Hi all...

Here I am again poking around at series 3's again. I looked at one today, daily driven '86 165,000 mile XJ6. They're down to $2,000, but after looking at it, it is more like $1,000 I think, body and undercarriage are actually in pretty good shape. A couple rust bubbles underneath the front wind screen. Being daily driven, they have replaced various parts along the way in the past 10 years...AC unit, vacuum pump, plugs, starter, tires are two years old, etc.

My main concern is no head gasket change ever at 165,000 miles (and ofcourse no tappet stake down kit). The engine was pretty oily, and it definately showed it leaked by the pan he had under the car. He said it'd go through a full quart of oil between oil changes (how often, I don't know, he takes it to a shop). From my understanding, most all of these leak, but how much is acceptable? Also, I found white build up or residue at the muffler joints underneath. It looked like what you would find on corroded battery terminals, soft and flakey. Is this white residue indicative of a possible head gasket problem with water in the exhaust, just condensation build up in the mufflers, or other?

 

Hmmm. Not sure about white stuff on muffler.

That windshield rust is pretty bad. Tip of the iceberg!

Cheers
DD

 

Yep, that was the worst corner. The opposite corner up front wasn't as bad. The back didn't really have anything. A bonus picture of his taped hub caps on because they would blow off in the car wash.

 

Ditto!


1. White powder. How is the PH of your local water? Mineral residue. Not condensate as it should be mineral free! From the combustion chamber? Not good. What does the coolant and filler necks look like? Dosed with a mineral based stop leak?


2. Stake down is a lessor issue than the rust. As Doug opines, it is far worse than you see. Fixable, for $'s. I wonder how it fares in a wash rack!!!


3. The cap oddity is fixable by rweaking ghe tangs on the ca for a tighter fit.


4. Wear spot in the driver seat?? Fix or cover?


5. As to the HG, miracles do happen. I'd price the cost of the fix andd Deduct from the 2K asking price.


6. Remove a spark plug or better yet, several. They will tell all. oil consumption and coolant leaking.


7. If he does the OC at each 3K, I' accept the loss of only a quart.


8. The "uses no oil" is a myth. A thread for another day.


9. In my opinion, S!500 is the value.


10. It is a decent looking car and worth a fix Just a matter of sweat and/or money... Far worse get fixed and roam the roads.


Carl

 

Thanks for the replies! I think you are right, there is a lot of work to be done and it is looking closer to a $500 car. I attached one more picture, which doesn't quite capture the filler neck. I added one of their photos, too, but it is not very clear.

Water is rather hard around here, so it would be from that. I do not remember seeing any residues under the hood though, only directly in front of both mufflers, which is why I thought perhaps a HG going. I didn't notice any smoke while the car was running.

I haven't been around older british cars much so it surprised me to see first hand just how much oil they can leak. On our newer model Jags, if it spots underneath the car I'm out there fixing the leak.

I think I was hoping by looking at the car it might steer me away from owning an older model, based on how much of a project 30 year old cars can be. Once I looked around it and sat inside it pulled at my heart a bit...what's there not to love about a vintage Jaguar? There's just a coolness that cannot be replaced by modern cars. But they certainly will not give you a free ride, either. It all comes at a cost.

 

The battery and it's cables are at odds when compared to my car?
Top post instead o a side post. And backwards? The posts to the front seem far more proper than to the rear as in this car.


OTH, I leaned, the hard way as is my wont, that top posts batters are more forgiving than the side post versions. Don't ask....


Carl

 

When we looked at my car the first time, it looked Really Good! *Perfect* paint, leather looked nearly new, headliner in place, NO rust (that we could see as it was covered by carpet!), engine nearly sanitary (my neighbor calls oil leaks Automatic Rust Protection).

However, in about a year, we had to replace the driver side floor pan, all the front suspension bushings, front spindles, rebuild the Whole Entire brake system (all 4 calipers, all hoses, master/booster) and a bunch of other stuff too long to list here.

These cars are Known to put the *** Hither on unsuspecting victims, almost hypnotizing them until it's too late to turn back; not that I regret a single dime we spent on the car, which I have got back in sheer pleasure and joy of driving. But as stated above, it hasn't come cheap, in terms of money (we Easily bought the car again) or time (it was down for 10 months) and effort, not to mention periods Quantum Frustration when I hoped aliens would take it away and I'd never see it again!

If you have your heart set on an Xj6 Series car, find one from Nevada or Southern California. If I was in the market for another one, I wouldn't touch this one with a ten foot Dobkowitz!
(';')

 

this is one of those to pass. On to the next one!! $600.00 best offer, take it or leave it, it's a parts car.

 

You can definitely find one that that for that price in better shape !