Old Jaguars..

[AFJuvat]

Anybody here know anything about old Jags?

The shop next door to mine restores old packards, chevys, etc. They have a 1959 Jaguar Mk IX Saloon for sale. The car runs great, no rust, good paint, interior needs a little work seats and headliner). The wood trim inside the car (dash, bar, writing tables) is flawless.

Kicking it around as "sunday-once in a great while" car.

Thanks
AFJ

[asphaltgambler]

They make (Pick one)..............

A) Great yard ornaments; definitely a cut above your neighbors rusty pick-up jacked up on blocks. Really elevates your status especially in West Va.

B) A serious foray into really grasping the concept of abstract electrical and mechanical engineering; together.

C) A formal introduction to your local jag mechanic who (after talking to you) will call his agent because now he CAN afford that beach house he's always wanted.

D) A REAL test of your patience, your liquid assets and your spouse.


E) A complete new standard / set of tool sizing..........not SAE, not Metric, but Wentworth. Yes that's right. Whatever tools you currently own or plan to purchase have no real application to that car.
Seems the English weren't happy with a "different" car they had to invent a "different" tool sizing to actually work on them.

F) Having a car that looks fast and handles well, but really doesn't.

G) A great driver....................if you buy two because the chances are at least one won't run.

H) A great investment of your time and money who's market value will be @80% less that.

[kach22i]

I would think that for a car you will not be driving, a Ferrari will be a better investment...........but I'm far from being an expert.

Then again you could rent it out to wedding couples - makes a great stage prop.

[scottmandue]

Don't hold back gambler, tell us how you really feel.

I know nothing about Jags but they sure are perty.

Always wanted a XKE but because of the mentioned reasons never got one... or plan to unless I hit the lotto... same applies to Ferrari's.

[asphaltgambler]

The Jag in the above photo probably was towed/pushed there OR that's the last place it broke down and it just hapened to be in a nice area.

Jag ownership makes the Ferrari look like a bargain for the amount and frequency of mechnical repairs.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by asphaltgambler
C) A formal introduction to your local jag mechanic who (after talking to you) will call his agent because now he CAN afford that beach house he's always wanted.

E) A complete new standard / set of tool sizing..........not SAE, not Metric, but Wentworth. Yes that's right. Whatever tools you currently own or plan to purchase have no real application to that car.
Seems the English weren't happy with a "different" car they had to invent a "different" tool sizing to actually work on them.

Hate to rain on your parade/ramble, but I have a bit of experience (see the cars listed below in my signature profile) with these old gals and they are not as bad as you suggest.

They are not all Wentworth, and I use my SAE tools, nuts bolts and hardware on all of them. Yes, some of the really old ones had Wentworth but not the ones we are talking about.

The major source of problems in most older Brit cars is the alternator/generator. Replace the Lucas POS with a good American alternator and it works fine. I replaced the Lucas unit with a Chrysler unit in 1975 and it solved loads of issues.

The '69 XJ below has over 660,000 miles on it. Whats even more interesting is that this was between the time it was purchased new by my Father in 1970 and 1979 when I went overseas to play military and the car was put up on blocks. It did this kind of mileage in less than 10 years and broke down on the road one (1) time. Please compare that to any American or German car and am sure that they cannot do as well.

Now want to revise your ideas on Brit cars? Yes, they can be very interesting at times but so are our 911's and we put up with it. If you like the style of car you just adjust as we have done and make it work.

AF, if you like the car and its not rusted then take a serious look at it. The old 6 cylinder in the car is a boat anchor but runs just fine if its taken care of. It should be a 3.4 or 3.8 liter, and there are still parts for it around and for a reasonable price. Several people as well have "lumped" it with a V8 Chevy but I prefer keeping the Jag engine. If you want more info, pls pm me.

Joe A

[scottmandue]

My dad buys mom a new Cadillac every few years because, well thats what she likes and always wanted (we were a Chevy Oldsmobile family growing up).

Sometimes he sells off the barely used Cad to one of us kids for a real good price. So a few years ago I went by the Jag dealership and picked up some brochures. Then I had dinner with ma and pa hoping to sell them on a new Jag with the idea that after a few years they would sell it to me. Dad couldn't get over the "Jags are unreliable" stereotype so mom is still driving around in her big ol shiny Cad boatmobile.

But she is happy and that is all that matters.

[Joeaksa]

Scott,

After Ford bought Jag in the late '80's their reliability problems more or less went away. By the early '90's the problems had been worked out and they are as good as any car out there today. Still they have to work with the feelings like you describe.

My S Type is excellent and I have had nothing but good luck with it. Course the warranty goes until 100k and thats a big help should anything happen.

JoeA

[Hugh R]

BTW, its Whitworth, not Wentworth. E-Types had SAE, don't know about early sedans. Most British turned to SAE by 1960. A US import thing I think. Having said that, Whitworth is a weird animal, I have a motorcycle with them.

[Seahawk]

When I was a kid our family car was a Mk II sedan, first a 3.4 litre and then a 3.8. My father was absolutely nuts about european cars. This was in the 60's, folks. There was not a lot of Jaguar infrastructure in those days. We were never stranded, however.
The 3.8 had an Abarth exhaust...very tough exhaust note to beat.
I learned to work on cars helping my Dad tinker with those Jags.

[tabs]

Buy a Packard....

[86 911]

We had an '83 Jag XJ6. asphaltgambler takes the words out of my mouth. The car visited the mechanic almost every other time it was driven, caught on fire once, the headliner was falling off, the rubber/electrical components had a short life, and it could not exceed 30 mph going up even a gentle slope. We got rid of it in '97 and bought a '94 Toyota Camry. Best choice we've made! So basically, if you want it as a driveway ornament, buy it. LOL.

[CamB]

I had a '78 XJ6. It only let me down once in 20k miles of daily use.

Unfortunately daily use in a fairly wet climate basically killed it. It has a lot of problems which essentially boiled down to three categories:

1) Water ingress (to the interior and to the wiper motor mostly)
2) Rust (see water ingress)
3) Fuel consumption (LOL, I got about 15mpg around town)

My engine was getting prematurely pretty tired too...

I would still like one as a weekend car - yes, stuff will probably break, but it fundamentally simple to fix. It will rust if given a chance... but its not like it is any different than an older Porsche...

[asphaltgambler]

I stand by my opinion which is based on my experience (professionally) as I have worked for several european shops over the last 20 years.

For the amount of $$ those things cost new they are/were poorly engineered and manufactured. As a Technician my daily to do list usually consisted of Jags and BMW's. Almost w/o fail the BMW's were in for maintainance and the Jag's were broken.

If I had a nickel for every dumb-a$$ problem that I encountered trying to repair a Jag I could probably retire now.

As far as the S-type it's just a high Ford Taurus and the X-type a very expensive big Mustang, MO. The cars are basically Fords. One thing I'll say..............the one place where craftsmanship does happen in those cars is the interior. Materials and fit are nice

[typ550]

My Jag kicks a$$. Then again, it was built in a race shop, not Coventry....

[Waz356]

My Jag kicks a$$. Then again, it was built in a race shop, not Coventry....

Now that's a nice Jag. Got any more pics you can post. I have a friend here in Adelaide who imports and restores XKE's. A well restored and sorted car, be it Porsche, Ferrari or Jaguar can be a lot of fun. Being passed while sitting on 85mph in a 356 by 2 XKE's doing well over 100mph is an awesome experience.

[typ550]

Thanks, Warren. Here's another pic. She was built for the Carrera PanAm and will happily sail along at 150mph all day long.

[dafischer]

Originally posted by typ550
My Jag kicks a$$. Then again, it was built in a race shop, not Coventry....

I'd bet that a spirited run in a C-Type would shut a few mouths! Is that the one Nick Mason ran in the 91 La Carrera?

[typ550]

Originally posted by dafischer
I'd bet that a spirited run in a C-Type would shut a few mouths! Is that the one Nick Mason ran in the 91 La Carrera?

Yes, Dave.

[Waz356]

Stunning car Chris. Now if only I could talk you into bringing it to Australia for the Classic Adelaide Rally, you might take me for a drive. Very high on my list of all time favourites. Thanks for sharing.