I have the opportunity to buy a 1995 XJS with the 6cylinder motor. White with Tan top Garage kept, and fully serviced up until 4 years ago when it was parked and not driven anymore.. It ran fine when put away but it has just sat there. Car only has 55K miles on it, single owner.

Currently, the battery is dead and the tires almost flat..

What should I look into before cranking it for the first time in 4 years..

I am assuming:

Drain fuel and refill (any trick to this? Should I worry about rust in the tank?)
Drain oil and refill
Drain trans and refill
Drain diffs and refill
Replace battery
Replace tires
Drain brake fluid and refill
Drain coolant, flush and refill
Fog cylinders with Marvel Mystery oil


After it cranks:

Replace all air filter, spark plugs, wires, and a typical tuneup.
Work out kinks in the electrical system

anything I am overlooking?

 

Most of the fluids you are discussing won't cause a problem to get the car running. The fuel, oil and coolant are the most important. The others can be done once the car is running. Do be sure to check the hoses, they can age from sitting without use, just like seals.

You can try to pull the fuel up the filler or look for the proper procedure to fool the pump into pushing it out. Also depends on how much fuel is in the tank. If less than a quarter, you can overcome it with water remover additive and a full tank of fresh fuel.

As to the brake fluid, don't drain it, flush it by bleeding the system extensively, otherwise you run the risk of introducing air into the system that can be hard to remove, especially with the ABS system. There is a proper procedure with ABS systems. Be sure to determine which ABS system is on your car, there was a change mid production.

Inspect the tires closely for signs of age cracking. If they have been indoors all the time and were relatively new when parked they should be ok. But tires do dry out the necessary internal oils if not used for long periods of time. They need the sidewall flexing to prevent the drying.

Great cars, I have a 95 coupe 4.0 and love it.

Racer Bob

 

Yeah, flushing brake fluid was what I meant.. I have a vacuum brake bleeder that I can use to pull a constant stream out without introducing air.

Wheres a good place to buy all the hoses, belts etc...