hey just joined here. i just picked up a 1986 jaguar xj6 vanden plas. the car needs some work but i think it has potential. It needs two passenger windows, an alternator, and has a head stud that corroded off. How much of a pain is it going to be to replace the head stud and is it even going to be worth my time. the car has 76,000 miles on it, it is black with a white leather interior. if i can clean it up and get it running good what kind of money do these cars bring? thanks

 

Sometimes a broken head stud can be accessed thru one of the freeze plug holes in the block.


As far as resale value goes, well, don't spend too much money on it if you're looking to flip it. Prices range from $200 for a parts car to $2500 for a fair condition running car to $6000 for an extra nice one. On a good day, with just the right buyer, and the stars and moon aligned, an exceptional, ultra mint example might bring $8-10K....but you'll spend at least that much getting an average example up to that condition. Just estimates on my part.

Cheers
DD

 

Can you be more descriptive of the corroded headstud. I am assuming the car is one of the last of the XJ6 Series 3 models, not an XJ40 and has a 4.2 litre engine with cast iron block and alloy head.

The approx. 12" long head studs commonly rust out through neglect, normally breaking off right at the bottom where they screw into the bottom of the block, inside the coolant passage. As posted here, you will have to remove the core plug on the side of the block to see how much is left protruding, then try to unscrew it via the plug hole. Some people have apparently welded a temporary stud to the top of the old one via this hole and then unscrewed it. These things are an awful bother to get out; it all depends how much is still left in. If it is flush with the tapped hole, you are in real trouble.

 

the head stud is corroded completely in half. i pulled the top half of the bolt out today. i havent had a chance to check the freeze plug.