I am concidering to purchase a Jaguar Sovereign 1986 with a V12-engine. It is somewhat a project, and the previous owner is no longer able to answer any questions about the car, and his children know nothing about it. It was originally sold in Germany, and to my eyes it is a basic XJ12 with a sunroof.

I thought that all the XJ12-engines since 1981 were HE-versions, and that automatically means a trip computer in the dash. Well this one does not have the trip computer, but the area has no original wood-trim left.

1. Are all XJ:s with V12 from 1986 HE-versions?
2. Did all HE-versions come with a trip computer?

There is a clock that seems similar to XJ III:s without trip computer. The area however has been coated with a wood-like vinyl.

 

Hopefully others with more info will chime in, but I'm pretty sure an '86 would have the HE engine. I think the clock vs. trip computer was based more on where the car was initially sold, or the trim level (I think Sovereigns came with the clock) as opposed to which engine the car had. That center console appears to have had a few modifications anyway, so the clock may not be original. Have you seen the car in person, or do you have photos of the rear of the car? I looked at an '85 V12 SIII German spec car and it has an H.E. badge on the boot. The Sovereigns may not have had that though.

 

Yes, it has the HE engine. The trip computer was optional for some markets (Germany is one example) and some models.

 

I'm not sure where in the world you are located, but you need to be aware that you're in for a very great deal of money to fix a V12 saloon if there are no service or repair records. Just the view of the dash you have posted shows it is in poor condition. Whilst I don't want to put you off, the V12 had complexity and other issues that can be very daunting to somebody new to Jaguars. When I was young and naive, I rebuilt a Mark 2 in the 80s and it took me 7 years and I was still married at the end of it !!

The good side is that a 1986 car will have all the modifications Jaguar put in at a very late stage of production into various aspects of the car. The V12 saloons carried on in production until the early 90s at a rate of about 50-60 a week. I have seen the bodyshells in preparation at Castle Bromwich with grey-haired old men lead-loading the body seams.

Edit
Looked up Espoo, and I see you're in Finland, near Helsinki. This means you have the UK and European after-market available to you, and also can source used parts fairly easily.
If you buy it, good luck with your project.