I just wanted to take a minute and thank each of you for your contributions to the Forum. You are such an extremely valuable resource for those of us trying to maintain and improve our cars. I especially want to that those folks with encyclopedic knowledge like Rodger, Doug, Jose, Dutch-cat and others. I like to think of them as the cornerstones on which to Forum is built. But let's also include everyone that has contributed. I am a neophyte to the hobby but it makes me feel good if I have contributed a tip or two that helped someone.

It is so cool that the Forum is International. I ask a question and I wait 24 hours to give the sun time to travel to the other side of the world where experts are ready to help me. Thanks also to the administrators of the site and the infrastructure required which we tend to take for granted.

What prompted me to write this post are a couple of recent threads recently that have been a tremendous help to me. The LED upgrades by Jess with great photos and links was just what I needed. And Jose posted a chart with radio speaker wire colors that I really needed. I hadn't got around to my radio project yet and I already have the answer before I even ask the question.

While I am thanking people I want to give a shout out to David at EverydayXJ. A great supply of original used parts at great prices. And a true gentleman and a great resource for the hobby.

If I could make one suggestion for the Forum it would be stay on topic. Sometimes folks will go flying off on a tangent that has nothing to do with the original post and it goes on and on like a run away freight train with absolutely nothing to do with the headline of the post. Please try to stay reasonably on topic. If something needs discussed start a new thread.

A couple of personal questions I have been wondering about for a long time. Eleanor, what is the origin and meaning of Nix's name? Also, Carl, can you tell us about the Cadilac engine in your XJ6? Is it an old big block or a Northstar or something else entirely?

In closing, I want to tell you I really enjoy seeing photos of your projects and cars. If anyone is interested here is a photo of my pride and joy. 1979 S3 in the original Cotswold Yellow.

Jeff

 

that is a really nice looking XJ, and a very early Series 3 !! I am glad to be of help. I was a Jaguar newbie in 1989 when I purchased my first Jag. But I had MG-B experience since 1969, and Volvo 1800-E since 1972 and Saab 900 Turbo experience since 1979. I found the Jaguar to be the easiest to fix, and the most reliable, the reasons I still have the XJ. Some cars you just don't get rid of.

 

Hi Jeff,
Well said.
I believe that we are all here for this inclusive community and we all add our little bit.
But, if we don't wonder and wander a little from time to time, then we don't discover, experiment nor learn as much as we could. That is our nature, especially here.
If we can't go off topic what is to become of Carl's amusing and usually insightful anecdotes?
If we just follow the line strictly then aren't we just being lemmings?
Personally, given the choice, I will happily read Carls' and others little asides.
Besides, if I don't want to, or aren't interested in a particular train of thought, I self censor by scrolling a bit quicker through that body of text.
Long live the tangent.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

I would also like to add a thank you to Grant Francis who is always there with an answer to questions, and the many phone calls I have made to him over the years. Having someone talk you through a problem can make things so much easier to understand than reading posts.

A little bit of thread drift is good, makes for some interesting reading. As Nigel says, you can scroll past it.

 

 

 

Not usually a fan of yellow cars, but the looks veeerrrry nice :-)

Yes you are correct, this forum is in my experience very unusual. The mix of distributed resident experts, civil ambiance and basic usability makes in one of the better ones. Thats probably understating it, I havent seen a better one.

 

Sorry I didn't state my thought in a better way. I too, love the personal bits (we need a photo of Billy the goat). What I was trying to say is that sometimes a thread goes flying off on another topic all together, never to get back. The personal stuff helps us all connect and feel closer as human beings. Don't leave that out. Please let me retract my comment about thread stray. Thanks.

Jeff

 

Jeff:

Thank you. That sure is a nice looking car of a color, I always considered "odd".

Yes, I like to temper the technical stuff to past events. More like folks gathering to talk on their cars. Away from a technical treatise.


My Cadillac engine is really a version of the last of the iron block SBC's. . Known as an LT1. Coupled to a 4l60E transmission., The donor car was a 94 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The last of the really big Cadillacs.

Let's see if I can find Billy in my pictures. Just checked on him. resting in one of his goat nests!!!

Carl

 

Just to chime in, I too am very grateful to the willing participants of this forum and the knowledge and expertize they have worked hard to develop. I hope to contribute more as my experience continues. I am constantly working on my 1975 XJ6C and like all you others, it is a passion I enjoy. Not to be excluded in it's contribution to my development is Youtube - very valuable.

 

Yeah, all the above, and you guys even let GIRLS play here, with Respect (unlike some places I've been)!
Everything I know about Nix that wasn't learned hands on I learned here.
This is a Great place!
(';')

 

Durn right.

Anyone that fails to respect a gal is missing so much.

And, great that Elinor seems to be OK, in spite of the fires up their way.

Things here on the forum changed ? But, I seem to have stumbled along OK.

Even found the picture of Billy and I and how to post us. Two old goats!!!

Carl

 

Love the photo of you two, Carl. In the 50s when I was a kid (pun) I had a pair of goats: Davy and Daisy Crockett.

 

My 1980 XJ6 was white. At the time these cars came to market, Jaguar and the British Leyland empire they were part of, was in considerably disarray. Our good 'ole UK had become ungovernable in the 70s, a decade of madness indeed !! Incredibly, only three, yes, three colours were available on introduction - Yellow, White, and Red; this for a car selling into the luxury end of the market ! The yellow, (Cotswold Yellow) was not a popular colour so you have quite a rare car there. I hope its quality is better than mine which was really terrible. Yet I had that car for 14 years. That's right I am a complete idiot !!! Its just that the ride quality was so beguiling, so I fixed all the faults and then drove a Mazda Xedos for a few years to get my sanity back, followed by a Rover 75 2.5 Club (beautiful car). And so in 2010, I came back to Jaguar with an early X350 series car (2003 3 litre Sport), swapped in late 2016 for a 2007 Sovereign. These cars are the last of the old XJ6 style of 1968. I don't really like the modern Jaguar saloon style, I'm afraid, but as a salesman once told me - "the old Jaguar buyers are now all retired or dead and things had to change to keep Jaguar in business" Well, they're still in business so I suppose it is true.

 

it happens in every forum. It's called "hijacking the thread".

 

Does that mean we are modern day cyber pirates ???


Oh, on point. that car might not be Cotswald, but primrose???

Cotswald seemed more like mustard???

Carl

 

yes, the car is Costwold Yellow. I looked up the paint code to verify. It has a touch of mustard color, but just a touch. Sort of like regular American mustard, not the fancy stuff. Primrose is a very pale yellow. I was looking at a XKE coupe at a car show last Sunday that was Primrose and it was very pale by comparison. I have never seen another Cotswold in person and just one or two in ads. When I first got the car I thought it looked like a bumblebee (black interior) but I have since learned to love it. Since there are so few of them it is pretty clear it was not a very popular color. Ever notice how ads for cars that were an unpopular color are now called "rare"?

 

I think it was a special-order color, not a production color.