Whatever happened to my XJC convertible?

[3.8etypephil]

Back in the 1980s I converted a few XJCs into drop tops using a simple fabricated manual hood mechanism, and detachable GRP hardtop for Winter use. In the early 1990s the last one, which I planned to keep, suffered a minor under dash wiring fire, and I simply did not have time to deal with it, so I sold it via the club magazine to a fellow JEC member, an electrician from the Guildford area, as far as I recall.
I am really interested to know whether he ever fixed it, and what became of it. If any member has the car; MMJ847P, or knows its whereabouts, I would be delighted to hear from them.

[mike020150]

Wow, bet that wasn't a 5 minute task! Good luck finding the car. Members are quite good at solving these queries. Mike.

[davidr]

Hi Phil - can I suggest that you drop a line to Nigel Thorley and maybe he will put this in the magazine? I hope you find it!

[3.8etypephil]

Thanks gents.

@ Mike,
You won your bet; about five months of my spare time.
@ David,
Excellent idea; I'll do that this evening.

[3.8etypephil]

Unfortunately I have had no respone to my email of 22/07/2021, other than an automated out of office response.
Looking back over the years since I rejoined the JEC, after a lapse of two decades, I have sent in four emails, and received the courtesy of not one single reply.

Most disappointing.

[mike020150]

In passing, I have just mentioned your issue to Nigel Thorley and he searched his emails (including his spam box) and found nothing from you. Right now, James Blackwell is on holiday so I can't ask him to check his emails. Could you send me copies of your correspondence (via a pm) so I can talk with James about it when I visit the Bristol office next Wednesday? Mike.

[3.8etypephil]

In passing, I have just mentioned your issue to Nigel Thorley and he searched his emails (including his spam box) and found nothing from you. Right now, James Blackwell is on holiday so I can't ask him to check his emails. Could you send me copies of your correspondence (via a pm) so I can talk with James about it when I visit the Bristol office next Wednesday? Mike.

Thanks Mike; done, together with the automated responses indicating delivery.

[3.8etypephil]

Update:

Thanks to Nigel's kind mention in the October magazine, and an email response from member and XJC register coordinator Lucas Reynolds, I have discovered something of what happened to this car:

https://www.jaguarforum.com/threads/197 ... ble.75444/

If anyone has any information beyond 2015, I would be interested to read it, likewise, if anyone knows the current owner, I would be pleased to offer assistance / information particularly regarding the strengthening and other modifications which were necessary to complete the conversion. I am persona non grata on that particular forum, so cannot respond to the OP personally.

[JimboV8]

I have left a message on that thread, and sent him a PM for you Phil, if he responds I’ll let you know.

[ptjs1]

Phil,

I suspect you've already looked this up but the DVLA site shows that the last time a V5 was issued on the car was 1990, it's not taxed and apparently has never been MoT'd (although that may just go back to when the records were stored electronically).

So, sadly, it seems that it's still off the road and has never been finished since you sold it on?

Cheers

Paul

[3.8etypephil]

I have left a message on that thread, and sent him a PM for you Phil, if he responds I’ll let you know.

Thanks, much appreciated.

[3.8etypephil]

Phil,

I suspect you've already looked this up but the DVLA site shows that the last time a V5 was issued on the car was 1990, it's not taxed and apparently has never been MoT'd (although that may just go back to when the records were stored electronically).

So, sadly, it seems that it's still off the road and has never been finished since you sold it on?

Cheers

Paul

Thanks Paul, no I hadn't checked the last V5 issue date; that one would have been issued to me when I notified the body type and colour change, so presumably the buyer never notified the DVLA of his acquisition. The car had a current MOT when sold, that was around 1992 - 1993, as far as I recall, but the MOT checker sit only goes back to 2008 I believe.

[ptjs1]

Phil,

Thinking about the V5 issue, I wonder if you might want to contact the DVLA? It seems there is a car / registration number that many years later is still aligned to your name and address. Why would teh subsequent owner(s) not want to register the car in their name? I don't know if that has any security implications for you?

Cheers

Paul

[3.8etypephil]

Phil,

Thinking about the V5 issue, I wonder if you might want to contact the DVLA? It seems there is a car / registration number that many years later is still aligned to your name and address. Why would teh subsequent owner(s) not want to register the car in their name? I don't know if that has any security implications for you?

Cheers

Paul

Having personally owned more than 100 vehicles, I'm sure that there are many other laid up or scrapped vehicles still registered to me, so I'll let sleeping dogs lie on that; the DVLA seem neither willing to nor capable of doing even the most basic jobs competently, maintaining accurate records of driving licences and test passes for example< I sold the car some 28 years ago when there was a more sensible approach to supplying government with information, have lived at numerous addresses, and in three different countries since then. I see no security implications regarding a car which apparently has not turned a wheell since 1993, and I have no wish invite DVLA to target my bank account for yet more stealth taxes in the form of "fines" for failure to declare SORN annually.