Postby ptjs1 » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:12 pm
Michael,
Welcome to the Bulletin Board and congratulations on deciding to buy such a great car (even if you haven't quite got it yet!).
I'm sure others will have varying views but, for what it's worth, here's my thoughts:
The XJSs known as "facelift" cars are the ones that had a high degree of galvanisation of the body panels. These were first produced from March 1991. Facelift cars can be easily distinguished by the different type of more modern, smoked lens, wraparound rear lights, and on the Coupes, by the curved corner rear side windows. This was also the introduction of the 4.0 litre AJ6 engine in the XJS
There are three "series" of facelift cars:
VIN 179737 to 188104. These cars have the same slimmer bumpers as the earlier models.
VIN 188105 to 194774. These cars have the big plastic bumpers, but 4.0 litre cars still have the AJ6 engine
VIN 194775 to VIN 226645. 4.0 litre cars now have the revised AJ16 engine and cars from VIN 221855 are called "Celebration" models.
IMO the 4 litre engine is great, capable of huge mileages befoe major work is required. The AJ16 engine is even better, about 13bhp extra and regarded by many people as the best engine that Jaguar ever made.
With the type of budget you've got, you should be looking for an AJ16-engined car. Engine-wise they only seem to have two failings - exhaust manifolds can be prone to cracking. Easy to fix - a manifold costs about £180. The downpipe can also fracture near the join to the next pipe. Very expensive if you buy a new pipe (£850) but a £30 weld seems to do the job. I've had both situations on my car.
Apart from that, the fins on the radiator can be prone to corroding. This can give rise to the car running hot in traffic etc. New or recon rads are naturally readily available. Doesn't seem to happen on all cars, though.
4.0 litre convertibles come equipped with "Touring" suspension which is basically a little softer than on coupes, and with silightly higher-profile tyres, although these may well have been changed by previous owners.
All AJ16-engined 4 litre Autos have the ZF electronically switchable gearbox. I leave mine in Sport mode all the time.
Others may disagree but I think the corrosion resistance is good on the late cars and if you buy a convertible, I think it's more likely to have led a sheltered life. I had mine rust-proofed when I bought it 4 years ago and I still think it looks pretty good.
Upgrade-wise, all I've really done is change the steering rack mounting bushes for polyeurethane ones. The original design by Jaguar for these bushes is somewhat flawed once they start to wear, and many people choose to upgrade them..
Hope that gives you a very brief insight. If yu fancy a trip to Kent, you're very welcome to come and see my car and also the two cars of Norman Hicks - the Forum Co-ordinator. Give me a ring if you'd like to talk further.
Regards,
Paul Sinnott
XJS Registrar
JEC
1995 XJS 4.0 Convertible
1980 XJ-S Pre-HE
Jaguar 4.2 Supercharged engine (but not with a Jaguar body..)
..Been looked after. 
....Not that many miles either.
