Long overdue

[Call me Al]

Hi, another new joiner here, having just taken on a slightly more broken XJS than planned.

I wanted a Jag of my own ever since my early teens. Couldn't afford one though so I spent my time with old Triumphs and Minis instead, plus a few other BMC variants. Got to know them pretty well, the minis were a great car to learn on. If you can get your hand and a 1/2" open ended spanner down under that hot exhaust to take the fuel pump off without dropping the nut, washer or spanner onto the top of the gearshift extension you can pretty much reach anything with a hex head. So then I grew up, got married, had kids etc but never lost the hunger for a big Cat.

Aged about 30 I picked up a very clean F reg XJ40, 3.6 manual, in a deep metallic blue. It was by then about 10 years old. Loved that car, had it for 5 years, shipped it to Australia and sold it for a huge profit, which I spent funding our return to the UK. The only car I ever made money on. I've regretted that day ever since and always swore I'd get another.

Well finally, the kids are getting older and doing their own weekend activities, so I announced to my extremely understanding wife that I wanted to buy an XJS. And not just any XJS but a v12, She couldn't really understand why I would want that many cylinders and I agree it was utter self indulgence. I know the 3.6 and 4.0 sixes are sweet motors but this is about indulgence. Besides,it won't be a daily driver, more something for a blast in the country once a month.

So... fast forward a few weeks, some research (probably not enough) and I found myself a nice low mileage 1991 XJ-S V12. Not perfect but quite clean and with a bit of time and money it should make a very nice car. Sheer coincidence of course but it is I am sure the same deep blue as my '88 XJ40.

All good so far. On the way home (it was a long drive from Yorkshire to London) everything was going along nicely. Oil pressure steady, temp steady, handling tight, motor purring along, just a slight tick from a damaged exhaust manifold gasket, but feeling pretty good when disaster struck. A sudden series of bangs from the general direction of the front left side of the engine, a huge whooshing bang and an enormous cloud of steam. I suspect a head gasket issue resulted in a sudden rather spectacular ejection of a cylinder full of water under the bonnet and she coasted to a gentle halt just near the M25. The ignominy of arriving to meet her new family on the back of a lorry is now behind her and my ever understanding wife has overcome her scepticism and agreed our new car is very beautiful. A pity she hasn't actually heard those 12 lovely cylinders yet!

So, currently lacking the time or space to do a major stripdown (which I seriously would love to do), can anyone recommend a good local Jaguar friendly garage in the Surrey region. Ideally one where the owners are the mechanics and not some overpaid shiny suited salesman type. One that will do a good job but be sensible about owner sourced parts etc.

Suggestions/recommendations would be most gratefully received.

cheers

Alistair

[davidr]

Hi Alistair and welcome to XJS ownership (I think!).
Sorry to hear about your interrupted trip home. At least you had some time to savour the sublime experience of sitting behind a V12, if only briefly.
Are you sure that a head gasket has gone? It's not a very common occurrence on a V12. Much more common is for a top hose to blow and that would feel similar to what you had.

[ptjs1]

Alistair,

Sorry to hear of your difficulties and let's hope it's a hose issue rather than a head gasket problem.

I can recommend Ray at Surrey Jag Centre. A really good knowledgeable guy and a friendly helpful operation that he runs.

Tell him I sent you.

Good luck

Paul Sinnott

[Call me Al]

Thanks guys, I'll look up Ray at Surrey Jag Centre.

Re whether it's a head gasket or not I will leave to a more thorough examination. But a blown hose would not instantly stop the engine, doing 70 on a motorway with half a tank of fuel.

In any case I'm not unduly concerned, my intent was to have the car thoroughly gone over by a knowledgeable mechanic as soon as possible, it's now just a bit less convenient as I will have to arrange to have it towed there.

I really appreciate the responses, thank you.

Alistair

[Call me Al]

Quick update, I spoke to Ray at Surrey Jag Centre (thanks Paul) - he is a nice guy and clearly knows his stuff. We have a recovery truck booked in for the 23rd to take it to them, and they will go over the car thoroughly to identify everything that needs to be done.

cheers

Al

[ptjs1]

Al,

Glad to hear that you've now got a plan. Do let us know how you get on. We'd all be interested to hear what is the problem and the successful outcome.

Cheers

Paul

[davidr]

Fingers crossed for you!