Hello all; new to this XJS section, so be gentle please . . .

Another Jaguar, I wanted but perhaps did not need; especially -

• another V12 and 1978 XJ-S Coupe at that;
• paint, chrome and trim all OK (oh, yeah?), but . . .
• 2 new floor pans included to replace those rusted away;
• engine starts and runs, but very rough indeed. . .
• “isolating a few injectors” neither helps nor hinders;
• auto trans no longer “trans” - so check/rebuild/replace TM400;
• no history, no receipts, but an ex-Sydney car (like, that's a plus?);
• front bits missing, otherwise complete . . . hmmm . . .
• complete, that is, “with several electrical issues” . . . great!
• has 1 key,1 steering wheel, and 1 certifiable new owner.

So, I have a small (?) confession as I write this from Bed 4 of the New England Home for the Lost and Bewildered where my adult kids have consigned me . . . hmmm; I can hear Grant Francis' laughter in the background!

At the risk of offending just about everyone here on the XJ-S/XJS forum, I have always harboured the idea that Pininfarina got the package far better sorted in his 1978 XJSpider than the British Leyland GT (Good Taste) Committee managed . . . sorta like the Eagle Speedster shows what the E-Type should have evolved into.

Finally my question . . . concentrating on the Spider's snout up front . . . and before I start throwing all my kid's inheritance (all $250) to the four winds, has anybody done similar or, perish the thought, know of a bolt-on solution? I do have a custom panel magician down in Sydney. He is absolutely brilliant . . . makes money disappear in the blink of an eye!

Love to hear your thoughts, even laughter, derision and sarcasm. This started with all my other Cats purring nicely, and needing a 70th birthday project to “tinker” with. Nooo . . . I hadn't planned on a “ground up” resto . . . but gosh, that Pinafore guy got the XJSpider looking a treat!

Gotta go . . . Nurse has come with my medications!

Cheers,

Ken

 

Cool project. Your right all your money will dissappear.
Better for your kids to inherit the car than $250. Lol.
Go for it

 

how do you like that 07 2.7 TTD S type,, Diesel?

hey i would toss in another $250. if you send that Pinafarina roadster to me (i'll pay freight).

 

Ken,Ken Ken,

THE MAN IS BACK, and with a V12 no less.

"Be gentle with me", maaaaaate, ya gotta be kidding, we are Aussies, with some Kiwi for Kolour, so fun will be had, and the Forum will NEVER be the same again.
Clarke, DrPhil, Paul and the mob will be all over this like a rash when they wake up.
Greg in France will scribe along eventually, once he gets up off the floor like I had to.

Me Laughing, HAHAHAHA, fell off the bloody chair. I really must get some seat belts for this chair BEFORE I read anymore of your posts.

Go for it, it's an XJ-S, and every Male Human MUST have a V12 XJ-S once in his lifetime.

Cheaper than a Mistress according to Yollie, thats why I had 4.

I reckon your budget needs a top up just a tad, conning the kids is one way.

Electrical issues, rust, missing cylinders, missing parts, custom interior. Soooooooo, its a standard PreHE V12 XJ-S then???????

That frontal thing would be your own make I reckon, I dont know of anything like that at all.

I will read the rest later, retail therapy is about to occur. My payment for falling off that chair, THANKS Ken.

 

Hey, thanks Jamie for your support. I agree . . . very cool!

Ron; the 2.7L TTD S-Type was a long wait. They never hit Oz until MY06 with all the updates. Mine is right at the end of MY07 production. HUGE torque - great for pulling elephants out of bogs - rapidly! Best point is loping along at embarrassing speed and tacho reading less than 2000rpm - and knowing that with 140,000Km up, it will probably last another 1,000,000. Had it for a few years now, and love it to bits . . . it still smells new! As to the Spider, freight to you (Inverell to Austin or Daytona) could get really embarrassing! . . . but thanks for your encouragement.

Speaking of encouragement . . . my next-door maaate, Grant . . .

Thanks Grant. Yep, standard PreHE V12 XJ-S. I'm waiting to get it into the shed and take some measurements off the XK8 plastic snout, but I just know that using that would end up being a poor compromise. So custom panelwork looks inevitable. My vision is to retain the XJ-S bonnet/hood and headlights, but abandon the grille and bumper (I have neither anyway) and the bottom air splitter . . . then shape the new nosecone (as in the XJSpider pic) to kiss up to the bonnet line and bottom line of headlights. Making either retractable or fully faired in lights would really involve prohibitive redesign, panelwork and expense.

I have a lot of research and planning to do, so apart from heaps of pics and disassembly, won't start project until new year. I'll then start a dedicated thread - plenty of pics from me - hopefully, lots of ideas and advice from everyone here. Hopefully, end up with a nice result . . . and plenty of fun along the way!

Cheers, and thanks again for your encouragement,

Ken

 

The Pinin Farina XJS you posted the pic of is the most beautiful version of any customised XJS there has ever been. Make it, and have a ball. Jaguar should have made it.

Greg

 

Have you ever heard people talk about the crazy cat lady?

I think you are Inverell's version of her!

Good luck with the project, and keep taking those meds Ken.

 

Thanks Greg and Clarke; your encouragement is a great tonic.

Actually, Greg's rendition of the XJSpider pic . . . has me changing my mind . . . the lights really need to be retractable. Agreed? Anyway, to heck with the kid's inheritance; they have 1 each of my Jaguars already spoken for!

I'll blow the whole $250!!!
Cheers,

Ken

 

I do love me some Pininfarina styling! But I have opinions about the spyder. YMMV.

Yes, it is the most beautiful of the styling options ever available for the XJS. But that's not a big or a beautiful field to compete in. The Monaco, the Le Mans, the Lister, the XJSS, Ascot ( shudder ) none of these are what I'd consider "beautiful". Some are functional, some interesting, but all a bit lacking in one aspect or another.

The Pininfarina Spyder is, at least, balanced and complete in appearance. But What an overhang! And that looong nose is so very high. So much exposed curvature below! I'd actually be concerned about lift at speed. Drop that front 10" and it'd feel a lot more appropriate. The full body kit really would be required to carry off the look Pininfarina created, and I honestly don't care for it's body lines that much. Very C5 corvette. I actually like the factory XJS body panels a lot! Dated, sure, but honest 70's styling.

It is my firm opinion that the XJS was to carry the X21 nose from the first time it was sketched by Malcolm Sayer.


XJ21 prototype


XJS sketch by Malcolm Sayer.

But that styling simply won't mesh with the existing bonnet and headlight assemblies. There is a certain brute beauty to the XJS nose. I like it. But I feel like there's something missing. Like this car could have been a totally different animal but then the nose was left off and bumpers strapped on instead.

Personally I like where you were heading here...

That sounds like a really solid and achievable plan! It takes advantage of the existing and beautiful lines you already have, requires minimal modification and, correctly penned, could make your XJS the modern XKE it started out to be!

 

Hey, thanks Paul . . . all this feedback and your marvelous pics are everything I hoped to winkle out . . . and why I've planned several months of research and planning. I was aware that Malcolm Sayer's death left the XJ-S without its "champion" to face the British Leyland pen-pushers, but I had no idea his design work was so advanced as to include the nose treatment we are discussing. Your XJ21 pic is a revelation . . . and yes, I heed your advice not to abandon so quickly my start point of the XJ-S lights, upper guards, bonnet . . .

My brother is a whizz at pug making and f/glass so I can make up clay then f/glass moulds to help design, then template the final metal nosecone. I also have a small confession to make . . . my fascination with the "Jaguar" intake nose of the C, D, E, XK8/R, Spider etc dates in fact from many years earlier . . . as a child, when a single Christmas present was order of the day, I was given a large model of Donald Campbell's "Bluebird" with which he set a new land speed record. It was bright blue and was purchased only by subscription. I was the envy of all my pals. I reckon William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer must have saved hard and got one each as well!

Cheers and keep it coming folks,

Ken