Returning Forum member after about 10 years away, with a new car.

[SimonR]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to say hello, and that I'm glad to be back. I was last here quite some time ago and sadly a lost job and few other things caused a temporary cessation of Jaguar driving and enjoyment, but it's great to be back and see that a lot of the familiar forumites are still here and very active.

I recently re-joined the JEC with the intention of finding a replacement 3.6 Manual XJ-S and after about a year searching nationwide, and considering driving 100s of miles for the right car, it actually turned up less than 10 miles from my house. It's a funny world. I nearly gave up on the XJ-S and bought a cheap XKR in London, but that was a moment of madness and thankfully an HPI check showed all was not as it seemed...!

Anyway, here are some pics of the car I bought yesterday - a 1989 3.6 Manual with 31,000 miles on the odometer. It is a 1-owner car, having belonged to a local company director, who, it seems didn't do a lot of mileage, using it infrequently but steadily for business meetings. It needs a fair bit of bodywork to bring it up to 'tidy' condition but I feel it's money worth spending as I've not seen another one for sale with such a good history and mileage. Call me sad, but I'm also pretty pleased that it was sold by Marshalls of Cambridge (my local dealership) and has the correct dealer number plates and other bits and bobs, such as a period XJ-S and Series 3 XJ car brochure, car stickers and key fobs. I will be returning its original registration mark (and original number plates) to the car in due course as I don't much like the Northern Irish plate it has now.









The worst of the corrosion, which does extend slightly into the floor, sills and jacking points:





I'm very much looking forward to a summer of XJ-S driving and hopefully to bringing it to some of the meet ups during the year.

[davidr]

SimonR - welcome back!
Thanks for sharing your new car with us. Perhaps you'd like to do a magazine piece for me?
Please keep us posted as you start to use, enjoy and improve the car

[SimonR]

Thanks for the reply, David

I'd be happy to do an article about the car. Actually the search was also quite a rollercoaster and I learnt quite a lot about where to look and what to look out for. Maybe that would be a helpful and interesting article, too?

[poprivet]

Great looking late 3.6 well sorted engine on those.

Whats the long cylinder on the fuel line, Is it one of those fuel catalyst things?

Welcome back by the way.

[SimonR]

Thanks for the reply @Poprivet - it's very nice to be back

Yes I fear it's one of those black magic snake oil type car accessories. It can stay where it is for now, but I may well end up replacing all the fuel lines anyway - it would be interesting to see what else would need to be replaced to enable the car to use E10 fuel.

[davidr]

SimonR - it would be interesting to share with members your experiences of trying to find the right car and why you went for the one you now have.

[Andy P]

Hi SimonR and welcome back.
Looks very nice,love that colour and such low mileage with great history.
I look forward to your magazine articles.
Enjoy your car.
Stay safe.
Andy

[ptjs1]

Simon,

Nice-looking car! As I'm sure you intend to, do get that rust sorted straight away before it travels any further and becomes a VERY expensive situation. You might just catch it before it hits the inner wings, lower scuttle & B-Post.

Cheers

Paul

[SimonR]

Thanks for the replies Andy and Paul

Don't worry - I've been in contact with Alders Classics in Norfolk with regard to rectifying the bodywork ASAP - I'm certainly not getting it wet until that's all sorted. I've had a good poke around underneath and it's just beginning to get into the floor, next to the sills and although the inner wheel arches at the back look rusty they appear to be fairly solid.

I've had enough classic cars to know that rust is about 10 times worse than it looks so I'm prepared for it to be serious in places, but I've budgeted for it and the car has to be sorted, otherwise there's no point in buying such an otherwise pristine car.

I reckon the bill will be around £3.5k to have it done properly, but may be as much as £5k.

[SimonR]

I picked the car up today - it was a great feeling to be back behind the wheel of an XJ-S again. I drove it fairly gingerly because it was clear from the outset that the brakes aren't what they could be. I think the pads were last changed in 2002 and it's not done many miles since so a thorough brake service is well overdue: Pads, hoses pistons, seals and fluid.

I spent this afternoon doing a few odd jobs to the car and familiarising myself with its condition and any defects. WD40 in the window channels seemed to get the windows moving properly and I made a start on replacing the damaged bumper corner. I've just spent a happy couple of hours scrubbing the radiator grille with toothpaste to remove all the tarnishing and bring back the shine.

I recently had a workshop built so that I could look after and work on my cars properly - here's the XJ-S in its new home, with my two other cars. The other blue one will undergo a bit of restoration soon.

[ptjs1]

Simon,

Glad you've got the car home safely.

Forgive me if I'm telling you things you already know, but don't touch the brake system unless you absolutely understand the Teves ABS system. It's very, very different from a standard brake system with a complex non-traditional way of needing to bleed it. Also, certain problem areas have come to light in the last few years concerning the ABS valve block amongst other things. Do not under any circumstances remove the pads by pushing back the caliper pistons unless you've loosened the bleed nipples and attached some tube to allow the fluid to flow out that way. If you push fluid back to the ABS valve block, you can end up with really significant dangerous problems.

Post back here when you're ready to start on the brakes.

Cheers

Paul

[SimonR]

Not at all Paul - I really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge and experience Thanks for drawing my attention to it - it sounds very similar to the system in my Mrs' BMW 1 Series in that respect.

Now that you've drawn my attention to it, I'll ensure that my workshop manual covers the Teves III system - I know it covers the 3.6 but it may be pre 1987.

On the subject of Teves - what's your opinion of the system? I've been told elsewhere that it's dangerous because a leak on either front corner ends up leaving the car with no brakes at all. The recommendation on Jag-Lovers is to junk it and either fit the earlier non-ABS system or Teves IV from a late XJS. I'm reluctant to make such a drastic change to my car unless it's a safely issue.

[Lastmin]

Welcome back, that looks like a great buy the low mileage and ownship nu.bers should make it a real investment. Looks to have found a good home.

[ptjs1]

Simon,

I also just noticed your Maestro VDP in that photo! I bought a manual one of those for my wife in 1990. The voice synthesiser was quite the talking point in those days! It was quite well-equipped and rode really well. Like just about every car that I've owned, I miss it!

With only 50 left in the country and most of those being SORN, they are becoming sadly incredibly rare. Look after it!

Cheers

Paul

[SimonR]

Good spot Paul - yes I've got two Maestro VDPs. I've had Maestros all my driving life, and learned pretty much everything I know about home mechanicing with them. That blue one has 50k on the clock and is in pretty original condition, but needs recommissioning after storage. My other one is a slightly later gold one with about 40k on the clock, and I've rebuilt it from scratch with all the parts from a 2.0 EFi MG Maestro as it was originally a 1.6 auto and had absolutely no power at all. I could never understand why the VDP Montego got the large engine but the Maestro had to make do with the 1.6 S-Series engine. It goes like stink now!

I had a few cars with the talking digital dash in the past and was looking to convert one of the two I have, however, the fuel flow transducer doesn't work with unleaded fuel, and the speedo sender is almost impossible to find so I think it'll be a non-starter.

People always maligned the Maestro but that was grossly unfair - the early cars probably suffered from BL build quality and lack of testing but those built between about 1985 and 1987, particularly were a good mix of reliability and rust-proofing.

The blue one you see in the picture is destined to be restored and sold and my hope is that it will make nearly as much as the XJ-S cost me to buy. As you say - they're rare cars!