Your Thoughts on 1985 XJ6?
 

Thursday while out on a sales call about an hour and a half north of home I passed a salvage yard…had to stand hard on the brakes and pull a U-turn! Out in front was a Jaguar. It was a Series III XJ6. I only had 5 min. but a quick check showed very little rust other than surface rust from the paint wearing away. The lower rockers, and around the windows looked rust free. There is some blisters above the right rear wheel arch and the body panel under the rear bumper was rusted, but that was it.

On the way home I stopped for a longer look. Looks like the PO ran into a trailer hitch and pushed in the body work between the right side head lights. Could be an issue if hinge damaged.

VIN #SAJAV134XFC423526 So it’s a 1985 with the 4.2 inline 6.

I’m going to drive back up there mid week during business hours and take a good look at the bottom of the trunk and driver and passenger floor pans for rust.

You owners of this vintage have any words of wisdom with regards to things I should look for on the next visit?

I’ll also pull a Carfax report and see what it has to say.

Jeff
https://discourse-cdn.jag-lovers.com...45abc72af.jpeg

Looks like a parts car to me.

If you want a project that'll cost many thousands of dollars, you've found it !

Cheers
DD

Doug is right - a parts car. Looks like someone was trying to get the thing back on the road and has replaced front wing , door etc.
This is a major time sink and lotsa dollars..

Ditto!!!

Blisters are akin to iceberg tips in respect rust.

I would pass unless it was cheap and I needed parts. But, I'd keep in mind, that I would need space for the carcass!! Disposing of a non roller can be ….



Carl

looking at the pic again I noticed the telltale marks running from the top of the rear wheel arches to the corner of the rear glass a sure sign of water that has been leaking down from the rear windscreen corners - on the inside of the wings - and probably coming to rest under the rear seat and rusting through the floor at that spot.. water leaks at the glass corners, if left too long without repair, can cause a lot of damage especially at the front where dash electrics can corrode from the presence of moisture

Good insight, thanks! I'm heading up there mid week to take a good hard look inside (trunk floor, and interior floor pans) so I'll be sure to look for that under the carpets. I'm also taking magnets to check for bondo. I don't want a rusted hulk. I'm willing to take on a major project, but rust repair is outside my ability. Haven't done in welding since high school, and let's just say that was many, many moons ago.

Jeff

Jeff,
Did you go look at this car? And you passed on it, right?
Bill

Jeff,

pass on it, or offer $500.00 take it or leave it. It doesn't look anymore than $500.00. Great for parts.

Bill,

Yes I did get back up there. Spent 2.5 hours going over it on Thursday. Turns out it's a Regent Grey Metallic with Mulberry interior...a bit rare I've read (but doesn't necessarily add value). The leather is toast, but rest of interior looked good. Carpets and vinyl (tunnel & doors) in good shape. Wood dash okay. Clear coat needs redone, but veneer looked okay. I looked under carpets...no rust at all. Same in trunk under spare tire...no rust at all. All door opening mechanisms stuck. No signs of water on carpet etc. behind gas pedal up firewall.

Engine bay...all the wiring looked good except fuel injection harness. Mice had made a nest on top of engine and ate the wires just above injectors. Engine oil had a very very slight milkyness. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...29e94365ff.jpg

Mice ate FI wires just above injectors.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...caebd1318d.jpg

Interior floor pans just as free of rust.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...f67b9d1579.jpg

Rest of wiring looked good.


Under car (not on lift or jacked) I could not see any rust except body panel under rear bumper that exhaust pipes pass through.Right side exhaust pipe last three feet rusted...chrome curved tip missing.

Body...lots of surface rust on upper surface. Side very faded. Right front finder rust aft of lower Jaguar label. About silver dollar sized rust (inside coming out) above right rear tire on finder. Left finder does have rust (inside coming out) from turn of body panel to just above tire. No rust seen at base of A or C pillars, but clearly rear window is leaking down finders.

Haven't made a decision on purchase or not. PO had issues with FI system. LOLl there is a faded Haynes manual on the back seat with those pages marked with sticky notes.

Jeff H

Hi Jeff,

Um...Parts car only.

Wiring 'looks OK' - Did you feel the wires to see if they were soft or hard?

Hard and crisp means old and heat affected. Possible / probable shorts and therefore PO trouble with EFI right there, not to mention any other electrical faults).

Just looking at the condition of the engine bay from the photo's says to me lack of general maintenance or care as surfaces are oxidised, rusty and worn. Not to mention a rats maze and half a garden of pine needles as well.

That trunk / boot photo shows evidence of moisture in the three recessed channels (there are three rusty plugs), not to mention general staining.

The carpets don't hold water unless they are soaked, it is what is underneath where the water remains in the sound deadening material under the carpet resting next to the metal where rust starts to play havoc.

The leather interior is shot - OK set aside 4 or 5 grand to get that right.

Looking at the condition of the engine bay -

assume the braking system (booster, front, rear and lines) will need a thorough going through 1 - 2 grand
also the suspension front 1 - 1,5 grand
and the rear suspension kit and kaboodle 2 -3 grand based on general condition

A rust hole the size of a silver dollar, well rust is well and truly on a run away train with this one.

Seriously, offer to tow the car for free or just don't bother as you will spend a serious amount of money on a dog which will never be right.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but this one will have you swearing off Jaguars for life.

The old adage, find one which is cosmetically and structurally clean is so true.
Mechanicals are the cheaper end of the deal with these.

Regards & good luck,

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

Great feedback...Thanks. That's the great thing about these forums.

Jeff H.

Hi Jeff,

Too right.

As a community we want everyone to enjoy these cars as much as possible, not have endless tales of woe and financial heartbreak to scare off even the kiddies.

Cheers,

Nigel

Some of the cost estimates I see crack me up. Many of those systems can be restored to operating status for a lot less if you're willing to be creative on sourcing parts and are willing to do the work yourself. Blue Six cost me 500 bucks and she is an everyday driver right now with a grand total of about 1500 bucks in her (400 went to new tires).

An ambitious project to be sure, but not terminal from what I see.

Not trying to stir anything up; my experience has not been a horror tale of financial woe and desperation.

Hi Ken,

Yes very true. It all comes down to how much work a person wants to do them self vs farming it out. Also my research has shown parts prices, as with most things, are all over the place. Ebay on one hand and master craftsman works of art on the other. So except for a rare, hard to find item, a project like this has quite a price range. A paint job is a perfect example. At first I could have a $500 Maco job done to make a car reasonably presentable than come back three years later after saving the money and having a proper $10,000 paint job done.

You can eat the elephant in big bite or lots of small bits.

I have a five year plan in mind, but over that time I will be using the car as a daily driver. So, needs to run and be safe fairly quickly. After that, I have the time, patience, and DIY skill to follow my plan and budget without being beholden to a bank.

That's the beauty of cars...we can all take our own path to perfection.

Jeff H

On the bright side, yes, mechanical repairs on these cars are well within the realm of a decent DIYer and most parts surprisingly reasonable. The car could probably be made operational without too much effort. And, if that's all that's desired....an operational Jaguar.....fair enough !

Cheers
DD

If you buy it, get after that rust over the back wheels on the fender right away....you will most likely have to cut the damaged portion out and weld in a new patch piece. I would definitely be checking the status of the rear windscreen corners ..i.e. has the repair been made yet? The rear glass will have to come out (not that big a job) this is where the water comes from . It gets in behind the rear fender gas tank area and is held there by some foam rubber that Jaguar installed at the factory on the ends of one of the interior brace panel.. Look at the bottom of the interior door cards... are they warped - a sure sign of water being there on the floor (comes from under the rear seat area) over a period of time...again coming from rear window corners. As well, lift the rear seat cushion and look for water there. May have long ago evaporated but it does pool there on the floor as it enters the car. Parcel shelf will be warped / distorted from being wet.
The fact that the rust is there on the inside of rear fender, indicates there has been water there for a long period of time - causing the rust.

Whew:

1. Positive view. I like the elephant as a meal analogy. I oft refer to a similar one. Nikita Kruschev. The only way to eat an entire salami is one slice at a time!!

2. The milky oil would alarm me. Blown Head gasket or worse.

3. If the price is free or durn near it, a pass is in order. find a better car!!

Carl

An operational Jaguar - That's kind of important.

Once, at the old Tanglewood NC British car show (many moons ago) I saw a gorgeous SI E-type brought into the show on a trailer. The owner, in attempt to remove the car from the trailer, gave up after grinding away at the starter for what seemed to be around ten minutes. Several people pushed the car to its exhibit spot.

My scruffy E-type is very drivable. At a show earlier this year I had a guy ask me when I was going to start working on it. I replied that I hadn't made enough purists foam at the mouth yet.

A decade or so ago, I saw a raggedy a... E drop top at a medical campus from time to time,. Clearly, it rans and drove. But, concours shiny??? Not by a log shot.

And, my XJ wuzza 6, not as clean and shiny as when I got it. But, looks more than merely decent. And better yet, runs and drives very nicely,

Carl

Found this one for sale in Illinois. A bit better condition. :icon_woot:

https://classics.autotrader.com/clas.../xj6/100748361

Jeff H