I had an inspection done on a '92 XJS convertible before deciding whether to travel to see it and drive it myself. The bodywork, paint, and interior are very good, albeit from photos. 41K miles.

I have the photos from the inspection but not the report yet and haven't spoken to the inspector yet. Can any of you comment on some of these things the inspector pointed out?

photo 1- power steering leak?
photo 2 - he called is small oil leak. I know the oil pan gasket was recently replaced.
photo 3 some sort of underside patch
photo 4 underside photo
photo 5, 6, and 7; various tags, 2 of which look bent. Is this a concern?

 

The leaks look minor, IMHO. I wouldn't worry. Just make sure the fluids levels are topped off.

Not sure what to make of the patch and the tags.

Cheers
DD

 

For what it's worth, I agree with Doug, and would certainly want to check more into the ID of the car.

 

Are those tags behind the bumper? I think they're the "body number" and/or "commission number" tags.

They'd be easy enough to bend with a wash mitt although the scraped paint under one of them is a bit odd.

If the VIN in the door, cowl panel, and windshield match you should be OK. Bear in mind that the alpha portion of the "cowl vin" will be different from that of the windshield and door tag vin. That's normal. It's the last 6 digits that you should worry about.

The body number/commision tags do not have to match each other or the VIN. They are unique.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi Doug, what do you think about tags 1 and 3, they don't look like factory rivets to me.

Course it could be my glasses.

 

Look like sheet metal screws. Not sure if that's signifcant...but it certainly could be. If there's anything else suspcious about the legal identity of the car something like screws instead of rivets adds to the mystery.

Perhaps others could look on their own XJSs and tell us if they see rivets or screws?

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for your help.

That small oil leak - where is that?

I'm not sure where those tags are so I'll have to ask the inspector. After looking at them again, the 1st and 3rd tag photos I believe are different shots of the same tag, with id: 2J527D 097675L. The L is not visible on one of the shots. The apparent paint scratch or damage under the 2nd tag is intriguing.

From other photos, the VIN under the windshield, the door jam plate, and 2 stickers on the body side of the door jam all match. There is a photo (I can't seem to upload it) of the VIN etched into a body-colored part somewhere that is slightly different but the last 6 digits match so I assume that is the cowl VIN?