Ok, well I got the 1999 XK8 home before the snow falls here (expecting about 15 cm) and I changed out the fluids, fresh battery and got it started. The Transmission is pouched! No doubt in my mind you cannot get this thing to move. It will not engage gears and you need to substantially increase the rpm of the motor to get some action from the transmission. Resetting the windows was a synch, thanks Graham! I decided not to waste any more time on the transmission and have moved onto the remainder of the car. So far this is what I have found and it has led me to believe that it is a worthwhile project to restore the Jag and have fun with it as a summer driver:
1. Hoses, cables, air intake hose and the rest of the rubber and plastic parts under the hood appear ok.
2. Interior is in great shape and besides having some wear on the top of the console compartment cover and a cup holder that appears to require some repair, a little bit of cleaning to get rid of some dust and it will look like new. Power head rest does not work but I found a link to fix it on the forum. Incredible wealth of information you Guys and Gals have assembled here.
3. Body has some scuffs and a couple of small scratches but no dents. A friend of mine that operates a body shop came over and is trying to convince me to repaint it and add some Euro skirting. It never ceases to amaze me how any project involving a car always ends up as a great night of lengthy discussion surrounding some beers and a seemingly endless bank account. Anyway I think the idea may have some merit . Any links to Euro skirt vendors that make something classy (No star wars stuff here please) of high quality that you recommend?
4. A review of the breaks indicate the rotors appear to be ok but I will need to mic them. If they can be turned I'm going to do so but I will need new pads . Not sure which ones I will go with yet. Still sifting through the seemingly endless forum discussion on this. Any Suggestions?
5. The wheels are in great shape and the tires appear to be new. The last tag on the plate was Nov 2012 so the car was running at least a year ago or so.
6. I have a number of fault codes to look into but do not have the device to do so. That I will save for a visit from a mechanic who is a buddy of a buddies to come over next week (a few more beers). Once I have acquired that information then I will search through the forum to see what I can find.
7. Like I said the transmission is pouched. I would like to price a re-manufactured one. I found a guy in Michigan that has them 98 99 00 01 02 03 Jaguar XJ8 XK8 Remanufactured Transmission 2 Year Warranty | eBay. Not sure if this is a fair price or not. Anyone else have a supplier for one out there?
8. Took a valve cover off and the tensioners are the old ones. That is I see plastic. So I'm going to get into this right away. I'm going to do the cam and timing tensioners given what I have read, better safe than sorry. It appears to me, from what I have read, the Ford equivalent parts appear to be the way to go. I need to start to price this up, I have decided to change the thermostat housing, coolant pump and the hoses while I'm at the tensioner work. Any suggestions on packaged pricing? I have priced the entire parts list mentioned above and including a gasket kit from Welsh for $766.80 out the door.

Anyway that is my story to date. I love the look of this car and my friends tell me I will love the drive so even though it is a 1999 I'm going to go for it and hopefully I will end up with a nice cruiser to enjoy some backwoods two lane flat top roads in Michigan and Ontario.