Hello Jaguar Forums!

We've got a nice little XJ6 cleanup project going and have some questions for the collective wisdom of the group - thank you for being here! We thought we'd start a thread on our refurbishment effort and ask our questions within.

My friend Jamie and I recently acquired this 1973 XJ6 Series 1 here in the Greater Seattle, Washington area. We're both classic car fanatics, particularly British ones, and both have a thing for Jaguars. I've done two previous Jaguar projects, an XK150 long ago and an XKE Series III V12 more recently. Jamie fondly remember's his father's Series 1 XJ, and sees growing appreciation of the late 60's and early 70's luxury sedans.

I've just sold off my Austin Healey Sprite, and am supposed to start working on my Alfa Romeo Spider, and am not allowed to buy another car (right, Honey?). Jamie didn't have that restriction, but has no space to take on a project, as his garages are stuffed with way too many Land Rovers and a couple other British sportscars. But put his cash and my garage together and, well, bad things happen!

In the next post, I'll introduce the car.

 

Our new project is a January 1973-built late Series 1 USA-market XJ6 4.2 automatic with a Greensand exterior and Tan interior (very 70's!) and 79500 miles. It was purchased new in Seattle, Washington and has remained local with the same family ever since. The original owner put around 50,000 miles on it in 17 years before handing the car to his son, who added another 29,000 over the next 17 years. From 2007 it was mostly stored, but run occasionally until just the last few years when it went dormant. The Jaguar was put up for sale and, while neither of us needed another car, we went to take a look anyway.

We weren't sure what we'd found. The XJ6 was crammed into a small dark garage and surrounded by stuff. It was certainly complete, and the owner provided plenty of information to confirm the mileage and history, and the numbers all matched. The body seemed solid, though we could barely look underneath it. A flashlight search didn't reveal any obvious accident damage or paintwork, though a few little dings were present. The chrome seemed ok. The rear window seal was bad and covered in black silicon.

The headliner was fully sagging, of course, and the fabric rear parcel shelf surround pieces were stained and torn. There was some loose fabric on at least one door panel, the rear seat backs, and the dash trays and some of the console. By flashlight, the seats looked kind of dirty, but there were no tears or separated seams. The headrests were bad, of course. The dash all looked fine. The carpets were covered with rubber mats. Underneath, the floors looked very good - that got us excited.

The trunk had some spare parts and junk in it, but wasn't bad. It smelled of old gas, of course. The spare wheel was present, but I don't recall if we even looked at the boot floor.

The engine compartment looked pretty good, and certainly complete and original. There was a little rodent evidence, but not too much. It wasn't running, of course. The owner thought it might, with a fresh battery. We tried that once, out of curiosity, as it hadn't been dormant for that long and had been kept garaged. It did turn over, at least, but that's all. At least we got a chance to check out some electrical items, which were a mixed bag of functional and non-functional. Under the car was lots of cardboard and a big pan to capture all the leaking fluids, particular power steering fluid - clearly the rack had failed.

So that's what we had to go on. We headed to our homes to sleep on it.

 

Greetings Pete(?) and welcome to the party. Great to see you start a dedicated thread for your project, and your plan to lay out a resume of your Jaguar (what's good; what's not) is very smart. One thing you will learn early on is that often the sequence and grouping of many tasks can make your work more time & cost effective.

One thing is paramount from the outset and I advise you accordingly. Our Sticky threads here and also Gus' JagRepair.com has a multitude of workshop & owner's manuals, TSBs, wiring diagrams and write-ups on a wide range of topics. All are free downloads so load up with everything pertinent to your model & year. Beyond these, my further advice is to learn how to use the forum's Search Tools.

Above all, dive in and enjoy. There is plenty of wise advice and friendship on offer here and few of the inmates bite or spit!

Best wishes,

Ken

 

As old Series I cars go this one looks more-than-decent. Oughta be a fun, satisfying project.

Cheers
DD

 

To finish up the acquisition of our XJ6:

Jamie and I debated this purchase at length after our initial viewing of the car. It was a bit of a roll of the dice, in that we weren't able to really fully assess it. Neither of us needed another classic car. We weren't sure what we'd do with it when completed, and weren't sure how we'd partner up on the deal.

But we figured out a plan. We came to agreement on the money/time side of things, agreed on what we'd do if we ran into major issues with the car, and agreed on how we would handle it if one of us decides to keep the car when "done." Most of all, we agreed that we really wanted to rescue this dormant cat!

So back we went, and brought home what we believe is a diamond in the rough.

 

From the photos the car looks in extremely good condition for an unrestored 1973 Jaguar. The mileage is very low for a 1973 car, but even so, if it's been run around on salty roads corrosion could be serious. That would be my only worry, really. How bad are the roads in winter in Seattle ?

However there will likely be much work to do recommissioning the car, and getting it running. The car certainly looks as if it was looked after and cherished which is half the battle, maybe even threequarters of it !

 

It looks like you have a great starting point for a project.
I will follow your progress with much interest.

 

Nice color!


Actually it wasn't my favorite, but my wife loved it and was the only reason I was allowed to get it.


Yours is similar in history and condition to mine when I got it last February. I've probably put close to $2K in it so far and it runs and drives great but I have another $2K planned to do to it this next year; AC, Stereo system, and a few other odds and ends, but that's part of the fun as you seem to already know.

 

So, what did Jamie and I find when we got our new XJ6 into the garage and had a chance to take a much closer look? A pretty nice car, we think. It was a local show winner back in the 90's, and it's easy to see that car under the bit of grime it has accumulated.

It is nicely complete and original. There is virtually no rust, save for a tiny section in the trunk floor at the trailing edge of the spare tire. Rockers, bonnet leading edge and headlight area, boot lid and rear valance, floors, rear seat pan and suspension trailing arm mounts all appear to be solid. Careful ownership, garage storage, the original undercoating, and regular use of the factory anti-rust system (oil leaks) seems to have worked.

We think the paint is amazingly original. We've debated this a bit, as the factory paint flaws and the fact that the factory did final paint post-assembly on these cars makes it a little tricky to be sure. But we're confident it is original with the possible exception of the drivers-side front fender which on top might indicate some paintwork and blending, though underneath in the fenderwell it all looks original.

As I indicated before, the interior has some issues. But it's all there, the panels are actually pretty good, and the seats aren't pretty but don't seem to have any damage. The cockpit is really quite nice, with a surprisingly nice dash, and all gauges and switches and controls in place with no obvious flaws.

The engine compartment is fully complete and shows signs of maintenance. The oil is clean, it turns over, and has compression.

Speaking of maintenance, here's one of the coolest things: On the back of the factory poster with recommended maintenance and lubricants, there's a handwritten log of all service performed on the car going back to April 1975 and 15,000 miles, maintained through father and son, right up to January 2007 and 79,148 miles. The car has 79,497 miles now... Fantastic! Sixty-nine entries - tons of maintenance, some replacement of things like the alternator and exhaust, and a lot of chasing leaks, but no major items.

Next up: mechanical assessment and refurbishment plan.

 

Good luck with your "restoration", after all these years you will find plenty of things to take care of.... have taken all but the RF fender off my '71 Jag XJ.

 

Well, I have to say, looking at your pics that it surely doesn't get much better than this for an unrestored XJ Series 1 saloon !! Congratulations on your find.

PS: lovely dog you have there !

 

What a Very Nice example (although yellow is Not my favorite)!
This will be Such a fun thread!
(';')

 

Thanksgiving dinner consumed? Check. People home safe? Check. Cocktail poured? Check. Time for the next update.

First, thank you for the nice comments and interest in this thread. We're really looking forward to interacting with the forum as we dive in deep. And we're very grateful to be in a position to pursue our passion for classic cars. Oh, and it is NOT yellow! It is GREENSAND

What's next for the project? With our visual assessment of the car complete, it was time to answer the all important question, Will it Blend? Oops, I mean, Does it Run?!

As noted previously, the oil looked great, the engine turned, and there was spark. But there was no fuel flowing. The fuel pumps were getting power, but not pumping. We pulled both of them and cleaned up the contacts and, simple as that, fuel flowed. We drained the right fuel tank, and added some fresh ethanol-free gas, and flushed the line. The coolant and brake master cylinder reservoir were also topped up, and we did a cursory review to see that everything seemed to be connected as expected. Finally, we charged the battery (or attempted to)...

The result is posted here:

 

Yay, combustion! Now it was time for Jamie and me to review our plan. We appear to have a pretty nice original and running 79,000 mile XJ6. Where do we take it from here? Everything so far has only validated our original hope, which was that this would ideally be a rescue, a revival of a great car that didn't need "restoration." So that's where we're headed. "Preservation class," if you will.

Barring any huge issues, we want to get this car as clean and functional as it possibly can be, with minimal impact on the car's apparent high degree of originality. We laid down some ground rules:
- We will not replace anything unless we really feel there is no choice but to do so
- We will not apply paint (or undercoating or the like) to the car
- We will stay as close to "correct" as is feasibly possible

 

Boy Howdy! Around here, if a car like that, which has been sitting dormant for "a few years" as this one has, started with as little drama as this, well, there would be "dancing in the streets!"

I like your approach, "if it ain't broke, don't mess with it." Pragmatism.
(';')

 

Naah, Elinor, Jaguar's awful color is Cotswold Yellow. This car's paint is far more pleasing. Not my choice, but far from awful.


That car is in amazing condition and a super find. And a start up after "minimal" effort, even more so.


Yeah, Fixing what ain't broke oft end up broke!! Woops, I just coined a codicil to the original adage!


And my Coco, sends his regards to the little one in that garage.
Nice looking dog.


Carl

 

You are on the right path here.
As an owner of a late series 1 (3/1973 manufacture) I find your car very interesting to compare. Mine of course was built for Australia, and does not have the rear plate lamp (series 2 style) over the plate but retains the in bumper unit. Your wheels are also the same as series 2 type, whereas mine are the earlier style.


Can you tell me - are you allowed to modify your car to UK standards - for example changing the strombergs and the smog stuff to 2" SU, and also perhaps with the 7" headlights? (I'm sorry to say the smaller insert types look awful!)

 

I for one absolutely love the color. My very early series 3 is Cotswold yellow. When I bought it I thought it was garish but now other Jaguar colors look boring. I have never seen another one that color in person. My other Jaguar is an 07 VDP in seafoam green. Looking for a 3rd one out on the west coast and not even considering black, white or grey. Whatever floats your boat, go with it!

 

Before getting into our next steps following engine startup, let me respond to some of all the much-appreciated comments:

MacAuley the Dog says "thanks!" He obsessively adopts every old car that shows up at the garage. It's literally difficult to get him out of them. So we just let him be part of it all.

I'm surprised to hear that a '73 build-date car retains the in-bumper license plate light, Australia or otherwise, as I read that the reason for moving it was that it collected water. (As my son says whenever he sees a car with an obviously-failed lens seal, "your tailight fluid is running low.") We enjoy seeing the variation from year to year, too. Jamie and I looked at a '71 XJ6 the other day, and were surprised that the bonnet opening lever was on the right side of the dash rather than the left (I would have thought it would move with the driver position), and it was nice to see that earlier license plate and accompanying boot lock trim arrangement. I am curious about the wheels, too, wondering whether the migration to the later wheels was North America-centric.

We appreciate the question about whether we are "allowed to" modify our car to the earlier setup! Indeed we've talked about that a lot. If I knew for sure that I was keeping it, the front bumperettes would be changed in the first five minutes! And yes, I think I'd toss the air pump, dual butterfly manifold, and so on. The headlights actually don't bother me much, but put that in the "oh, he doesn't know any better" category! However, in answer to your question, no, no modifications allowed -- We're going to leave it as it is supposed to be and whoever ends up with it, whether one of us or someone else, can decide where to take it.

 

Now we go to work. We are doing (light) mechanical and cosmetic work in parallel, but will focus on the mechanical stuff first here in the Jaguar Forums.

We completed the basic revival stuff:

• Changed oil and filter (retaining the original cartridge style)
• Changed air filter
• Changed fuel filter, and drained the left fuel tank (did the right tank earlier)
• Drained, flushed and refilled cooling system
• Checked cylinder head torque, and other miscellaneous engine fastener

We have not yet successfully flushed the brake system. It's messy - What is that, remnants from the deteriorated brake fluid level sensor float? Not good. There's enough detritus in the lines that it won't flush fully through the bleed nipples, so we need to temporarily replace the nipples with an open brake line and flush it that way. Fun. In the meantime, we made a new float for the level sensor and it works great.

We replaced a few hoses including all the fuel lines in the boot and a couple of fuel vapor lines under hood.

The front carb was not retaining dashpot oil (I think leading to some fouling of the #3 spark plug, where I imagine that oil finds its way when sitting), so we renewed the needle o-ring. All good now.

From the startup video you may have noticed that the oil pressure gauge wasn't showing anything. We were confident that we were OK because the pressure warning light was going out as expected, and one can hear the valves getting oil. Sure enough, the sending unit wasn't working (better that than the gauge cluster). We actually took the not-meant-to-be-serviced sending unit apart in hopes of fixing it, but no luck. We bought the replacement from Welsh Jaguar, as it is the same size and shape as the original. After a nervous minute following engine startup, as the sending unit purged of air, we now have a gauge showing perfect oil pressure.

Then we needed to deal with our $*&@$%*@! power steering rack...