Aloha All, I recently purchased a 1997 XK8 found on craigslist for $3500 with only 30,000 miles on it. It was left under an awning for a decade so half the paint was gone and the top badly stained, otherwise the car was mint with a near-perfect interior.


Mods to date:


Paint: Porsche Sapphire Metalic Blue $2800
Wheels: Monarch 19" Staggered with Nexen tires $1100 (thanks again, craigslist)
Re-dyed top: $50 worth of Forever Black
Adamesh XKR-type grill insert: $230
New top pump $250 ebay
Sold the old rims for $250
New Sound system $550


Easily the nicest car I've owned for the total cost (so far, heard many stories of catastrophic engine failure, liner failure, the "green curtain of death" etc.) but I really love cruising around Hawaii with the top down and stereo up!

 

Nice change!!! Enjoy!!!

 

Great transformation- glad you rescued it!

 

Congrats. It's always good to see a Jag saved!

 

Well done, nice rescue, she looks awesome!

 

Thanks for the kind feedback. I wasn't sure how the wheels would look with such a wide rear lip but I like it now that they are on the car. Future plans include:


XKR Brembo brake upgrade
Coil-over shocks
Urethane bushings all around
Remote twin turbo set-up (I can dream, right?)
(I've got a spare LS1 waiting in the wings if the motor grenades)


More pics to come....

 

Looks awesome... enjoy!

 

Looks great!

No tensioner replacement on the 'Mods to date' or 'Future Plans' lists ......?

Graham

 

I really like those wheels. Good choice on color too. A lot of the original colors lean toward the bland side (at least for me).

I also have never seen color on the front overriders like that. Looks way better than the black ones. Especially when you have to deal with the front plate.

Nice work saving this car from a slow death.

 

Gorgeous job !

Replacing the secondary tensioners will not cost much to DIY and in all likelihood would prevent the motor from 'grenading' (unless you subconsciously want the LS1)

 

That's because when new these cars cost between $70-75k for a XK8. They were purchased by 40-60 year olds that wanted a more conservative color. With that being said the XK8/XKR like the Porsche 911 looks good in almost any color. I like the color choice but for me would have chosen those wheels in 18 inch. Enjoy your ride and remember to take the long way home.

 

Nice save and to find it in Hawaii to boot, major score. Photo is in Kaneohe, you live on the Windward side?

 

+1. Usually more expensive grand touring cars were sold in very nice, pretty, conservative colors. No Yellow or bright Orange. I think the most outrageous color was Salsa Red, and a nice regular red isn't really outrageous at all!

When I've looked at Corvettes, sometimes I found a nice car and then it was a god awful color like Yellow or Aqua. Most of these nicer luxury cars don't have a bad color and I like that! It's also amazed me that on the X100 and X308, the vast majority of the factory wheels are extremely good looking. Some people consider the Revolver kind of ugly, but honestly, if that's the "worst" looking, it's still quite nice.

I really like the Double Fives and Pentas I have on my cars and have no desire whatsoever to change them (and I like $$$ in my hand!). The Monarch wheels the OP has are quite nice though. I like the deep dish in the back a lot.

 

I think this photo categorically answers the question of "Will XKR and XK8 be a future classic". A near 20 year old car, looking fantastic with new paint and wheels.

Which reminds me, I must remember to get round to claybarring and waxing my XKR...

 

All the re-do's are beautiful. The sweety in the front seat just adds to the beauty. Job well done.

 

Great Work, it's good to see yet another person taking care to keep these cats alive and on the road.. Good luck with your future mods and post pics !

?? Did you need to use adapters on the rims ??

 

have fun, you found a good shop for the paint!

 

That car is gorgeous, great job! Make sure that the first thing on your to do list is replacing the secondary plastic tensioners with upgraded metal ones as others have previously stated. If you do that first, you won't be using that Corvette engine anytime soon. I almost lost my engine because of my assumption that it had been done by the previous owner, and I got lucky. I will pass 160,000 very soon, and it runs smoother and stronger than when I bought it.

Enjoy your beautiful "new" car.

 

Very nice.love the stagered wheel look.

 

Very nice, lovin the colour, good job