That's what it sounds like to me. I think you are on the right path. Also that's thing is looking great. Congrats. TM

 

So, a little back story, the car had a very occasional (about once a month) rough idle from cold start. My mechanic could not reproduce it as it barely happened, no matter how long the car sat at his shop. Turned out to be the idle air control valve, but beforehand I replaced a 2 year old set of Jaguar coils and plugs, thinking maybe they were the issue. Now, I've come to the conclusion that a coil is ruined, as I removed the water but cylinder 1 is still misfiring. Unfortunate that my brand new set of coils is already damaged but I guess it happens. Silly part is I asked my neighbor (the detalier) to wash the engine bay because I figured he could do a much better job than I, guess he got unlucky.

 

Of our four current vehicles, the only one I am comfortable washing the engine bay in is my 1999 Ram. The other three vehicles are filled with too many overly sensitive electronics in the engine bay to risk getting wet. I simply wipe those engines bays down from time to time with old towels sprayed with silicone lubricant using plenty of elbow grease. Works for me....

 

Yeah, definitely washing my own engine from now on. AAA on the way. Apparently the knock sensors also tend to go bad if you get them wet, luckily my car isn't supercharged!

 

My car usually gets a lot of attention, significantly more on a tow truck though.

 

My wife refers to that as, "a jaguar's natural habitat."

 

Back in the late 1970s / early 1980s the running joke amongst some of my sports car-enthusiast friends was that in order to own a Jaguar you had to hire a tow truck to follow you everywhere you went....

 

I always remind my wife of the UGA prof(Head of the English o Dept) who told me that his wife did not complain about the money he spent on his old cars (A.H.3000, Bug Eyed Sprite, Alfa Romeo,..). She said as long as he was spending it on the cars, he did not have enough extra to spend on other women(OTHER??).

I work on my XK, then take her to dinner. She has several dinners coming up.

 

One of my new coils is ruined, ~$150 for a new Jaguar coil and about an hour of labor.

Also, am I crazy or is this stitching crooked?


Ha​​​​​​h, I bought that on eBay and they sent me the wrong one, now I get both.

edit: well tracked down the battery drain, the alternator is beginning to fail, only 3 years old!

 

Yes, the stitching on the armrest is crooked but I can't say what color the dress is. :^) Actually I barely noticed.

back in the days when I had a '67 FHC they said if ya own a Jag you need to have another car. So I did!

 

Hmm, stuff like that is enough to bug me, guess I'll see how bad it is in person. I replaced my door add but some issues have emerged.

I wonder if I could use my also broken Range Rover to tow my Jag.

 

If you just wanted dependable transportation get a Toyota Corolla, or VW. See one on every corner. Jag XK8's, only on tow trucks????

 

I'd rather have my Jag. My girlfriend has a Beetle Turbo (S?), stick, which is a relatively interesting car. Driving it seems like a chore to me, I look forward to drives in my XK8. Nothing like the top down with the exhaust. My girlfriend likes it as well, considerably more with a wind deflector. I consider that a success.

Also, turns out the stitching on pretty much all XK8 door cards is crooked, even new old stock ones I've found. My car is ready, only took the shop a day to replace the alternator and coil, lots of XK parts on the shelf, wonderful place. I'll check the door cards when I'm able to pick it up.

 

If there's a more unreliable car than a Jag, it has to be a Range Rover. You can rely on it to be consistently inconsistent.


As with any car, they're great when they're running well, and I do use my Supercharged L322 to tow my double horse box. Plenty of power and control. However note that the XK8 cannot be towed front up. To date I've never had to use the L322 to pull the Jag.

 

I'm a fan of Range Rovers, I'd love to own a disco some day. Always wanted to buy my own motorcycle but hard to find something affordable when you're 6'7 (my '8 is well worth the sacrifice), so that'll probably be my next money pit. My XK8 has emptied my motorcycle fund pretty consistently, probably for the best. My mechanic let me drive his Discovery II shop car when my car was getting a new engine, it feels like a really special car, a lot more enjoyable than his '94 XJS I've driven a bit (sorry to say, as much as I love Jaguars, terrible driving experience, though obviously good looking), I have a hard time believing it came out only 2 years before the XK8. I get very fun loaner cars!

 

Thank God I've not seen this post before buying the Jag,
or I had probably ended with a Toyota.......

But good luck with the restoration!

 

Bummer! That's the front undertray!

 

There is a seller on ebay who claims to have 8 new ones.

Price is pretty high @ $429 but if you need one you need one.

 

Thanks, I found it from a dealer for $309 if I recall correctly which is about the same price. Probably won't buy it for a bit though, only reason I bought it from Britcar is because it didn't realize it was in pounds. It's like my bent wheel, I certainly wouldn't have upgraded my wheels for a few years had that not happened, I'm sort of glad I had a reason to force myself.

Also, I just got some green updated center caps from XKs Unlimited, though not the very latest, as I dislike mismatching Jaguar logos. These still have the growler like on the front of the car as opposed to the narrow later version. I just need to let the ceramic coating settle before I am supposed to mount tires! I'm very excited

 

I'm very impressed with your determination to make your jag impressive, which part store do you recommend to buy all the parts you bought.
Thanks
Syb