Thinking about picking up this XJS, but want to see what you Jag guys in the know think about it:

http://www.mautofied.com/1985-Jaguar...ing/100345867/

Here's an email I got from the guy with a lil extra info:

It looks nice. Yes it runs great, but i think the alternator may have gone bad, needs bushings in the front but i do have them. Brakes were new when i got it, only drove it a few months. and other than that the only thing that iv done to it is replace the brake light switch. The tires are about new, the only thing is when it is running, it makes a tick from an exhaust railing on the top of the motor.

So he's had it a few years with intentions of putting an LS motor in it from the get go, and has only driven it a few months within those few years. I'm also unfamiliar with the V12 motor so I dunno what he means by exhaust railings on top of the motor, but figured maybe you guys could shed some light on that. I have a friend who's a Jag mechanic and he mentioned it could be an exhaust railing tick, an exhaust leak, or mentioned a stuck bucket, something that's under the cam but above the valve spring.

Aside from the obviously aftermarket rims (I happen to think they look good on the car), what feeling do you get from the guys information? Below are all the pics I have received of it:

 

I'd get more info on the engine tick. Might be harmless...or might be the dreaded V12 dropped valve seats. If the latter...well...you don't wanna go there.

Besides that it looks like a decent project car. It takes deep pockets and lots of labor to bring an XJS back to glory.

Any rust? That could be a deal breaker.

You might wanna read the XJS buyers guide.

Cheers
DD

 

Well I would imagine a dropped valve seat would sound horrendous and not just a ticking like a noisy lifter would or something, but it's something I'm definitely going to listen closely to when I go check it out.

As far as bringing one back to glory, not sure I'd really want to restore one. It may be something I drive and maintain until I could sell all my extra SC400 goodies to buy a good clean TPI 350 or 5.3 LS motor, something along those lines, and swap out. I'm not a purist by any means, even though a V12 is something to show off to your friends.

I am definitely going to check out the rust and paint condition, that's going to be high on the list of things to check. I've read the buyer's guide and will refresh on it. I mainly plan on checking the basic "looking at a car" things like rust, bodywork, interior/exterior condition, cold/warm starts, engine noises, any funky smells, etc and try to work in as many as the XJS specific checkpoints as I can.

 

That's a great plan... if you can stick with it :-)

First you get it running well and then say to yourself "Wow, it runs so well. Now I sorta wish the paint wasn't all blotchy and faded".

Then after your $5000 paint job the dried out leather upholstery and faded wood is gonna really bring down the car.

After $4000 for wood, leather, and headliner it would be a crime to have it leaknig oil all over the place.

After $250 in seals and gaskets an about 100 hours of labor you've sealed up everything that leaks.

With all that done the clunks and wobbles from the front and rear suspensions are REALLY annoyng.

So, after all new ball joints, mounts, bushings, shocks, steering rack....well....pretty soon you'll be asking yourself "Why didn't I just buy one that the previous owner had already done all the work and spent all the money?"

I can say all this because it's the story of my life :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Yeah Doug (we should almost add that as a Post Script in the Buyers Guide).

 

Keep looking for a nice one. This one appears to be a dog. XJSs in good shape are a joy, those that "need work" are bottomless money pits and especially so if they are V12s.

Good luck,
Roger

 

What's the likelihood that a part of the air rails for the air pump system has rotted/developed a leak where it plugs into the head, essentially letting exhaust come out of that hole, basically causing an exhaust leak and a tick...since we all know leaky exhausts can tick like described.

I told the guy in an email that it's highly likely it could be a dropped valve seat since the temp gauge doesn't necessarily mean the entire engine is cool, as it only reads one side of the engine, thanks to my newly found Jaguar V12 knowledge (props to Kirby's painfully long novel). Also said since that's a highly likely source of the sound, that he essentially has a rolling chassis that'll just happen to run up on the trailer under it's own power, but that's about all it's good for and a perfect candidate for a SBC swap unless he found someone mentally sick enough to actually want to rebuild the V12. He said he had it checked out and nothing was wrong internally, then he described the air rail system. So say this mechanic he had check it out was well versed in Jags and is accurate, is that a likely culprit?

 

The leaking air injection rail is plausible...and should be easy enough to verify.

You've obviously done your homework and I don't know how far down you've negotiated the price, but......

It's pretty easy to a fair/decent XJS in deent running condtion for $2500-$3000. A REALLY nice V12 coupe, 80s vintage, might be $5000 or so in today's market....maybe...MAYBE $6000-$7000 for an ultra nice car.

I'd hate the thought of spending $3000-$4000 on a shoddy example and then spending $8000-$10,000 just to bring it to the standard of a $6000 car.

I'm sure you've thought of all this but I had to say it :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Well, I offered him my Lexus SC400 that I'm asking $4000 for but would in all honesty probably take like $3500 for, and I figured his $4500 was a little high since it wasn't a newer facelift car or 6.0/4.0 car, but thought I'd give it a shot. In the original pic the car looks great, and I dig the wheels, but when I get there it may have crappy paint or something. However, if it looks as good as it does in the pic and runs great aside from the ticking that might actually be the air system that I'd probably go about removing anyways, I might try to talk him down some, have him add cash on top or throw in some goodies, stuff like that.

I'm going to look at the car first, get larger pics, take notes on stuff and then consult you guys and my Jag mechanic buddy...too bad he lives in New Orleans and I'm in South Tennessee so I can't exactly have him hop in the car and ride up there with me. I'm not taking the Lexus up there anyhow, that's a lot of premium fuel to go look at a car that might be crap in person 3 hours round trip. Even if it was a stellar example of a Jag I wouldn't trade him on the spot, I always do as much research as I can on big deals like that.

 

Best I can tell, those look like what the air rails would be, and from what I can tell, that is definitely a hole from rust. Looks like that could definitely be the culprit. Anywho, he said the battery on it is dead, so if he can charge it he'll make me a video tomorrow so I can listen to it.

 

If its rusted there, I'd look very carefully under the floor, and pull the carpets back.

 

Doug you hit the nail on the head with how jag work never seems to end....

 

IMO it's a dog with fleas. Do your wallet a big favor and keep looking.

 

I have almost fallen for a "dead" battery trick with a car before. Make sure you drive it before you buy it regardless of the video IMHO. If you are serious about the car that is... Doug's analysis about xjs pricing is spot on. You will almost always be better off putting forward more in the beginning rather than pour thousands to make everything right. Not that any xjs will always be problem free... my first jag license plate was 1ECB704 which was dubbed Eternal Cash Blower (ECB) thus the name ECBJAG


lou

 

@Doug

Have you been following my restoration very closely?! I am currently 16k down on a car that I bought for 3.5k as "a project" and is probably now worth about only about 10k

It is absolutely the most involving car I have ever owned and I will never part with it now, and I expect I will continue to put money in to it. But I do love it

@Matt

It's easy to get entranced by old jags, esp is they have shiny wheels, but I think this is basically a parts car. There are nice XJSes out there, keep looking. By the way, as Doug has said, even a truly nice XJS will continue to demand your attentions and wallet to keep it in good shape and/or improve it over time. I think it is worth it, but starting with a bad car makes it 100 times harder