I have always been a big Jaguar fan and have recently fully restored a 1960 Mark 2 (I posted that on the mark 2 forum on here) and I am always on the lookout for a new project. I have restored/updated quite a few cars it’s my passion and for the price I always end up selling them for luckily it is not my business! Browsing all the known classics for sale websites I realised a used XJS was a bargain compared to many other sports cars of the same era so I set about looking for a cheap car that was at least drive-able with a current MOT. I wanted a 3.6 Sport as the engines are bomb proof and are a fair bit more frugal than the V12 and in real terms not that much slower plus the 3.6 handles and, in my opinion, drives better than the heavier 12 cylinder car.

I came across a 91 with 4 months tax and MOT left on it from Liverpool (which is about 40 minutes from where I live) that looked ok but had obviously seen better days. It recently had the head restored with a bill for around £400 as proof so as usual for me I bought it unseen for £560! I sent a friend with his low loader to collect it and when it arrived I realised I might have bitten off more than I could chew. It ran but overheated and the rust looked far worse in real life than it had in the pictures. So I got Mike (Michael Fare) who had restored my Mark 2 to take a look at it.







The front subframe was rusted through so I bought a restored one and completely rebuilt the front suspension and brakes plus bushes wheel bearings etc.



The interior had seen better days!






The “restored” head had a snapped bolt that someone had tried to Araldite together a leaking new head gasket and was a mess to say the least. A week later the head was back properly refurbished with a new head gasket that Mike fitted. It needed a new alternator and starter motor which is not the easiest job to swap, the thermostat was stuck open and needed replacing. I put on a K&N air filter leaving off the front “snorkel” part of the air box which sounds quite throaty now. Then I changed all the oils including the auto box which made a big difference to the down changes especially (a good cheap tip for anyone that has a sluggish gear change). I put on a new radiator and new air con rad as both looked perished. I tidied up the engine bay put a better heat shield cover under the bonnet had the cam cover sprayed green and fitted 2 new gas bonnet stays. I adjusted the bonnet to shut properly which required a new release cable between the 2 closures either side.




I then got a quote off John Seed who owns a local body shop repairers for a full body restoration finished in the same metallic BRG paint that I had used on my Mark 2, with an agreement that I took off all the body fittings, all the glass out and all the interior ready for him. I then realised why the quote to restore the body was so reasonable because unless you have done the job yourself taking everything out and off to get the car ready was a lot bigger job than I realised! The car was at the body shop for weeks as it was done in John’s spare time and needed a fair bit of work the only body part needed was a front driver’s wing as the original was beyond repair but he had a fair bit of welding and patching and I must say for the price I paid he did a great job.







I used Ray my usual glass fitter to take all the glass out and the interior was not that difficult but once I started on bumpers chrome strips, door trims, lights etc it became hard work especially on a rusty car. Certain bits of trim are no longer made so it was good old eBay and people like Grubblelogger that saved the day. The chrome strips at the bottom of the door glass are a typical example they are screwed in from inside the door so even with the glass out, which is a must, it is a pain the screws were all rusted up and had to be drilled then when I finally got them out I had ended up damaging both pieces of trim only to find out they are not available off the shelf anymore.



Whilst the car was at the body shop I started on the interior which was in a very poor shape with worn seats headlining hanging down and carpets that were well worn and dirty. I had the cream leather re coloured to save some money and bought new carpets with felt (including the boot) from Aldridge, I also bought 2 new door panels from them as the originals were perished. I bought 2 new original old stock seat bases in cream leather and I sent the front and rear seats off to Roy Dowd at ACT in Blackpool (who has restored more interiors for me than I can remember) to put green leather in the centres plus a new fibreglass headlining panel to be recovered in the same leather with the sun visors to match the seat inserts. I added new front seat belts in the required colour to match the rears, 2 new window switches a new armrest lid covered in green leather that I later changed for a phone type one so I could store things like my mobile without having to lift it up.



I wanted to install a decent stereo system with IPod and Bluetooth functions and also a 4 channel amp under the passenger seat. Looking at the rear speakers there seemed to be a lot of room between the side trim and the bodywork I adapted the pods with ply and leather so I could fit some 6x9 speakers’ flush which would sound far better than the originals. I jig sawed out some spacers in ply and finished them off with some old house speaker cloth to cover the holes, in the front door panels I put in bigger front speakers, which entailed using 2 more spacers that I trimmed in leather plus the original Jaguar chrome grills. I bought a complete set of new Elm wood cappings from Myrtle including the ski slope, instrument panel and heater controls. While I had the instrument pod out and in bits I painted the Speedo and Rev counter needles white as they had faded and I put bigger bulbs in to make the dials more visible with the lights on. I bought a 2nd hand door window motor as the drivers didn’t work plus lots of other new and used parts including front bumper corners and a full rear bumper as my chrome was very poor.

 

Once the car was back it was a case of trying to remember what went where and where was what! Luckily the guys that helped restore my Mark 2 that had taken over 2 years had now become friends and without their time and assistance I would never have finished the car; Ray (glass fitter) Philip (auto electrician) and Mike (an e type restoration guru) are all classic car enthusiasts, especially Jaguars, with Philip owning an XK120.

Bit by bit everything was put back on or replaced and put back on and the car was taken for an MOT where it failed on rear shocks, corroded front cross member and leaking brake gas sphere under the bonnet. As usual this needed a quick call to Mike for help and guidance and we used the engine hoist to hold the engine in position and dropped the front sub frame making it easy to take out the cross member and found it was rusted through in 2 well hidden places. I bought a refurbished one and Mike replaced the bushes, track rod ends, wheel bearings and brake pads while it was out. He then fitted new rear shocks and the expensive brake sphere after which it passed the MOT. One apparent problem was the driver’s door dropped when open I bought a top (old stock) new hinge as they are not made anymore but that did not cure it, I could not find a new bottom one and an old one didn’t work so Philip had it sent to a guy he knew who refurbished it and that did the trick. Philip also mended the faulty driver’s window installing the motor, the remote central locking, fitted a new alarm/immobiliser and the stereo.

I had also bought a wooden steering wheel with black leather and a set of Jaguar alloys with the correct P6000 tyres for the car, the steering wheel had the black leather changed to the green and I had to fit front 15mm spacers for the wheels as they were catching on the inside. With having some spare green leather I trimmed the door armrests myself plus other bits of trim and the A pillars, not perfect but passable I would say. Once I had fitted the carpets seats and trim it looked great.




I bought a space saver for the boot and an original toolkit again it looked a lot better once fully trimmed.




I had only been using the car a month or two when while stationary at a roundabout someone ran into the back of me bending my rear bumper beam and breaking a fog light. His insurance paid out without a problem and I did the job myself whilst I had the bumper off I fitted reversing sensors to it with a new rear view mirror that showed the parking distances with audible warning and even the temperature, I found this to be one of the best value/helpful additions I have made to the car.



After being left in the garage for a few days the car smelled damp and when I used the HRW it stopped working so I could not see out of the back with a bit of investigating it was found to be the rear window itself at fault so I purchased a new one that Ray fitted. Unfortunately the car still smelled musty and damp so I got in the back and found the rear carpet shelf under the window was wet through; the rear window was leaking and looked like the old one had been as well. I had put in new front rear and side glass rubbers when taking out all the glass but it turns out the rear windows are a nightmare to get water tight once replaced in the XJS. It took Ray 2 attempts to seal the leak but thankfully it is now dry and I replaced the wet carpet that was new with another new one which has now eradicated the damp smell.




I then used the car a fair bit weather permitting I bought a rare used XJS boot tray to protect the carpet from my golf clubs and thoroughly enjoyed the car. When we did finally get some warm weather I noticed the air con was useless so I had Philip re gas it but it did not sort the problem also the air vents never worked I then decided to take the dash out to investigate something I should have done when I had the entire interior out! I bought a used dash to help me understand how it was fastened to the car and to see how it looked painted green to match the leather, Paul (Leather Revive) who had coloured my original cream leather called round and made a great match with the leather. It took me about 4 to 5 hours to take the dash out after doing so I realised the old dash was not the same as mine being different around the steering column...damn. Paul came back out and sprayed my original while Philip got to grips with my air con.






I needed a new bottle drier and a new expansion valve that turned out to be a swine to remove and another re gas. Inside the car various faults were found once the dash was out as in sticking air vent flaps vacuum pipes off actuators and other wires adrift. Once I had the new parts fitted the process of putting the dash back could start which as expected took a fair bit longer than it did when taking it out and as usual I ended up with screws and nuts left over which is so annoying! I am glad I did it as the air con is a blessing and the green dash really does make a big difference from the original plain black. To finish it off I had mats made by Autostyle with 3.6 Sport engraved in the same Jaguar font as on the badges. I also put on gold pinstripes that are not exactly straight but they will do for me. A few weeks ago I bought 2 new mid silencer by pass pipes and fitted them which was a bit of a chore on my own but I am really pleased with the extra noise they generate it’s just enough to make a nice difference without any droning noises or resonance. And finally I won the cherished number XJS 51X for £650 off eBay which included the £110 transaction fee that I have put on the car, with mine being a 6 cylinder it suits the car helps to hide it’s age and I thought was very good value.



I now use the car frequently it is a lovely car to drive with good handling a surprising turn of speed and it is very comfortable. I remember when the XJS originally came out I like lots of others at the time was disappointed in the car as it was the e types successor and its styling could not stand comparison on saying that what car could. But the XJS has definitely grown on me over the years as it must have others as I now get so many nice comments when parking up and lots of admiring looks on the Motorway. I only get around 20/23 MPG which is not too bad it is cheap to insure and at the end of the day it does not stand me at silly money. I have learnt my lesson with cars over the years I have been very fortunate to have had some lovely fast modern cars but the first one I bought myself the year I opted out of the company car scheme was an E60 M5 with the 500 BHP engine, I honestly never got better than 15 to the gallon even when I tried hard to conserve fuel and when I didn’t I could get 9 to the gallon or even less. When you pay for your own fuel that hurts so I sold the car and that’s when I learnt my lesson as I lost a packet of my own money I just couldn’t give the car away! So now I dabble with cheapish (Mark 2 withstanding) older classic cars that I do up I spend a few bob on them I sell them on and I usually lose no more than a couple of grand at most, but during that time I have thoroughly enjoyed restoring the car owning it and driving it. I have met some lovely people and funnily near enough every transaction, and I have had hundreds, for a classic part on the likes of eBay has been totally non problematic and at times a pleasure which in today’s world is very rare.

Totally refurbished steering rack



I will struggle to find a better car for the money so I am going to make this a keeper it will only increase in value that I am convinced of. I also have a lovely E30 M3 that I used as a track car I took it back to a shell totally restored it and for some reason never got round to finishing it off so I put it in storage the car is now worth over double what I paid for it and have spent on it. I also have a lovely low mileage late Lotus Excel Celebration, another sleeper that can only increase in value eventually. And last week I bought a 1994 Lotus Elan S2 that I have just started on having a new leather interior I paid £3k for it and one day it will increase in value dramatically mark my word.....it so much more fun than buying a new M5 I can assure you!








Finally a few weeks ago after 12 months on the road it failed its MOT with back brakes binding leaking diff and faulty handbrake so I ended up dropping the back axle having the diff sent away to be overhauled I also bought some new discs pads and restored calipers and the MOT was duly sorted.

 

Congratulations, wonderful. Great job. Agree entirely about appreciation, just a matter of time.

Greg

 

Great job & great thread, I enjoyed reading & seeing the pics!

 

You and the team did a great job.

We always enjoy seeing restorations, please keep posting.

 

Very nice work. Congratulations. I love to see restorations where the integrity of the car's design and engine are not compromised, like yours.

 

Simply put....SUPERB

 

Looks stunning!! In the process of a partial restoration of my 88. I was lucky to get a good mechanical and almost perfect interior. The exterior was tired and had been repainted in several areas so in the right light the signal red was actually about four different colors.
Now she's paino black!!
AND, possibly having a webasto cloth sunroof installed. Saw the installer's work and the amazing cloth top in action. It fascinates me how they work!

 

Nice Jag, nice work :-) I enjoyed all the pics!


Cheers
DD

 

Just noticed the gold coach stripes. A gleaming gold growler badge would really set off the stripes and be an impressive accent to your amazing restoration. I believe they're the celebration badge? Several on ebay even now!

 

Something tells me that you did not get all the rust out
My '82 was rusted in a very similar way, but it took a lot more digging and implantation from southern donor, to get all the brown crud out.

How much did you pay for the prep and paint, if you do not mind me asking. Paint job seems very nice.

 

I prepared the car as in all glass out interior out all bumpers chrome work etc off which took a fair while the cost was £2500 for bodywork/painting which I thought was a great deal but the guy did it when business was quiet so he had the car several months. I have had bubbles around both rear arches that has been redone since the pics and as of today there is a small bit just appeared around a front wheel arch, it was painted nearly 2 years ago.

Quite a few pics to show the work as it was in progress at that time.






IMG]http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/Toehold1/XJS/resized_019-2048_zps58f4c114.jpg[/IMG]

 

Some more when painted


IMG]http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/Toehold1/XJS/resized_127-2048_zps1092d135.jpg[/IMG]









I had it painted the same as my Mark 2 a metallic BRG a Range Rover colour.





I now have 3 classic British cars all in green the Lotus Excel is the Celebration green which is darker.

 

Very nice and an excellent story - well done !.

Where in the UK are you ?.

 

In the North West near Lytham.

 

Near me then ,Leyland.

 

Very very nice work!!

Nowhere near me, London.

 

I paid $4000 to local "bloke", here in Ohio He also took 3 month to do all the prep, which took double and triple blocking in some places. Paint was also done with no booth, so it looks great, yet I find a lot of boogers here and there.

BTW, my '62 MK2 is at the same shop, waiting for my bod guy to get to it, but this is entirely different story.

 

It seems that's the going rate to paint these cars. I paid about 3700.00 in North Carolina. Mine had two very small bits of rust and the paint I chose was quite expensive. I also removed most of the trim from the exterior

 

My paint alone was about $1000 in supplies, PPG prices ain't joke