So I'm putting this question out to get some input on pursuing a restoration effort.
I inherited a 1986 Vanden Plas that needs a lot of work. The brakes are frozen, the fuel tanks need to be flushed, it had trouble starting but we replaced the starter and ignition. The front needs to be redone as it's very loose. It has some electrical questions. At least one of the floor pans has a rust hole through it so there's body panel work to be done. Some body work needs to be done to repair minor accident damage over the years, the rear bumper needs to be replaced, the seats are ripped, and the wood dash trim is peeling up.
I can do some of the work but not a lot that requires putting it up on a lift. I've had some work done, flushed one fuel tank and the ignition so that it could be started.
I'm looking at, from a local independent Jaguar shop, about $2000 for all four brakes being rebuilt/replaced. If the shop did the work it would be about $6000 to get it in decent mechanical condition. That's a lot, for both pieces.
So my question is, should I dump the car and the $1500 I've put into it so far or get the brake work done and then use it as my project car for automotive and autobody night classes at the local technical high school?
I'm going back and forth and I know that I could find one in decent condition for around $4000 +/-. Cars are always a depreciating asset and more of something to enjoy restoring and using, not factoring in cost as much.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughts.

 

I'd say it all depends on what the car means to you.
Just to give you an idea to have my car fully stripped and painted cost the insurance company $9,500.00 for a first class job - afer getting hit by an uninsured driver. I had a new wood dash and all other wood made up for $1,200.00. My seats and other interior bits are in perfect shape so didn't need to do anything with those - otherwise would have cost me LOTS. I've redone front and rear suspension along with the brakes and parts alone were about $1,500.00. And this is in a one owner California car with no rust and always garaged and serviced. The dash was done since my wife thought the old slightly faded dash wasn't pretty.
I scrapped the first car I started to "restore" since it needed interior work, suspension work, and paint. It was a car my family owned from new but as it fell out of favor with my aunt it got stored outside. I weighed the costs of restoring this car since it had been around most of my life and ended up finding a better car for half of what I would have put into it.

 

I would get a second opinion on the cost of fixing the brakes. I'm pretty sure you can find a MUCH better deal or find someone who will only replace what you need instead of replacing everything. Even with the high cost of Jaguar parts I'm pretty sure it could be done for much cheaper than $2k! Some shops just see a Jag or Benz or whatever and assume that means you have money and will charge an arm and a leg for any and everything you need (or don't need xD) If you can find someone to fix them for cheaper then maybe that would give you a better idea of where to go with it. Just my 2cents.. I could very well be mistaken

 

Thanks for the input. The brakes include needing to replace the calipers, pads, hoses, fluid, and rotor - all for the front and the rear. I'm probably not remembering everything. Yes, about 1/2 of that is the labor, +/- some, though I would be getting the work done at parts plus 10% and labor. The brakes are completely frozen. As soon as you free them, and then put pressure on the pedal, they lock down and won't release.
I don't have a lift, only a New England driveway, to work on that kind of a job. Once I have it rolling I could do more of the work over at the local technical high school during evening automotive classes.
The brake work also allows for bad bolts or broken bolts and cleaning up the E-brake.
The car sat outside most of its life, living in the US Northeast with salt on the roads in the Winter. It has also been driven on the sandy, salty roads of Martha's Vineyard in the Summer. So there will be rust. It has been sitting outside for the last 5 years or so.
Still mulling.

 

I can understand that. I had an '85 a while back that I was going to restore but it ended up being too rusty for me to handle. Every time I tried cutting away at rust I'd find there's just more and more everywhere and it was way more than I could tackle so I ended up having to scrap it. Luckily, I only paid $250 for the car and sold it to the scrap yard for $300 so I pretty much broke even on that one covering the car cost and the tow. So glad I found this '76 I just got it a few days ago but already I can tell it is in much nicer condition than the other one was and it was already converted to a 350 which I wanted to do anyways so it saves me the hassle and cuts down on maintenance costs. Only paid $1k for this one it's a little rough but all in all not too bad. Weirdest rear brakes I ever saw tho lol perhaps they were the same on the '85 but I never got that far before scrapping it.. all tucked up way inside the car instead of being out behind the wheel! I reckon if yours is like that it would be near impossible without a lift. I learned sometimes it's better to wait for the right car to come along as I have wasted money on numerous projects that I never finished and ended up losing money on. Hopefully if this one doesn't work out you will find one in better condition at a reasonable price. Sometimes it's worth the wait, as painful as it is to do so lol

 

If you end goal is to have a Ser III Jag that you can really be proud of, and one that is mechanically up-to-snuff, you'll save a ton of money by buying one that's already in the condition you want.....as opposed to bringing this car up to the same standard.

Cheers
DD

 

i do have to agree with Doug; sounds like before its a dependable car, you may have 4 times more money in it than it would be worth.

and selling older jags is tough at best, people but them because they are cheap.
and people get rid of them because it costs so much to repair them properly.

 

Restoration as an investment is very difficult. Do it for the love of the car or if it's a rare one like an XJC. Even then you have to think twice about how much the car is worth to you.
The advantage is if you do it yourself then at least you know what you've done and how well it was done. No point in restoring a car and not doing the best job you can.
Spending lots of money to have it done is no use unless you know and have confidence in the work and standard to which it is done.
Very few bodyshops will go to the trouble of using epoxy primer, rustproofing etc unless you specify and give them instructions on how to use it for example.
They have a business to run and normal jobs that generate more profit for them is always going to be a priority.
That's just the major jobs, don't underestimate the work/ expense of sorting out the niggles such as the electrics, seats, water leaks, wood etc etc etc.
With a car in reasonably good supply like the series 3 it's probably better to look for one that's been maintained or restored and start with that as a base. It may still require some work but it will save you costs in the long term.

 

Yep, not looking at this as a return on investment. I'm trying to decide at what point it no longer makes sense to put money, time, and effort into restoring a vehicle. I plan to do, on whatever car I end up with, as much of the work as possible myself, so that saves on labor costs.
But I'm more familiar with restoring old military army jeeps like my M38 and my family's Apollo. There are no more Army jeeps being made, like the MB, GPW, and M38. I've seen people get total rust buckets and replace metal, replace body tubs, etc and end up with a beautiful jeep. But these cars are different - there are more of them and they aren't that old.
Again, thanks for the thoughts. It all boils down to how much I'm willing to put into it.

 

I would say, having rebuilt a Mark 2 and virtually all of an XJ6 Series 3, is that it will be a complete PITA unless you have undercover facilities and these are heated as well. If you're relying on doing work on your driveway, forget it !

You also need to look at the car for rust damage. These cars are children of their time when Jaguar was run on a shoe-string, and are not really very well protected compared to others of the same era. The mechanicals are a doddle in comparison to bodywork on these cars

 

But unlike a Jeep a Jaguar is full of wood, plastic, and many many little bits that may need replacing. It's not necessarily hard to replace those items but the costs also add up very quickly when you start looking at wood and leather. IMHO it's better to start with as good a car as you can afford and go from there if your intention is to restore it. And you unfortunately while not the most expensive car to run it's hard to keep an XJ6 on the road on a shoestring budget especially if you can't do the work yourself. Perhaps David Boger can add some info here on rust in these cars. When new they were not inexpensive cars and keeping it on the road was not inexpensive... and remember it's 25+ years later.

 

Doug, Fraser and CalXJ6 are all very correct in their points of view.

Interior and exterior body work is the most expensive part of a restoration project. The mechanical work required is a breeze in comparison. I have always picked series III cars where the bodywork and interiors are as near perfect as reasonable before I would even consider doing a restoration on them, not only because of the cost but the time it takes to complete those repairs.

Salt is another major problem. If you are getting into salt damage, what you see is only a tenth of what you have and you will never be able to get rid of it all. It will always come back quicker than you would ever suspect.

 

Inheritances like these can be more of a burden than a joy. Dont feel obligated to get it going, unless you love the car, but even then do all the work you can yourself. Brakes arent that hard just be clean and methodical, and shop around.

 

Listen to Doug.
A real killer will be the salt, I'd guess.
You could do the brakes yourself on the drive and then what next?
Sorry to be negative but walk away.

 

Having lived most of my life in central Massachusetts (Worcester) and spending many a summer weekend in the SALT air of Cape Cod, a truly beatiful place, I would bet that the bottom (and the rest) of this car is eaten up by rust. Trying to re-manufacture a rusted out Jaguar will become a bottomless hole in your driveway you will throw your money into.

 

It is now for sale with a perfect 383/700R trans but rusted out
floors and front end.

Be very careful, pull up the carpets and look for rust. The original engine
had rusted the crank pulley and broke the crank end off.