i live in pittsburgh and i have a brother who lives in west palm beach florida. in his area, older jags are abundant and labor is pretty reasonable as compared to up here. his friend is fighting some legal issues and needs to get rid of his 86 xjs. the price is $1,800. i just want to hear some insight on how good/bad of a deal this is, and what to expect once i own an xjs.

here are some of the specs

86k miles on the 5.3 v12
timing chains were replaced last month
needs new carpet/ seats/ headliner
valve cover gaskets need done
- has the new gas tank
- small hole in the roof which prompted the need for a new headliner
- body is in good shape, almost no rust on it

anybody have feedback for me?

 

check for rust under the floor pans, the rear wings, and smell for gas in the trunk.



also be weary as i suspect "timing chains" = accessory belts. because the cam cover gaskets would have been done in order to replace the timing chain (which i believe is singular "Chain")

 

thank you!

 

Huge money here




Just did this job on a 5.5 V12. Several hours labor....plus there's a TON of "while you're at it" stuff that almost certainly needs to be done ...and should be done at the same time



Even minor rust can run into big money to fix




If you're looking for a big expensive project, you've found one :-)

If your ultimate goal is a really nice, well sorted XJS that you can be proud of you'd be much better off finding one in better condition. You'll spend many thousands on this one. Cosmetics are very costly in particular.

For example, years ago I bought a very nice XJS for $6000 and put another $6000-$7000 into it to make just the way I wanted (most people would've been happy with it as it sat) . All mechanical and electrical systems fully sorted, new tires, new paint, etc etc.

I sold it for $7000

See where I'm goin' here?


Cheers
DD

 

Maybe I'm going against the grain here, but ....

What are you looking for? Show car? Probably should pass. Daily driver, and it might be a go. Get a couple years out of it and it cost less than a hundred a month. Plus you could drive it while looking for your perfect car, then make a parts car out of it when you do.

 

i was hot for a cheap, good running V12 with a ratty interior. i was gonna yank everything that wasnt bolted down, then throw some race buckets, wheels, cage, etc into it and romp around these country B roads.

personally i would pick it up and do what i originally intended, as mine is far too nice to gut out.

 

I have a few things to point out here. The timing chain was replaced, so the valve cover gaskets should have been done too as they have to come off. Was this done by a competent mechanic?

Why is there a hole in the roof? That seems really odd...is it a rust hole? If so I suspect there are bigger problems waiting to surface...

 

This sounds like a disastrous project, and all of the "work" that's been done sounds very suspicious. As others have said, why was the timing chain replaced? These almost never go bad. And why wouldn't they have changed out the valve cover gaskets since they need to remove them to change the chain anyway? Did they retract the tensioners correctly or break them ($200 each x2)? What did they do to all the crispy fuel injection wiring while they were in there putzing around? Sounds to me like the car is running poorly and they couldn't figure it out, so they changed the timing chain and the problem still exists. Oh, yeah, plus about $5000 in interior work.

 

yes im looking for a daily driver, and idk why the gaskets wouldnt have been done at that time, im going to inquire about that tomorrow, thanks guys

 

i agree 100% with Darel.

the gaskets werent changed because the timing chain was never replaced.

 

Let it go. Cheap XJSs are good as parts cars that's all. Well sorted, maintained and loved XJSs are absolute joys to own and run. Cars with "needs" are monsters in your driveway that only swallow vast $um$!

 

the timing chain never goes bad! the chain tensoiners do go bad!

so somebody has wording mixed up.

 

My take:

86k miles on the 5.3 v12 - not an unreasonable amount of mileage.

timing chains were replaced last month - Not a job often needed. Even the tensioners previously mentioned are not a recurring sore point on these.

needs new carpet/ seats/ headliner - EXPENSIVE.

valve cover gaskets need done - How could timing chains or tensioners have been done without doing this?

- has the new gas tank - OK

- small hole in the roof which prompted the need for a new headliner - There were no convertibles in 1986. So if you have a hole in a coupe, you have major issues. If it is a hole in a convertible top, it was some sort of custom roof chop. Either way, run away!

- body is in good shape, almost no rust on it - These cars tend to rust from the inside out. Check carefully.

My opinion, given this brief description, is that this is a parts car. You will spend far more to bring it back than if you were to step up and spend more for a good example.

No affiliation and I'm not a fan of the color or the stupid gold leaper, but if you have contacts in the WPB/Miami area, here's an example of one that might be be cheaper in the long run - Jaguar XJS 1985 59K SPORTS COLLECTION ANTIQUE OLD CAR MINT ORIGINAL

 

I have to disagree with just one point you made Mustang. Mine is an 83 and a convertible. Yes it is a custom chop, however it was done very professionally, including the structural reinforcement. My only gripe is that it isn' a power top, and after 30 years the canvas is dryrotted and needs replacement.

 

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Jaguar :-)


Cheers
DD

 

There were a couple of early convertible conversions that came out of ASC and couple of other professional shops. Yours may be one of them, but those are not the norm.

Most of the time, these "convertibles" are hack jobs. You can readily see the difference and should stay away from anything that looks like less than a factory job.

 

DOUG ', nailed it ,

'' nothing is more expensive than a cheap Jaguar''