I bought my car from out of my home state. I went and picked it up this week and trailered it home. It is now registered so I have been driving it for a couple days.
My first impressions are pretty good. Never having owned a Jag I have a learning curve to go through.
Some of the things I am learning are:

People like to ask about the car. I stopped for gas on the way home and had a half hour conversation with a random guy that wanted to know about the car and then told me about every car he had ever owned.

It is harder to get in and out of than I expected. Just getting my feet in to the footwell is a job. The brake pedal is huge.

It sits low. My Triumph Spitfire sits a little lower but, wow, the jag is low.

I like the gearshift. No fiddly buttons to push. It is elegant and shifts nice.

The sound of the doors closing is very satisfying.

I has plenty of room inside.

It starts and runs. Every time I get in it i worry that it wont start. I have heard so many stories about problems with old jags. It will take a while to build confidence.

Some of the not so good points:

The angle of the steering wheel is just odd.

I would like the car to be at about a 90% level of perfection and use it as a daily driver. It will take a while to get it there. The interior will need a lot of work. It looks ok at first glance but a closer looks shows a lot of details are out of sorts.

I get quite a bit of wind noise a freeway speeds.

I has about a 20 foot paint job. I don't want to repaint so I will have to figure out how to fix it.

Some of the things don't work. the trip computer, sunroof, rear window, odometer, fuel tank sender (right side), dash light and some other stuff. Mostly minor stuff but is still needs fixed.

Anyway, I am liking it so far and look forward to learning more about the car. For now I plan on driving it and putting some elbow grease into it and having a good time.

 

post a picture so we know which car it is and the year of manufacture which will be on a sticker on the driver's door.

 

Get usd to it, I get every local old bloke telling me about "back in my day". I sat with a 90 y/o guy one day and had a coffee with him while he told me about the Jags he had.(no offence Carl)
I love that **** , but some days you just have places to go and things to do.
That day I had no where to be so it was cool. I had 3 hours to kill and we had had a full conversation the whole time.

 

I have a Spit as well but it always felt a good bit lower than the Jag.

The horror stories about old Jags stem from poor and/or improper maintenance in most cases and these cars like to be driven. In my experience reliability is better with frequent use.

All of your issues sound minor. The non-operative things such as the rear window, sunroof, etc. are most likely due to dirty or bad switches and the beauty of a lot of the switchgear on these cars is that they can be removed, disassembled, and cleaned to working status. Try that with modern stuff! Don't feel bad about the 20 foot paint job - I'm driving around with one odd-colored wing (fender) and several primer spots in plain view.

There is a lot of knowledge on this forum and it will help you achieve what you want. One of our posters, David Boger, has a wide variety of parts for these cars at reasonable prices (no affiliation) and he has an excellent knowledge of how these cars are put together.

One more thing - don't drive it like it's made of glass. The harder you drive them the better they like it.

 

As mentioned, dirty/corroded/weak contacts and connections account for a lot of problems.

As you work your way through the car never miss an opportunity to clean any connections, contacts, and ground points that you happen across. The end caps of the fuses are often crusty as well. Clean 'em all, and the clips as well.

In the engine bay keep an eye open for heat-baked wiring that's about to fail. Clip off the brittle ends and splice-in fresh sections with new connectors.

Component failures do occur, yes, but about 80% of the much-ballyhooed "Lucas, Prince of Darkness" tales stem simply from dirty connections and grounds. Be proactive about cleaning them.

Cheers
DD

 

+1

 

Thanks for the input. I have been learning a lot already by looking through this site. The jag is a huge step up from other cars I have played with in the past.
I have mostly dabbled in small cars like the triumph and datsun z cars.
The jag just feels more substantial, or solid.

 

+2!
Excellent Advice!
No track convenient here, just normal every day S-curves and Passing Lanes (which we regularly terrorize), but I do Not drive Nix like she's made of glass (in fact I don't drive Anything like it's glass).
I drive hard and I drive fast. The first trip in Spring, Nix seems a little stiff and out of shape. But soon after that, she's all limbered up and running Just Fine!
(';')

 

Another vote for not driving like it's made of glass
https://youtu.be/TKM1vr19MZQ

its an old one but I love it!
arggghhhhh internet hates me today.. cant make the link clickable or watchable here..

 

the trip computers rarely go bad, they just fall "asleep". You can wake them up.

in my website there is a link to a page about how they work ( or not ). Also you can download the Service and Parts Manuals free. ( SERIES 3 XJ-6 1979-1987 ).

 

Not Bad, Darren! S-curves on Steroids!
Ya only got a little outta shape a couple times! (teehee)
(';')

 

Lost a much better post, drat!!!

1. Clarke. No offence taken. I am what I am !!

2. Two ways to mount a low car as the Jaguars are.

A Man with pants on. LHD car as the example. Place the right leg in the foot well, sit and pull in the other.

B. Gal in skirt or dress. Sit first. Keep legs together and spin in to the seat.


C; Old stiff guy do it the way the gals in skirts or dresses do

D. Gal in pants. Do it as guys in "A" do. It's easier

2. English folks seem to have narrow feet!!. I trimmed off the rubber pad on the brake pedal. The "right" side, LHD car. glued on the pad and got about an inch more rom for my clod hoppers..

Carl

 

[QUOTE=o1xjr;2034341]+1

What a gorgeous Jag! Love this!
Lucielle

 

Clarke"

None taken. Neat that you spent some time with the old gentleman...

Carl

 

ZSMZ:

Name pleae We are friendly folks and fake names unneeeded!!

I uaed to keep a task list on my old pocket PC. A list of the things that needed fixing on my Jaguar/ Most got doe. but, to this day a few remain.

I have had my car since 2001! It came nicely detailed. But, another polsh job followed by a coat of high carnauba wax really made it shine. it has it's scars. but overall!!!