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Looking at an 86 XJ Vanden Plas
I'm going to go look at an 86 Vanden Plas next week and wanting to see if anyone had any opinions at first glance https://janesville.craigslist.org/cto/6773542448.html they are only asking 1500 and it looks like I would need to put the kick panels and whatnot back together, I guess it was painted and they never reassmbeled everything after paint. Nothing out of my capabilities as I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I know to look for rust around the windshield and the floorboards among a few other places, but I'm wondering other than that and the obvious "check for leaks" is there anything I should look for in addition to the norm, and if anyone takes a peak at the link, do you think the car looks like a decent deal?
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Why oh why can't Craigslist posters take better photos? Really hard to tell what condition the interior is. Seller doesn't sound enthusiastic about how it runs. I'd call him and ask a lot of questions and then, if it sounds decent, go drive it. If it drives well and looks like you can get it decent cosmetically, yeah, it looks reasonable to me. At that price you don't have much down side risk.
Jeff |
I thought the same thing about the photos of the interior! It was their aunts car, so I'm definitely going to go take a look and see how it runs and drives. I did a little salvage yard searching in my area and at the price he's asking, I can get a bunch of great condition parts for rather cheap from a local yard. The wife and I just finished a total rebuild of a 91 MR2 so as long as its not a giant turd i'm thinking about pulling the trigger.
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ask the seller if that car was in Cape Canaveral Florida. I seem to recognize it. When I saw it, it was a rust bucket. You said if was just repainted, Check for bondo with a magnet.
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Originally Posted by Jose
(Post 2004054)
ask the seller if that car was in Cape Canaveral Florida. I seem to recognize it. When I saw it, it was a rust bucket. You said if was just repainted, Check for bondo with a magnet.
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the owner was from Wisconsin, a black man. Nice guy but the car was a mess.
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Don't expect too much as the seller describes the condition as "fair" which probably means "not very good at all". Salt-laden roads attack these cars very quickly and it is now 32 years old.
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yes it was eaten by salt. The driver's side front wing was all rusted through and so was the cowl on both sides of the wipers. Front and reat windshields were all rusted thru as well. I told him the car was good for parts.
I am not saying this IS the same car, it just looks very similar and the coincidences are incredible. |
Originally Posted by Jose
(Post 2004151)
yes it was eaten by salt. The driver's side front wing was all rusted through and so was the cowl on both sides of the wipers. Front and reat windshields were all rusted thru as well. I told him the car was good for parts.
I am not saying this IS the same car, it just looks very similar and the coincidences are incredible. |
So it was from Wisconsin, then to Florida and back to Wisconsin... So my gut tells me that it's the same car, I'll update Wednesday when I go look at it. Seems too much of a coincidence to not be the same car!
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The best: It is not the same car. similar, sure. top notch shape, seems not.
It seems to ride high up front"?? Even if rust challenged, if it runs decently it is not a bad deal. It will take a few bucks and some work to bring it up to decent driver status. And, ut can be had for less!! Note the poor negotiation tactic, "will consider offers". Juat the wires would tempt me. The worst. It does not run well, the tires are poor. the interior is a mess.. The kick panels are off to fine electric issues. It still has electric issues. It flunks the magnet test in critical areas. Yeah, pictrures with the cell are not as good as with any decnt digital. MERRY CHRISTMAS |
Went and looked at it today. It ran pretty well and started right up. I checked underneath and on all the panels that Jose mentioned and they are all metal through and through. Theres only a little suface rust on a few parts of the engine bay and a tiny bit trying to start around the windshield but nothing too too bad from what I could tell after poking around for a good 20-30 minutes. It does has a leak on the transfer tube for the gas tanks and the interior is ROUGH.... I mean ROUGH... but other than a the occasional piece of surface rust in the floor boards it checked out alright. He's got an extra steering rack and an extra set of wheels for it as well, so I offered him $1k, and I'll be getting it tomorrow. It should be a decent amount of fun getting the interior back to its former self and cleaning out the engine bay so it sparkles. But for 1K I think I got a decent deal. The paint job is meh but that can be fixed down the road when everything else is close to done. Thanks again for all the pointers and advice from everyone. I'm sure I'll be bugging everyone a lot more when I start to dive into my new project.
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ok, then you might want to contact David at Everyday XJ to see if he can get you interior parts. He dismantles these cars.
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Perfect, As I thought, less than asking would get it. As a running car, for sure, the 1K is a deal.
And, it sure seems that David is up and running and has the interior to clean up the car. and, as usual goods stuff for a reasonable price. We look forward to you reports. And better pictures than the PO made!!! Win-win. The PO and you. Carl |
Sorry for the late update, its been cold here in Illinois and I've had bronchitis for the past 2 weeks. I've got pics coming later today..... Also, I think this cars story is kind of funny... lets just say everything isn't always as it seems!
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So i think this car is NOT a Vanden Plas but an Imposter! the Title says XJ6 (Which I thought it might say because of Vanden Plas being a trim level) BUT the telltale giveaway was the JAGUAR XJ6 badges in the trunk, the front seats aren't correct, and the gauges dont sit flush (which I could be wrong but the Vanden Plas are flush from what I read somewhere, Correct me if I'm wrong though!) The hood does have the leaper and the rear seats are individuals with the armrest in the middle which makes me think VP.... I'm thinking that the previous owner bought this as a project XJ6 and wanted to convert it to a VP, however he passed away in the midst of the project and the car sat. It does have the wool carpets and they are in pretty good shape. The speedo and oil pressure and coolant gauges dont seem to work, but thats just electrical... I figure if I can convert a 2006 Avalon engine harness to work with a 91 MR2 I should be ok fixing this old girl up.
a couple questions I do have though. Is there a quick way to see if theres a stakedown kit already installed? AND, is the Fan supposed to run 24/7 when the engine is running or only when its hot? https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...1b91219355.jpg Surface rust in the engine bay. Going to knock this out soon. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...50d01c7183.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3ea2318401.jpg Just needs some cleaning up and a few new hoses |
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...b5a2d74c7a.jpg
wow just wow https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...020e671f40.jpg I dont think this is original https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...bb178b6a66.jpg wow just wow |
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...76c32cc433.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...0d45e9d97b.jpg Wood trim is toasted https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...124f4b89b4.jpg Needs a new headliner, but that's not too hard. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...7775cb0831.jpg Gauges aren't flush, telling me this is probably NOT what the badge on the back is trying to convince me of. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...2ea4476681.jpg Back doors aren't too shabby https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...a291608fe2.jpg Vanden Plas back seats? I think so Gauges aren't flush, telling me this is probably NOT what the badge on the back is trying to convince me of. |
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...50b5c667b6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...5c5358555a.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...891670c15f.jpg Missing the end on the body trim. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4b63686523.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...12fb9a2b4e.jpg Body is in decent shape Something tells me these aren't the Vanden Plas Seats https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...12fb9a2b4e.jpg Body is in decent shape Something tells me these aren't the Vanden Plas Seats |
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