Hello,
I believe this is the section I will be calling home, so here is a little about me...
I have been registered on this site for awhile but it took me some time because I have been in the process of getting the Jag in my name for awhile. My dad bought her in the early 2000’s, drove it for a few years and then was not able to maintain her. Unfortunately the car sat in the Arizona desert for over a decade. When i was finally able to take possession, a pack rat had moved into the engine bay, the soft top had given way to mother nature. As of today, I am waiting on an inspection of the car in order for me to title it in my name. I am still working on the process in which to attack, as of right now i am planning on pulling the engine out to i can assess, and replace and rebuild as needed and will move on from there.
The list of obvious areas in need are:
Wire harness,
Fuel lines/tank,
Brake Fluid Reservoir,
Washer fluid reservoir,
Rear end may need work,
Paint/ body/ top,
Interior.

'87 XJSC, 5.3, Lucas ignition, Nimbus White, not sure what else to list here...

-BigWeld56

 

Good for you. Add new suspension rubbers throughout, new/rebuild brake callipers, new discs, rebuild master cylinder, probably shocks too. Almost certainly some ignition sensors etc etc. Great project, hard work, but you will end up with a good car you know all about. Think 2 years work. If the leather interior is shot, that can be expensive to fix.
Good luck with it
Greg

 

Welcome to the group! Post up some pictures. Really glad you were able to keep your Jag in the family.

The XJS, and the entire run of the XJ6 are truly special cars.

 

The sad left overs after 12 years of pack rat. Cleaned it out, i will post a cleaned off picture soon.

 

Hi Bigweld- unless there is a personal attachment to this car, I would find another XJS. They can be had with nice interiors, running, good condition, $3500. You could throw thousands at that car and not get anywhere. Take a look at the "sold" cars on eBay, they are very cheap. -John

 

But if i do this, i miss out on all of the fun!

 

I agree with Jagsandmgs

Keep it for a Parts Car and buy yourself another one that it up and running, as it looks like a 'Money Pit' to me.

More Fun than you can handle, even if you buy a better one.

 

To some of us, its the hunt, the chase, the feel of accomplishment that dictates uor wallets. No common sense involved, lol.

 

Me too. A lot to be said for that car, outside the family attachment. Rust free in all likelihood.


The top "hood" deterioration is a bit odd. As to the construction. Not all vinyl over metal? Never did like vinyl tops. Represented fake 'drop tops", and fake is a bad word to me.


After the rat condo is demolished, it mighty not be all that bad as to the soft stuff. wires and hoses. But, replacement still wise


But, unless you have information that the engine has major ills, I check it out in situ.
Turns over? Compression test, etc. It might be just dandy inside.


As to the interior. restich and treat might get it to look decent or better... Did that in an other critter decades ago...


Yes, I'm a victim of the "thrill of the hunt".


Two thrill here at present. My daughter's Passat and my Jeep. Each with ills. Jaguar is
just fine...


Carl

 

That damage to the hood (bonnet I guess) liner is from the pack rat, comes with claw marks. I have removed a lot of the top stuff and have been working on the deep down junk, blowing it out with the air blow gun. From my few once overs I have found very little rust through out.
Dad mentioned the only issues are rear end might need some work and the distributor, other wise the car ran fine when he parked it.
with this known, I still plan to pull the engine out so I can work on it and test parts as I go, and keep that up as I work my way front to back.
I am excited about the thrill of the hunt and of the work. This is not my only car, and therefore not something I have to get running right away. I have time to work on it, get it finished the right way and eventually pass it on to either my son or daughter.

 

A bit different here !!! Gotta get the Jeep and the Passat on the road. or at a bare minimum, one of them!!!


Knock on wood, the Jaguar is up and ready. Gonna swap spots in a bit. Jaguar gives up it's garage spot to the Passat. Passat n ot to block the way as it is taken apart. N ot a major demo job. Spark plugs, wires, coil pack and one cam cover gasket. I hope that fixes it's internmittant buck and quit. Scan shows 5 of it's 6 holes have misfired and the cat is below perfomance. All point to ignition issue.


I hope my all out attack fixes it...


As to the Jeep, first order get battery up to 100%. Done. Clean terminals. Too much resistance On first charge effort. Removed cables and put smart charger clamps direct to posts. That worked.


Hope. not enough v's to pump fuel, run the PCM and do ignition duty with lights on!!!


Fear: In the tank fuel pump bit the dust. Lesser hope, merely (?) a filter needed.
Test in next day or so...




Oh, gotta go to market. "Little" dog Coco and I need vittles.


Carl,

 

his Dads' car... so yes an attachment

 

Enjoy!
I know you are going to have loads of fun...
start buying up parts from RockAuto.com and ebay
all the belts all the hoses....
make friends with Pauls' Jaguar (a breaker/dismantler) and all the other places you can find
I bought a nice hose kit off ebay...
the belts are cheap right now on rock auto as they are killing off the stock..
get them now!

 

Heres an idea of some on the replacement prices....

jaguar xjsc top | eBay

 

I'm surprised to read a lot of negative comments in the thread. Yes - it's going to take a lot of time and money and the easy option is to buy a running example but it was your dad's car and that's the whole point of taking it on.

Many start out having to fight the ravages of rust but it looks solid.

If the pack rat had an appetite for the wiring there'll be some interesting challenges ahead!

Good luck.

Graham

 

Now I know what they mean by a "ratty engine bay"....

I didn't see any negative comments here - just warnings. But you seem to be well aware of how much work there is, so it will be interesting to see what you manage to do.

 

Non Jaguar fixes statuses:


1. Jeep diagnosis successful. Bad fuel pump. Semi major dismantle to fix. Plastic tank astern of the rear axle. Top loaded pump and sender module to replace. Access needs skid plate and trailer hitch removal. Then wires and hoses to disconnect. Siphon at least ten gallons of fuel off. All down and under. No longer in my wheel house. But, son is getting pump and willing to do the job.


2. Daughters VW Passat in my shop. Engine at waist level. Still within my wheel house, I think !!! Weird coil pack to harness connector defies my efforts to separate it. Makes Jag connectors as well as the GM connecters in my lump look great.


Carl

 

I will give you nothing but encouragement ! I restored the car my Dad gave me 1 965 AH sprite w a 10k rpm racing engine... block/head cracked took it down t the frame remove single circuit breaking system made piping and installed dual circuit system and so on... it was great to drive it later.

 

Is it 12-rats or 6-rats? This engine should be rated in RP, not HP! :-D

Good luck with restoration!