This kind of car was way off our radar but now we are a road worthy certificate away from closing the deal. Very sudden, without warning purchase! Usually I'll research things to death so here I am, hopefully not closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

The car seems to be in excellent condition with log books. Fairly low kms for age (110,000km)...are there things we should be aware of with this model? It has a very small power steering oil leak, the windscreen wipers are squeaky, the speedo is annoying with that ticking thing happening (is that normal?) but otherwise we can't really fault it especially considering the age of the car.

Any words of wisdom welcome

 

Beyond typical used car items that you'd check on any car (excessive fluid leaks, body rust, rotted exhaust, worn tires, etc) I'd make sure the cooling system is 100% up-to-snuff. Overheating is the only thing that'll hurt a Jag V12. Bear in mid that anything above the top of the "N" on the dashboard gauge is too hot.

Make sure the climate control functions properly in all modes. Repair here can be labor intensive.

Rear brake rotors, calipers, and axle seals are labor intensive as well. Proof of recent replacements woule be a real plus.

If the owner has replaced the fuel hoses in the engine bay it's a sign that he's attentive and Jag-smart.

Any fuel odors in the trunk/boot? Very common and sometimes hard to fix.

You might get lucky and end up with one the unusal 1980 "hot rod" v12s. For a few months just before the introduction the the updated "HE" engine the older version of the V12 had higher compression and a unique variation on the fuel injection....making it one of the most desirable and powerful variants.

These are fabulous cars but bear in mind that 30 year old Jags...even nicer ones...are not a buy-it-and-forget-it type of thing. It's bound to need some various repairs.

Cheers
DD

 

go to jaglovers.com and read Kirbert's book you can even download it don't be put off by the read he's a great mechanic (engineer) and you will learn just about everything there is to know these are great cars

 

You may additionally benefit from paying for expertise/opinion from a renowned Jag mechanic, if you can find one in your vicinity. I used an XJS specialist back during my purchase and his "thumbs-up" was a true blessing. Good luck!

 

My '82 had the same ticking noise in the speedo and the needle would jump 30 mph faster than I was going and back down every couple seconds. It was a cracked plastic gear in the odometer mechanism. We ended up buy a used speedometer and robbing the part off of it. Getting those gauge clusters in/out that have the cable attached to the back is not a job for the faint at heart!

 

thank you everyone. making a list for hubby!

ECBJAG - it only jumps 5km's at a time but the ticking sounds like the indicator is left on.

The road worthy mechanic has a recommendation for a jag mechanic for us so fingers crossed!

 

In that case it might just be a dry speedo cable. Mine still has a little "flutter" to it as well. I've been meaning to lubricate the cable but just haven't gotten around to it . I would recommend lubricating the cable. The gearbox is under the bonnet up against the bulkhead on the driver's side on my LH drive car. It should be traceable by a thin gray cord coming up from where the transmission is, to a yellow-ish gearbox, then another gray cable out the other side, to the gauge cluster.You can unscrew both cables from the gearbox and pull the actual "shaft" out of the cord. Lube that up and it should fix most of your problems. It's complicated. I'll try to post some pictures if you like.

 

As a 30 year old car, and built by the Jaguar "Ancien Regime", be prepared for LOTS of work to do, even though the mileage is quite low (110k kms = 69k miles). Note also that the cars are fairly easily clocked, as it is a mechanical counter.

1980 was also the absolute worst year for build quality in Jaguars recent history, and I know, I had a 1980 XJ6 saloon !!

 

Off for the check now.

Not feeling so good now Fraser!!! I've had the speedo checked at least. My bro deals with a lot of older cars in body works and as far as he can see the counter looks legit - of course could have always been a nimble fingered 'clocker'! But the service/log books are very extensive and it all adds up.

 

Don't sweat it too much. If it's gone 30 years and is still nice shape I sorta doubt that issues with original build quality are gonna be much of a problem now.

Much more iimportant is how the car was cared for and it's actual, present-day condition.

Cheers
DD

 

Well, just an update. Unfortunately the car has numerous oil leaks (from most places you put oil!) amongst some other things. Would be quite an expensive exercise getting a roadworthy certificate so it's going back We had a rough estimate from a Jag expert and probably would end up doubling the price of the car.

Bit sad as we were becoming quite attached!

Thanks so much everyone!

 

You'll become attached to another more worthy specimen in due time...More importantly, just take your time!

 

Well, keep looking....there are plenty out there to choose from. If you look at quite a few and do some research, you'll know when the "right" one comes along.

I caution, though, that finding a 20-30 year old Jag with no issues at all will be virtually impossible...so don't set your standards impossibly high or you'll never own one :-)

Cheers
DD

 

I've been restoring a '89 XJS coupe. I found that if you have a problem, the first thing you should do is look it up in Kirby's book - you'll be amazed at how much this book covers. I can't tell you how much time I wasted surfing the web, when most of what I needed was in The Book. Some other reference material worth having

On Ebay you can probably get a copy of the Jaguar XJS Repair Ops Manual
On Amazon, for a few dollars you can get a used Haynes XJ12/XJS Repair Manual

http://www.captainjaguarscathouse.co..._Reference.htm

for electrical schematics (if you don't have an electrical problem yet, don't worry ... )

for an XJS aftermarket parts cross reference, go to:
http://www.jamesburt.com/Jaguar/JagT...bstitutes.html

Then there are some really good blogs out there like Sean's Jaguar, Bernard Embden's Jaguar and Ed's Jaguar - interesting & informative stuff.

I always save sites like the above in PDF, just in case something happens to the website.

Lastly, assume nothing. I thought I bough a car in good condition at a very good price. What I found was that, while the PO knew what parts to buy, he didn't know how to install them. Nothing nefarious, he was just in over his head - got frustrated and sold the car. Previous proper care for these cars is most likely the exception, not the rule.

Good luck.