When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Pleased they both woke up. A Blond singing sweetly after shaking her head and a big mamma rapper awake and roaring. Come on you must love them both, but, really! Can't wrap my head around an Audi Ford look alike. Just my opinion.
The ‘92 Series 3 is mine and her stable mate is an ’01 XZR which is my daily driver.
The black beast here is a random example of how bloated Jaguar sedans had become over a 15 year period. Great to be driven around in perhaps, probably less so to drive, and certainly not as lovely to the eye.
I can't believe how big the new XJ looks compared to the Series III. I've always loved how elegant the Series III is and how easy they are to see out of. There are no blind spots, so no need to for all the high tech to be able to back up without hitting something.
This car is Number 3 of the limited edition 100 Series III cars that were made for Canada and has been in storage since pre-Covid.
Deciding it was long past due, it was off for a visit yesterday with a new battery and some crossed fingers. After a minor glitch freeing up a seized trunk lock (which is where the battery was moved to for this year) but which provided some time to clean the windows, it was out with the old and in with new.
The puddle lights came on with the doors open which was the first good sign as did the fuel pump with the key turned to the on position. After doing that another three times to prime the rails, it was time to turn it all the way to start. She rumbled back to life faster than I anticipated with a short rough idle quickly smoothed out and settled in at about 800 rpm.
After leaving the Camry in her place, it was time to take her home where the first task was a hose to take off the worst off the dust.
It was then time for a proper wash which was easy and quick enough to remind me of how compact these cars are despite their appearance. It was also nice to see how the chat bar and wax that was done before she was out away held up.
It was also time to introduce her to her stablemate who is a replacement for her sister car Number 24 which was written off last January after 15 years as our daily driver. Our experience so far with the XJR is in the X308 sub-forum for those who might be interested. The XJR is just shy of 100,000 km (62,500 miles) and Number 3 is just shy of 160,000 km (100,000 miles).
Spoiler
It's impressive that it started up so smoothly after being in storage for so long. The care you've taken with the cleaning and maintenance really shows, especially with how well the chat bar and wax held up. I'm sure the introduction to your XJR went well; both cars must look great together! Enjoy driving them both! I’ve had nothing but great experiences with domypaper.com Their writers are always professional and deliver high-quality work. I used their service for a challenging research paper, and the writer did an amazing job. The paper was delivered on time and was well-written. I appreciate how easy the entire process was, and I’ll be using them again soon!
My Indie called on Friday to say he had sourced and fitted a replacement radiator! He wants a few days to confirm there are no leaks and she maintains temperature where she should. Fingers crossed she’ll be ready to pick up and spend some time with before winter arrives. Pictures to come…
And here are “some pictures to come” as I swapped the XJR for Number 3 earlier today. The snow tires aren’t on the XZR (they’re ready, I’m not) and Number 3 doesn’t get them as she’s spared the trials and tribulations of winter. There’s no snow in the forecast for at least two weeks so hopefully that works out on both fronts,
This is the new radiator that was the biggest reason for her being in the shop since April:
She’s only going to reach 160,000 km/100,000 miles in short order but at 33 years old it’s hard to complain:
Without the XJR at home, she got to spend some time in the wash bay and got a fresh coat of wax. When you haven’t done that for a while it’s easy to forget how many compound curves and lovely details there are on these cars:
I won't ask what the radiator cost . I just had mine recored.
That sure is a beauty, Ken. There's no doubt about it: the Series IIIs are special.
Cheers
DD
She may not take first place on a concours field the way Number 24 did (because Gregory cleared the field by entering Number 92 in the drivers category) but yes, she is a beauty.
i don’t know what the radiator cost yet either!
As noted, I dropped the XJR off when I picked her up and my Indie well bill me for both when I pick her up. Number 3 originally got dropped off in April to finish off some work that didn’t get completed last summer so I’m just hoping to avoid having to take out a second mortgage.
For the record, it was an interesting transition moving from the XJR to the VDP - a little bit like switching from a hot rod to Driving Miss Daisy(although some of that is probably her not being driven enough for too long).
Last edited by Ken Cantor; Oct 30, 2025 at 11:14 PM.
Just now well broken in and loosened up!
This is the best it's ever run, or will ever run in future.
(';')
She would probably run even better if she was pushed a little harder a little more often (which is on me) and if some parts aren’t now taking a lot longer to source here in the great white north (which isn’t on me but has the same result) combined with being a part time summer car (which is also on me).
Last edited by Ken Cantor; Oct 31, 2025 at 10:45 AM.
She would probably run even better if she was pushed a little harder a little more often ...
Ken, Ya hafta let'em Kiss the Red Line once in a while (keeps the carbon off the valves) so they know ya still love'em!
Otherwise, they dissolve into a pile of RUST while yer not looking!
Ken, Ya hafta let'em Kiss the Red Line once in a while (keeps the carbon off the valves) so they know ya still love'em!
Otherwise, they dissolve into a pile of RUST while yer not looking!
To those that follow, now that we have all survived the shortest day of the year, I would like to extend greetings for:
Merry Christmas...
Happy Chanukah...
Grateful Kwanza...
Joyful Solstice...
Whatever you choose to celebrate or not celebrate, may you and your families and your friends each enjoy the holiday season and have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2026.
As noted, clearing a blocked drain line may not be the most exciting project on the forum but for those of us less mechanically inclined/capable, we’ll happily take every success that comes our way and say thank you to all those who offered suggestions and support.
We've been threatened with spring for the past week or so but today was hovering around 0C with a cold wind and the forecast is for flurries overnight and 6-8 cm of snow this weekend so the snow tires will stay on the XJR for a bit yet.
The streets however were clear and dry this afternoon so the VDP got a trip to the gas station to fill both tanks and get a bit of exercise. Sorry LnrB and DD but you'll notice I said "a bit of exercise" and not a good run so she didn't get particularly close to the red line but both of us enjoyed the outing and she seems perkier looking forward to nice weather than she was looking forward to hibernating for the winter.
For those that keep track of these things, the posted rate for 94 octane was C$1.909 per litre although I get a .03 per litre loyalty discount. Including our 5% sales tax, it cost C$117.85 to fill both tanks with 62.72 litres (16.57 US gallons/13.8 Imperial gallons) of gas.
Wrong thread so I copied it to the X308 forum where it belongs. As I can’t delete the post itself, here’s a photo of the VDP waiting for her spring cleaning:
Last edited by Ken Cantor; Apr 19, 2026 at 06:45 PM.
And today she left the garage for just long enough to warm up and go for a quick spin before turning around as the spring yardwork begs for some more time.
Got 1/2 hour of weeding done before it started to rain so now I have a free evening in the middle of the May long weekend.
