www.jec.org.uk

Well I think I will have to sell my XK8 or put it in mothballs. Managed to throw myself from our roof
last October, have been in Hospital beds since and despite the wonderful nurses I can't say that I would
recommend it. None too sure when (if) I will walk again but still very hopeful and certainly will be able
to drive as I still have one good leg. However being such a low car the XK8 would present a challenge,
and with the work put into the car I could not release it for less than £9,500, which is not an attractive
price for a 1966 XK8 however presented.
Has anybody managed to overcome driving one of these with a gammy leg? would be interested to hear as
I am loathe to sell having spent 7 years renovating. The other possibility is keeping the car and laying up in
a garage somewhere, (mine is too small), and wait until I know if the leg will heal sufficiently to walk,
(and classic XK8 prices to soar )
Would be very interested to hear from any readers who have overcome a similar setback, and somebody with
a crystal ball to predict the classic car market!

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that. Unless cash is an immediate problem why not lay it up for a while. Things might look a lot better in a few months or a year.

Not quite the same, but some years ago when I was out of work for a few years apart from the odd temporary job I laid up the XJS and I'm rather glad that I never got rid of it

I know how you feel, well ok maybe not quite as much as you I guess, sounds pretty serious but I have had a real problem with my knee over this last year. On and off with a minimum of 4 weeks at a time for recovery.
Not only can I not drive the XK8 but my other low slung vehicles and my bikes are off limits.

The only thing I can get into is the van and even that is a chore.
One think that might help you is if your leg is "ok" once you are in the car is to open the door fully, wind the seat all the way back and sort of flop in!!

If it will be a pressure problem that is, pushing down on the brake/ accelerator then the solution is ..... be a passenger and get someone to drive you around !

I have laid the XK8 up too, for winter mostly but I could not have driven it for this last few weeks anyway, it's now with the hope that into the summer things will become better...

Hope things improve for you soon...

Many thanks poprivet and PTR, I am slowly coming around to the laying up option,
just have to convince my wife . As I don't need to sell it, I would be sorry to
see it go for current market price, and I have time (lots of it) to see if I repair. I thought
a lhd auto would solve the problem but of course the pedals are the same as rhd (not
opposite hand).

Very sorry to hear of your problems. Just a thought picking up your last post. Have you considered speaking to mobility conversion specialists about the possibilities. Hand controls for an XK8....could be a first!

Rod

I`m so sorry to hear about the disablement issue. I can empathise because I have two prolapsed and seemingly irreparable lower discs and a crushed sciatic nerve both at disc level and in my right buttock. Getting in and out of a car and also when driving, can be a tremendously painful experience. The brake pedal can sometimes bite back with a vengeance! However as some of you know, I still just about manage to do the majority of my own maintenance which is again painful and often completely debilitating. Essentially that breaks all of the advice I`ve been given by the guys who have treated me. It also goes against the advice from my daughters, one of whom is a District Nurse and the other, a Senior Physiotherapist!

Only the person experiencing the effects of body damage can really decide how far they can "stretch " themselves when it comes to motoring matters. Being told that "you" may improve doesn`t cut much ice. So all one can do is hope that things improve with time and hold onto that hope. Sometimes miracles do happen. I`d suggest giving your issue a few more months to recover and then re-evaluate what you can or cannot achieve. Healing takes time.

My best wishes to you.

Mike K

this may or may not help, but some years ago I sold a 6.0V12 XJS to a lovely chap, club member I believe

this is how the story goes, an appointment is made to view the car, at the given time my phone rings, not the door bell, voice says "we are outside", well why not come to the door then!!!, on opening the door I am greeted by a chap in a wheelchair who can't get to the door for all the other cars!!. His friend test drives the car, proclaims it good and deal is done, cash changes hands

My curiosity gets the better of me, how????, the reply is I will fit hand controls, REALLY???, yep says he simple, one lever ; push to go fast, pull to slow down, all mechanical, buyer tells me "drive a car with hand controls and you will wonder why you ever used your feet"

I saw the car in 2016, still with the same owner, still enjoying it

Just a thought??

Many thanks for the responses. I had considered adapting the car to whatever I can
do after another few months, and the problem of a low stoop into the 'cockpit' could
be overcome. Based on the responses I think it better to wait and see what progress
I make and give it a bit of time. (I still yearn to drive the car).
Thanks to all

Good man.

All of us with you. Take it a bit easy....there is always a tomorrow.

You have great friends here so just shout if you want a chat.

Mike K

Many thanks poprivet and PTR, I am slowly coming around to the laying up option,
just have to convince my wife . As I don't need to sell it, I would be sorry to
see it go for current market price, and I have time (lots of it) to see if I repair. I thought
a lhd auto would solve the problem but of course the pedals are the same as rhd (not
opposite hand).

The crucial point here is " I don't need to sell it"

Lay it up, do something else (like polish it !) give yourself a few months at the very least, to recover a bit more, the car won't have gone anywhere and she, like you, will be raring to go again ( don't forget your battery charger !) when you are ready too

Hi Painter,
As PTR says, if you don't need to sell it then hang on a while, rehabilitation can be a long road but do follow what the physios tell you. There are many companies specialising in adaptations for virtually any kind of disability and during my time working in a Spinal injuries Unit, came across many patients wanting, quite naturally to get back behind the wheel or even to throw a leg - sometimes literally, over a motorbike again.
If you look on the website of the Spinal injuries association, you might find some ideas.
All of the large equipment in my workshop (lathe, milling machine etc) was dragged from Lancashire to Orkney on a triple axle trailer towed by a Grand Cherokee Jeep piloted by an ex patient of ours - a paraplegic in a wheelchair! He refuses to give up!
Ian

Many thanks all, following the responses received here (and also those of my neighbour
who drove the car several days ago) I am of one mind now and that is to keep the car.
By hook or by crook (possibly a shepherds crook) I will drive the car again. It may take six
months to find out what is required to achieve that, but then whatever it takes.

Painter,
That's what we like to hear, Bloody minded determination to succeed. Maintain that attitude and I'm sure you will be back behind the wheel before you no it. Best wishes from us all

Oldtimer

+1 here , Oldtimer, I agree

We certainly don't want to lose you! Mike.