Usually I'm fairly tolerant of people modifying cars but I saw this on ebay and just thought what on earth have they done to it:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-mk...t/202772909397

What do other people think?

 

It's been poorly done... Fit and finish is really rough.
Bumpers are too modern and look too big, the front end looks like an SUV and the rear doesn't work at all _ the shape doesn't fit the car well enough to look like it belongs.
The front air scoops to allow the engine bay to breath are just terrible _ looks like they couldn't get the fender to fit and some body work is missing.

The worst are the rear wheel fenders to accommodate the modern drive train _ looks like some kid did it in high school.
The rear axle should have been shortened to fit the width of the car.

I wouldn't be caught did in that one !

 

Essentially the person who has done this rather misguided update has destroyed the value of the car. Just look at the bids, way below what an immaculate Mark 2 would normally fetch. All that effort and no value added ! Yet the car seems very well done, the owner now has to find the on of the 10 people in the world who like it enough to buy it !

 

What a mess!

 

Not my cup of tea I must admit (I particularly dislike the way the front wings stick out at the rear). However, each to their own - it's not all about money. The owner has obviously spent a lot of time and energy producing what he believes looks good,and performs well. We all have different tastes - it would be a very boring world if we all the same views and opinions. To be honest, what he has done is no different to what Ian Callum had done to his mega-expensive MK2 - I don't particularly like his car
either.
I have a modified MK2 (4.2 engine, XJ6 rear brakes, Volvo front brakes, XJ40 electric front seats etc) because I wanted a car that I could enjoy driving but which which still maintained the original looks, but had better perfromance and felt more comfortable in modern traffic. Not everyone wants a totally original car - lets face it the seats weren't very comfortable, the brakes were not very good, the early Moss gearboxes were awkward to use and the performance (2.4's) wasn't fantastic. They weren't particularly reliable either ! I must say though, if I'd done what this man has (could be a woman of course) I would probably have put a supercharged engine in there - lol !!

 

It's the fit and finish that's really the problem.

 

And also the truly hideous shape of the thing. I've no problem with modifying cars and some of the hotrods and customs are really well done and stylish but this is just awful.

 

Uh? . . . Well have owned a '03 STR and it's many on-board computers disagreeing with each other, (read: unbelievable possible complications preventing you from enjoying the ride), I wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft. pole even if it looked like Callum's.

 

Yeah, there's that too, it doesn't run.

 

Wow. As a serial modifier (including this specific combination) I'm thinking looks may not be the only scary aspect here. If you compare this car's engine compartment with my project you'll see a couple of critical differences. The engine is a few inches farther forward, so this car is very nose heavy (I think we achieved a 54/46 split). I'm guessing the builder simply carried over the XJ's front frame and suspension carrier which dictated engine placement (and wheel track!) - unfortunately the XJ is about two feet longer and 1000 pounds heavier than the Mark 2, so this doesn't really work. More critically you'll notice the brake booster/master and ECU box at the rear are tucked under the fenders, while mine are more inboard. This would have required the removal of the triangulated box sections of the Mark 2 tub which support the forward rails that carry the engine and suspension loads. The fact that the XJ dash was used suggests the builder simply cut out the Mark 2 firewall, inner fenders and frame rails and replaced with XJ components. For all I know a lot of sophisticated engineering went into this effort, but from what I can see from the rest of the build I tend to doubt it. I particularly like the gate hinges and bonnet prop.
Let's hope any potential buyer knows what they're looking at.



EBay car

The Beast

XJ dash is too wide for Mark 2 so lop off the ends. XJ dash is a foot deeper than the Mark 2's so seats are forced rearward.

Note shoulder harness attachment point. Appears there's no back seat so this may not be a problem.

 

Well... no surprise, but the original auction offering did not produce a sale and eBay has kindly advised me that this "thing" has been re-listed.

 

The guy that has it for sale said to me he wants about 9 grand for it,

 

As the kids today would say LOL.

It's a real shame all that work to produce something worth less than when they started. Clearly a warning to anyone embarking on a modification project to consider what the end result will be worth.

If considered and done well like Doug then worth plenty, if poorly thought about and it done as this then less than when you started. A real shame.

 

I have wondered why they don’t take the old body styles, wonderfully elegant cars and put them on today engines/frame and bring some style and class back to the automobiles.

love love love it....something to play with, fix, buy stuff for...make perfect

 

Well, in this case a potentially restorable "wonderfully elegant car" was ruined both aesthetically and mechanically. There have been some beautifully modernized/updated Mk 2 cars but this one is simply grotesque, an affront to the eyes, inside and out.