Hi Everyone, I have been a member for a short period of time and have been looking for an XJ6 Series 1 for a while. I am pleased to say that I have finally found a vehicle! I have a Carsales alert setup and about a week ago saw a 1973 XJ6 Series 1 come up for sale. It looked excellent in the photos and had undergone a fairly extensive restoration in 1990. Since the restoration it had covered about 20,000 miles. I rang the owner and after a few calls and some movement on price I was really keen. My main obstacle was that I am located in Victoria and the car was in Queensland. During my last call the owner indicated that the car had generated a bit of interest (including 3 other enthusiasts from Victoria!) and someone from the Jag club knew the car and was coming to look (buy?) that weekend! I then did something I wouldn't normally do and threw caution to the wind and made a direct deposit into the owners bank account to secure the car. We all know how dangerous it can be to consider any purchase of this type without a thorough inspection! When my wife arrived home that night there were fresh roses in a vase - she took one look at them and instantly knew trouble was afoot. Anyhow I survived telling her what I had done and then organised a return flight to QLD to inspect the car.


The car looked fantastic and was finished in a navy blue, not the darkest shade I have seen, and still looking very good. The interior which is a light tan was still stunning and not only had the seats been recovered (from imported Connolly hides) during the restoration, the owner had akso done the rest of the interior including all the wood, headlining, carpets and door cards etc. The engine & auto transmission had also been rebuilt, including a new (troublesome?) AED.


The test drive went well and the vehicle was quite spritely. There was some additional fan noise I hadn't encountered before and the owner explained the fan was direct coupled and didn't have the viscous coupling which I think was standard (someone more knowledgeable will know) I certainly do not wish to have any overheating issues however I am going to investigate other options to remove most of the noise as it is a bit intrusive and takes away some of that Jaguar ambiance. The engine was also a bit rough when cold (as expected)however it did settle down during the test drive. I also noticed that the tacho appeared to be registering about 2000-2100 rpm at 60mph so I assume it is not reading correctly.


I am now waiting impatiently for the car to be freighted down from QLD. I am looking forward to contributing with a few posts and catching up with some of the forum members if there are drives etc. I have attached some of the photos from the original add.


Cheers, Brendan.

 

Far out! Gotta love a nice Series I

Cheers
DD

 

Congratulations!!
Nice Car! Very nice indeed!
(';')

 

Hi Brendan, sweet looking series 1.
I have posted in your thread in the Vic/Tas forum, seems you have posted the same thread in two forums.

 

You mention a new AED trans? If the trans has been changed out or the IRS gears... the speed/rpm could be just a "wrong combination". How many gears in the new "trans"?

When the car arrives, put a portable GPS in the car and compare it to the speed on the speedometer... that will get us closer to the truth.

Get under the car safely and check the tag for the ratio on the IRS... 2000-2100
is not totally out of the question. Not sure of the gear ratio on AUS Jags for that era.

My '71 Jag with a 200R OD trans and 2:88 gears (with a tach that has been converted and a speedo that is accurate now with S3 parts) shows 1850 at 65-70 mph... but the '72 Jag with 700R OD trans and 4:09 gears shows 2350 at the same speeds.

 

I assumed Brendan was referring to the Automatic enrichment device, haven't heard of an AED transmission on any cars in Australia. Maybe fitted to US delivered cars?

 

Fantastic looking car! Congrats.

As to the tacho issue, I'll write soon with what mine reads, but I'm told if an after-market electrical ignition is added those things degrade the accuracy of the tacho and a special tacho rebuild (about 250US) is required ultimately.

The AED goes with the carbies, no?

Magic car. I'll really be interested in hearing more about its positives and (gulp) negatives. My car has good doses of both.

 

Hi Brendan, just returned from a road test. So while I was out I put my GPS on and sat at 100 km/h (which is 63 mp/h) on my speedo, the tacho was reading a solid 2400 RPM.
I have a 3 speed BW12 Transmission.

 

Hi, thanks for all of the kind words and advice.The car carrier is organised so it is just a matter of waiting for it to arrive. I am looking forward to sorting out some of the smaller jobs I can handle so I expect there will be a few posts asking advice. Regarding the AED, yes I was referring to the Automatic Enrichment Device (or automatic choke as its is called on some other older cars) The owner wanted to keep the car as original as possible (except for the steering wheel!) and apparantly paid about 200 pounds for a new one back in 1990. I have read often that they can give trouble and most people block them off and install a manual choke? The tacho issue is interesting - there wasn't much in the way of straight level ground when I test drove the car so I am looking forward to testing the actual speed with a gps etc. I understand that my car would have most likely fitted with the 3.54 diff and even if a higher ratio found it's way into the car (even a 2.88) it should still be reading over 2000 rpm? The speedo and tacko needos were quite steady (not like some I have driven and they bounce about) and with the additional fan noise it was hard to judge what was actually happening. Most likely it is just reading a bit slow - I will be interested to hear what series1fan reads. This is not my first Jag so I am under no illisions regarding the negatives as well as the positives! Any thoughts of negatives fade as soon as you open the door and breathe in the heady aroma of leather and wood!

Brendan

 

Stunning car! Love the Series I! Congrats!

 

I am interested to see what seriea1fan's tacho reads too. As I thought mine read a bit slow for a 3 speed auto.

Are there negatives to a Jag?

 

Perhaps only that we can't drive them every waking moment? As in, some of us have responsibilities that get in the way of driving our Jags.
(';')

 

That's a very nice Series 1. Congrats on the purchase. Interior resto looks amazing. I like the look of the under dash air con unit, does it blow cold? I'd maybe replace the steering wheel for a stock item or something period correct (Moto LIta?). Exterior is similar blue shade to my old faded S1. Strange the owner put the series 2 wheels on if he was going original with it. Good stuff though. Davo

 

Hi, thanks for the RPM reading o1xjr I was assuming those sort of revs too, the tacho must be a bit slow. The car is coming with the original steering wheel and also the Series 1 rims. I like the Series 2 rims and I am unsure regarding the steering wheel. The Moto-Lita would be nice - except for the price! The air conditioning (surprise surprise) is not working and is on the fix it list. I really want to check my options concerning the engine fan too, it does not have a viscous coupling and is quite noisy.










Brendan

 

Very nice car. As for oddities, not unexpected after decades of service and PO's.


But, the tacho reads engine RPM's. The speedo reads road speed. It matters not, which transmission. Third is direct in any three speed. So, as the early cars had
rather low rear end ratios, your tacho vs speedo reading is within the realm of possible. The fact that both needles read steadily is a good clue as to their health.


As to the direct drive fan. Oh,oh! Age takes it's toll on the steel. At speed, the forces are tremendous. Busted blades are a potential. They make an expensive mess.


Was the car originely equipped with a viscous coupling ? If so, and originality is important to you, I'd install one.


If not so much, E fans have a lot going for them.


My 83 is far from original under the bonnet. I am very pleased with it's PCM managed fans. The original fan was a hideous yellow device. On cleaning it up, I found numerous cracks at the hub!!!! It got tossed.


The wood steering wheels do look good. But, so does the original black wheel. A matter of taste. I kinda like the seemingly better grip of the plastic fake leather wheel.


To each his own, oh yeah!!


Carl

 

Hey Brendan

I'm new to Jags and car mechanicals generally. What is the fan viscous coupling you speak of? Think my fan might be same as yours, makes a choppy sound at speed runs off fan belt from the engine.

I've got a Moto Lita steering wheel on my car which came with the car but am going to put the factory wheel back on. Just like the feel and size better.

 

A viscous coupling is between your pulley and fan,it is a variable speed fan governed by the internal temperature of the coulping. The hotter it gets, the more it spins(some call it a fan clutch hub). You can easily move it by hand when engine is not running ,looks like this



A fixed coupling is older style like your old Holdens where the fan is bolted direct to pulley and always rotates the same speed as fan belt,and is very hard to move when engine is not running,on some you can turn the engine over by hand with the fan.



Someone will be along later that can explain it with the correct technical terms, better than I can.

 

Hi all, it is always difficult to make personal/practical changes to your car, whilst trying to keep as much originality as possible. I will probably keep the Series 2 wheels and for now the non standard steering wheel - I do however like the steering wheel XJ Davo has pictured! As for the engine cooling, it will be one of the first jobs on my list. I did own a Series 3 and it had a viscous fan/cooling system in good order however the fan still made quite a racket. Whilst the purists will probably not agree I am actually considering an electric fan setup as JagCad has in his car (I will have to find out more info). If I am driving the car and become caught in traffic on a hot day I will sacrifice originality if it means keeping the car cool, and myself, especially if I wish to run the air conditioning. I have also read about and spoken to a few XJ owners at show days who recommend throwing the points away and fitting electronic ignition? Again it is a move away from originality however the comments suggest easier starting, smoother running etc. Perhaps the only other modification would be to remove the awful black plastic radio cassette. I have been looking on the retrosoundusa site and there may be something appropriate. I really do not intend to go any further with the vehicle as regards changes, just enough to satisfy a few personal/practical considerations. Brendan

 

I don't know, Clarke, that seems pretty clear, complete and accurate to me.
(';')

 

I have twin electric fans fitted,from a Falcon I believe. Works well.