago the seats were hard and dry so I located a horse riding school and they supplied me with some saddlery oil whitch they use to soften saddles bridles and boots. Also saddle soap to soak and wash the seats first but well worth the effort as all trim parts are hard to find for the coupe unless redone by an upholsterer. Also check under the back seat as water that leaked thru rear 1/4 glass seals sits un noticed under the rear seat and rusts out the floor pan. Keep us posted if you purchase


Cheers Ray

have some pics. XJC
 

I went and checked it out again. no rust in all the area i was told to look.
now the floor panels the front seats are great the back there is some rust but i think its just surface rust and didnt go all the way through. im thinking i could clean it up and piant some of that metal rust cover stuff. owner is almost finshed with the carb im thinking next monday i will be taking ownership .
here are some pics.

Hi Shawn, that's not a bad looking XJC

Wow, picts look nice. Too bad that rear seat is damaged but replacing the seat bottom is not difficult. Fuel injection was in its infancy back then so you're probable better off with carbs. The steering wheel is a nice touch. The car looks like a survivor. If you're doing a restoration you'd be at a good starting point. Just curious...What's you plans for it? Full restoration or driver?

I'm thinking both. I'm super excited to get to know this car and Jump into making it perfect.
The 4.2 6 is going to be a whole new learning curve for me, carbs and that water choke thing haha.

Iv had my xjs for 8 years and it's almost finished.
It's been great fun. And pain!

No rust, barn find XJC!!!!????!!!!! :icon_trophy::icon_trophy:

Don't know what you paid for it but I suspect it's a bargain, even if you had the replace all the mechanicals and reupholster the interior.
Where's the envy icon???

Ray does the saddle oil affect the colour of the leather?

I'm picking it up next week!!

It doe's not affect the colour of the leather and also doe's not affect your clothing it just makes the leather soft.
Cheers Ray

is your saddle oil "neatsfoot oil"? if so it is great for the leather but rots the stitching

Nice find, I have had 3, 1 when I lived in IL and it was a rot box but 2 here in AZ and both rust free. I got frustrated by the lack of aftermarket/OE parts for that specific style and sold both mine. One was rather nice though and really only needed a complete interior redo. I would have bought your blue on in a heartbeat. I love them with no vinyl tops and that sunroof is a bonus for me. I wonder how many they made with sunroofs, it has to be rather rare as I have only seen (albeit not searching daily) one other one over the years. Enjoy and please post updates as it progresses. In my avatar picture (its small I know) the Jag on the right was my white 77 XJ6C. I sure miss having a garage full of Jags like I did a couple years ago, LOL.

That looks to be a pretty nice XJ Coupe. The leather seat damage just shows the power of the sun in California ! Of course this also means less rust damage, (usually).

I think it would be best to stick with the Strombergs for now, as they were deliberately fitted by Jaguar for the US, due to your smog laws and if you need a smog test in San Jose, then a car with SUs may not pass.

Looking at that rear seat, it looks as if the leather is not recoverable, but you can get new ones made up if you can find the right colour leather.

Bless the lack of vinyl roof as it was a major cause of rust behind the vinyl and a real nuisance to restorers 30 years later. Most cars I have seen in the UK have the vinyl removed.

Whe you get it, may I suggest a comprehensive inspection is undertaken so you get some idea of the work list and what to prioritise.

Finally, I would not rush to start the engine until you've taken off the cam covers, cams and tappets and got some oil onto the valve guides. I had an rebuilt cylinder head waiting for other engine work, and when I started the engine, I bent an inlet valve as it was a bit lazy coming back, and I'm sure it was lack of lube on the guide, almost certain, in fact. Some light oil down the bores via the plugholes won't come amiss, either.

well I got it home!!!
previous owner had it running.
it's idling now. I don't really know how to adjust idle mixture. I found out how to change the Idle as it was way to high. it might be missing. runs a bit rough.
and there seems to be a clacking noise. I'm a bit norvous bout that.
I changed the oil and filter.
the over flow tank and leaking at the top.
and it needs belts.

now the back windows do not roll down I don't know if they are getting power.
can't seem to find the fuses for those. front windows work.
sunroof does not work.

back seat is really un save able.