New owner - MkII 3.8
#1
11-01-2013, 07:05 PM
New owner - MkII 3.8
Hello there,
Just thought I'd let the world out there know that I have just bought a 1963 MkII 3.8 manual (Chassis 231499BW). It's in what I would describe as good driving condition, and has a lot of rather nice patina which leads me to believe that it has never been restored. It has had a poor quality respray at some stage, and a few trim bits (door trims and carpet) have been replaced with some rather nasty non-standard alternatives (which I plan to rectify...).
Unfortunately very little service history came with the car. It does have a receipt for a full engine rebuild in 2000 (done in Melbourne. Australia) and was there until 2010 at least. But is now in Sydney. Other than that, no idea!
Essentially though it runs and drives very nicely, the chassis is intact and it has quite new springs and dampers, and the leather and wood inside has survived with no permanent scars or much sun damage. So it's altogether a very pleasant place to be... and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use - starting with going to a friend's wedding about 100 miles away next weekend!
First impressions? Actually I've never owned a car from this era before, nor have I had an XK-engined car. The engine is fabulous, has plenty of power, and has that combination of sporty-but-refined that only the English seem to be able to achieve. The handling I would describe as "floaty" - though I would mainly attribute this to the very slow (non-assisted) steering and spindly original steering wheel, which I find makes it a little difficult to place the car accurately. After only 3 hours driving I feel pretty comfortable with the Moss box... and I can't understand why they get so much bad press! And the brakes feel almost modern.
Plans? well the temptation is always there to make modifications to get it to drive better... but given that it's so nice and original I'll do my best to resist! To be honest I bought this car as a bit of a stop-gap while my Maserati Kyalami is being restored, and only really plan to keep it for a year or so. I would like to sort the trim properly, but other than that it will serve duty whenever I need a four-seater. It will hopefully do the daily commute once or twice a week. And a few weekends away in the country are in order as well.
So pleased to meet you, happy to field questions, and doubtless I'll be back with all sorts of mechanical dilemmas as time goes on!
Cheers
Just thought I'd let the world out there know that I have just bought a 1963 MkII 3.8 manual (Chassis 231499BW). It's in what I would describe as good driving condition, and has a lot of rather nice patina which leads me to believe that it has never been restored. It has had a poor quality respray at some stage, and a few trim bits (door trims and carpet) have been replaced with some rather nasty non-standard alternatives (which I plan to rectify...).
Unfortunately very little service history came with the car. It does have a receipt for a full engine rebuild in 2000 (done in Melbourne. Australia) and was there until 2010 at least. But is now in Sydney. Other than that, no idea!
Essentially though it runs and drives very nicely, the chassis is intact and it has quite new springs and dampers, and the leather and wood inside has survived with no permanent scars or much sun damage. So it's altogether a very pleasant place to be... and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use - starting with going to a friend's wedding about 100 miles away next weekend!
First impressions? Actually I've never owned a car from this era before, nor have I had an XK-engined car. The engine is fabulous, has plenty of power, and has that combination of sporty-but-refined that only the English seem to be able to achieve. The handling I would describe as "floaty" - though I would mainly attribute this to the very slow (non-assisted) steering and spindly original steering wheel, which I find makes it a little difficult to place the car accurately. After only 3 hours driving I feel pretty comfortable with the Moss box... and I can't understand why they get so much bad press! And the brakes feel almost modern.
Plans? well the temptation is always there to make modifications to get it to drive better... but given that it's so nice and original I'll do my best to resist! To be honest I bought this car as a bit of a stop-gap while my Maserati Kyalami is being restored, and only really plan to keep it for a year or so. I would like to sort the trim properly, but other than that it will serve duty whenever I need a four-seater. It will hopefully do the daily commute once or twice a week. And a few weekends away in the country are in order as well.
So pleased to meet you, happy to field questions, and doubtless I'll be back with all sorts of mechanical dilemmas as time goes on!
Cheers
Last edited by collared; 11-01-2013 at 07:09 PM. Reason: Edited out some typos - car built 1963, not 1663...
The following 2 users liked this post by collared:
lickahotskillet (10-27-2015),
MK2 (11-02-2013)
#3
11-02-2013, 11:07 AM
Veteran Member
#6
11-10-2013, 07:36 PM
Thanks very much for the replies!
Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take the car out of town this weekend after all, owing to a prediction of extreme heat, followed by torrential rain... Two things that have made themselves known quite early on are that I can't get the heater to turn off - making driving in hot weather an exceedingly unpleasant proposition!! - which I suspect is probably due to the tap on the heater box not doing its job. Secondly there is a large gap between the winding windows and the exterior seals, so that I'm sure plenty of water would get in - in fact as evidenced by the rust on the inside of the doors.
Hence the two jobs I will need to do first. It should be a simple matter to neutralise the rust with a suitable product, but it looks as though the windows will need to come out in order to put new seals in.
And the heater tap: Does anybody know whether it's possible to rebuild this, or will the entire unit need to be replaced? The coolant looks quite new, but I think while I'm doing the tap i might flush out the system and replace a couple of dodgy-looking hoses and weeping seals, just to make sure.
In fact, before I do any of this I really should get myself a workshop manual. Might anybody have any recommendations on the best one to get? Is the one issued in period by Jaguar (I assume such a thing exists...) the best to have or have there been more recent publications which include information on noted problem areas etc?
Cheers
Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take the car out of town this weekend after all, owing to a prediction of extreme heat, followed by torrential rain... Two things that have made themselves known quite early on are that I can't get the heater to turn off - making driving in hot weather an exceedingly unpleasant proposition!! - which I suspect is probably due to the tap on the heater box not doing its job. Secondly there is a large gap between the winding windows and the exterior seals, so that I'm sure plenty of water would get in - in fact as evidenced by the rust on the inside of the doors.
Hence the two jobs I will need to do first. It should be a simple matter to neutralise the rust with a suitable product, but it looks as though the windows will need to come out in order to put new seals in.
And the heater tap: Does anybody know whether it's possible to rebuild this, or will the entire unit need to be replaced? The coolant looks quite new, but I think while I'm doing the tap i might flush out the system and replace a couple of dodgy-looking hoses and weeping seals, just to make sure.
In fact, before I do any of this I really should get myself a workshop manual. Might anybody have any recommendations on the best one to get? Is the one issued in period by Jaguar (I assume such a thing exists...) the best to have or have there been more recent publications which include information on noted problem areas etc?
Cheers
#7
11-10-2013, 07:55 PM
........... I really should get myself a workshop manual. Might anybody have any recommendations on the best one to get? Is the one issued in period by Jaguar (I assume such a thing exists...) the best to have or have there been more recent publications which include information on noted problem areas etc?
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...r-index-50609/
Look for 'Classic Jaguars' in the list.
You will need a minimum of 10 Posts before you can download.
Graham
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csbush (10-27-2015)
Trending Topics
#8
11-11-2013, 05:02 AM
Thanks very much for the replies!
Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take the car out of town this weekend after all, owing to a prediction of extreme heat, followed by torrential rain... Two things that have made themselves known quite early on are that I can't get the heater to turn off - making driving in hot weather an exceedingly unpleasant proposition!! - which I suspect is probably due to the tap on the heater box not doing its job. Secondly there is a large gap between the winding windows and the exterior seals, so that I'm sure plenty of water would get in - in fact as evidenced by the rust on the inside of the doors.
Hence the two jobs I will need to do first. It should be a simple matter to neutralise the rust with a suitable product, but it looks as though the windows will need to come out in order to put new seals in.
And the heater tap: Does anybody know whether it's possible to rebuild this, or will the entire unit need to be replaced? The coolant looks quite new, but I think while I'm doing the tap i might flush out the system and replace a couple of dodgy-looking hoses and weeping seals, just to make sure.
In fact, before I do any of this I really should get myself a workshop manual. Might anybody have any recommendations on the best one to get? Is the one issued in period by Jaguar (I assume such a thing exists...) the best to have or have there been more recent publications which include information on noted problem areas etc?
Cheers
Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take the car out of town this weekend after all, owing to a prediction of extreme heat, followed by torrential rain... Two things that have made themselves known quite early on are that I can't get the heater to turn off - making driving in hot weather an exceedingly unpleasant proposition!! - which I suspect is probably due to the tap on the heater box not doing its job. Secondly there is a large gap between the winding windows and the exterior seals, so that I'm sure plenty of water would get in - in fact as evidenced by the rust on the inside of the doors.
Hence the two jobs I will need to do first. It should be a simple matter to neutralise the rust with a suitable product, but it looks as though the windows will need to come out in order to put new seals in.
And the heater tap: Does anybody know whether it's possible to rebuild this, or will the entire unit need to be replaced? The coolant looks quite new, but I think while I'm doing the tap i might flush out the system and replace a couple of dodgy-looking hoses and weeping seals, just to make sure.
In fact, before I do any of this I really should get myself a workshop manual. Might anybody have any recommendations on the best one to get? Is the one issued in period by Jaguar (I assume such a thing exists...) the best to have or have there been more recent publications which include information on noted problem areas etc?
Cheers
we found 'practical classics & car restorer MK2 Jaguar restoration' very informative while working on ours from Kelsey Publishing
Hobbsy
#9
11-12-2013, 06:35 AM
Veteran Member
A '63 car will have the earlier door window seals which are useless, frankly, they let water pour into the door where is supposed to drain out via the drain holes.
Later cars, (mine was a 67) used the S-type door window seal which had a different trim that took a rubber lip seal that was in contact with the glass and acted to drain water off as it ran down the window onto the outside of the door. Of course, some water will always get through, and with an anti-rattle fibre pad between door skin and where the window frame is bolted, means you get a hole rusting through eventually, as well as the usual devastation at the bottom of the door.
Later cars, (mine was a 67) used the S-type door window seal which had a different trim that took a rubber lip seal that was in contact with the glass and acted to drain water off as it ran down the window onto the outside of the door. Of course, some water will always get through, and with an anti-rattle fibre pad between door skin and where the window frame is bolted, means you get a hole rusting through eventually, as well as the usual devastation at the bottom of the door.
#10
11-13-2013, 04:40 AM
Thanks again for the replies. Fraser Mitchell - do you know whether it's possible to retrofit S-type door window seals, or is this just an occupational hazard of this car?
Hobbsy, thanks for the tip on the practical classics manual. will look that up.
And GGG - consider this another post towards 10!
In other news, I have had the car looked-over by my local specialist (Terry from All Classic Car Restorations in Brookvale, Sydney - All Classic Car Restorations. He identified that there are a few bushes in the front suspension that really need replacing, and also the engine mounts... which I thought was an interesting thing about the car. It has so much torque that you really don't need to rev it much, but the vibrations that set in above about 4500rpm make it evident that the mounts need to be replaced. Never noticed this until I tried it out... obviously there's more to this car than I'd imagined!
Hobbsy, thanks for the tip on the practical classics manual. will look that up.
And GGG - consider this another post towards 10!
In other news, I have had the car looked-over by my local specialist (Terry from All Classic Car Restorations in Brookvale, Sydney - All Classic Car Restorations. He identified that there are a few bushes in the front suspension that really need replacing, and also the engine mounts... which I thought was an interesting thing about the car. It has so much torque that you really don't need to rev it much, but the vibrations that set in above about 4500rpm make it evident that the mounts need to be replaced. Never noticed this until I tried it out... obviously there's more to this car than I'd imagined!
#11
10-27-2015, 03:19 AM
Hello,
received a PM from someone who lives nearby asking me about my experiences with the Jag, and what's involved in ownership (i.e. costs!) since he's thinking of buying one - which made me realise that I've been neglecting this forum sorry... so here's an update!
So I've been daily driving the car most of the time for the last couple of years. I have a long city commute (approx. 40kms each way!) and I'm sure many people would think me a masochist for doing that in the first place, much less in such an old car with a Moss box and an inoperative radio. But it's my idea of a good time/-;
I'm happy to say that through this time it's been almost completely reliable. I was stranded a few times in the early days due to a worn-out fuel pump, and a brake booster/servo that didn't return itself (i.e. held the brakes on... though I managed to make it home regardless). But otherwise it just keeps purring along nicely and never overheats, the latter being something I cannot say for myself since it does get extremely hot in summer. Plenty of heat soak from that big engine.
What I can say is that it's not been a cheap exercise. Firstly there's the fuel consumption, which in the city is in the region of 18l/100kms or 13MPG. Secondly ownership has very much proven the old adage that you should buy the best car you can afford. Sorry to say that in my case i bought it through my lens of thinking that it was a cool-looking old car with plenty of character - which is fine for some but I seem to have reached a stage in my life where I'm not willing to put up with these little niggles any more and so I've found I've had to progressively fix quite a few things incl. aforementioned fuel pump and brake booster, replaced engine mounts, replaced a noisy thrust bearing, had the radiator re-cored and replaced the hoses, rebuilt the heater (and actually decided I didn't need it so removed it entirely), swapped out the almost-dead generator for an alternator and concerted it to positive earth, and lastly replaced the steering drag links and some miscellaneous bushes in the front suspension.
The car is looking an awful lot better that when I first bought it as well, rather serendipitously due to two minor accidents I have had. Courtesy of the insurance payouts I've had the front end stripped to bare metal and re-painted, and took the opportunity to properly fix some rust in the front guards and sills. The rear of the car has also been resprayed, as have the doors. The rear doors do still however have some rust that needs repairing, and the roof hasn't been touched, so I dare say I'll get around to getting those done at some stage.
All up I'd say that I'm out of pocket by around Aus$15-20,000... not including fuel and regular maintenance ,and the approx. $18,000 in insurance work. So both myself and my insurance company have each essentially spent almost as much on the damn thing in two years as what I paid for it in the first place!! As a result I've not been able to justify doing the really obvious things that I want to do, like replace the carpets and door trims. Just shake your head.
I should note here that I really didn't do much of a good job of shopping around and buying a good one. I just fell for the charm of this particular example. What I've gained is probably enough knowledge not to make the same mistake again with a Mk2, and I've noticed some rather appealing cars around recently in the $25-30,000 range - and ultimately I'd recommend paying this much at minimum for a 3.8 as it turns out it's false economy to do otherwise!
Why do I keep it? because it genuinely is one of the best cars I've ever driven. It's got an amazing sense of solidity and smooth momentum, poised-yet-entertaining handling (especially out of town and on the highway where it really comes into its own. In a sense it's wasted in the city...), is plenty fast enough to give modern traffic a scare, and is just about the best-looking car on the road. I honestly can't think of anything I'd want as a replacement. I've had some flirtations with Alfa 105GTVs and Spiders but to be honest I find them a bit boring and characterless in comparison. Ditto the Porsche 928. I recently borrowed a friend's Volvo Amazon while my car was getting its latest accident repair, and while impressive is not a shade on the Mk2. I might possibly be tempted by a Lancia Fulvia if I could find one, or maybe Karmann Ghia, Porsche 968 or a Benz SL600. Maybe a Torana? dunno, I'm a bit stumped! Suggestions?
Well, it seems the obvious thing would be that when I get too old for the Mk2 I could get myself a nice Mk1 XJ, or an XJS. At the moment however I can't shake the idea of building a hot MkIX...
received a PM from someone who lives nearby asking me about my experiences with the Jag, and what's involved in ownership (i.e. costs!) since he's thinking of buying one - which made me realise that I've been neglecting this forum sorry... so here's an update!
So I've been daily driving the car most of the time for the last couple of years. I have a long city commute (approx. 40kms each way!) and I'm sure many people would think me a masochist for doing that in the first place, much less in such an old car with a Moss box and an inoperative radio. But it's my idea of a good time/-;
I'm happy to say that through this time it's been almost completely reliable. I was stranded a few times in the early days due to a worn-out fuel pump, and a brake booster/servo that didn't return itself (i.e. held the brakes on... though I managed to make it home regardless). But otherwise it just keeps purring along nicely and never overheats, the latter being something I cannot say for myself since it does get extremely hot in summer. Plenty of heat soak from that big engine.
What I can say is that it's not been a cheap exercise. Firstly there's the fuel consumption, which in the city is in the region of 18l/100kms or 13MPG. Secondly ownership has very much proven the old adage that you should buy the best car you can afford. Sorry to say that in my case i bought it through my lens of thinking that it was a cool-looking old car with plenty of character - which is fine for some but I seem to have reached a stage in my life where I'm not willing to put up with these little niggles any more and so I've found I've had to progressively fix quite a few things incl. aforementioned fuel pump and brake booster, replaced engine mounts, replaced a noisy thrust bearing, had the radiator re-cored and replaced the hoses, rebuilt the heater (and actually decided I didn't need it so removed it entirely), swapped out the almost-dead generator for an alternator and concerted it to positive earth, and lastly replaced the steering drag links and some miscellaneous bushes in the front suspension.
The car is looking an awful lot better that when I first bought it as well, rather serendipitously due to two minor accidents I have had. Courtesy of the insurance payouts I've had the front end stripped to bare metal and re-painted, and took the opportunity to properly fix some rust in the front guards and sills. The rear of the car has also been resprayed, as have the doors. The rear doors do still however have some rust that needs repairing, and the roof hasn't been touched, so I dare say I'll get around to getting those done at some stage.
All up I'd say that I'm out of pocket by around Aus$15-20,000... not including fuel and regular maintenance ,and the approx. $18,000 in insurance work. So both myself and my insurance company have each essentially spent almost as much on the damn thing in two years as what I paid for it in the first place!! As a result I've not been able to justify doing the really obvious things that I want to do, like replace the carpets and door trims. Just shake your head.
I should note here that I really didn't do much of a good job of shopping around and buying a good one. I just fell for the charm of this particular example. What I've gained is probably enough knowledge not to make the same mistake again with a Mk2, and I've noticed some rather appealing cars around recently in the $25-30,000 range - and ultimately I'd recommend paying this much at minimum for a 3.8 as it turns out it's false economy to do otherwise!
Why do I keep it? because it genuinely is one of the best cars I've ever driven. It's got an amazing sense of solidity and smooth momentum, poised-yet-entertaining handling (especially out of town and on the highway where it really comes into its own. In a sense it's wasted in the city...), is plenty fast enough to give modern traffic a scare, and is just about the best-looking car on the road. I honestly can't think of anything I'd want as a replacement. I've had some flirtations with Alfa 105GTVs and Spiders but to be honest I find them a bit boring and characterless in comparison. Ditto the Porsche 928. I recently borrowed a friend's Volvo Amazon while my car was getting its latest accident repair, and while impressive is not a shade on the Mk2. I might possibly be tempted by a Lancia Fulvia if I could find one, or maybe Karmann Ghia, Porsche 968 or a Benz SL600. Maybe a Torana? dunno, I'm a bit stumped! Suggestions?
Well, it seems the obvious thing would be that when I get too old for the Mk2 I could get myself a nice Mk1 XJ, or an XJS. At the moment however I can't shake the idea of building a hot MkIX...
The following users liked this post:
gp38 (11-01-2015)
#13
10-27-2015, 12:16 PM
Hello there,
Just thought I'd let the world out there know that I have just bought a 1963 MkII 3.8 manual (Chassis 231499BW). It's in what I would describe as good driving condition, and has a lot of rather nice patina which leads me to believe that it has never been restored. It has had a poor quality respray at some stage, and a few trim bits (door trims and carpet) have been replaced with some rather nasty non-standard alternatives (which I plan to rectify...).
Unfortunately very little service history came with the car. It does have a receipt for a full engine rebuild in 2000 (done in Melbourne. Australia) and was there until 2010 at least. But is now in Sydney. Other than that, no idea!
Essentially though it runs and drives very nicely, the chassis is intact and it has quite new springs and dampers, and the leather and wood inside has survived with no permanent scars or much sun damage. So it's altogether a very pleasant place to be... and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use - starting with going to a friend's wedding about 100 miles away next weekend!
First impressions? Actually I've never owned a car from this era before, nor have I had an XK-engined car. The engine is fabulous, has plenty of power, and has that combination of sporty-but-refined that only the English seem to be able to achieve. The handling I would describe as "floaty" - though I would mainly attribute this to the very slow (non-assisted) steering and spindly original steering wheel, which I find makes it a little difficult to place the car accurately. After only 3 hours driving I feel pretty comfortable with the Moss box... and I can't understand why they get so much bad press! And the brakes feel almost modern.
Plans? well the temptation is always there to make modifications to get it to drive better... but given that it's so nice and original I'll do my best to resist! To be honest I bought this car as a bit of a stop-gap while my Maserati Kyalami is being restored, and only really plan to keep it for a year or so. I would like to sort the trim properly, but other than that it will serve duty whenever I need a four-seater. It will hopefully do the daily commute once or twice a week. And a few weekends away in the country are in order as well.
So pleased to meet you, happy to field questions, and doubtless I'll be back with all sorts of mechanical dilemmas as time goes on!
Cheers
Just thought I'd let the world out there know that I have just bought a 1963 MkII 3.8 manual (Chassis 231499BW). It's in what I would describe as good driving condition, and has a lot of rather nice patina which leads me to believe that it has never been restored. It has had a poor quality respray at some stage, and a few trim bits (door trims and carpet) have been replaced with some rather nasty non-standard alternatives (which I plan to rectify...).
Unfortunately very little service history came with the car. It does have a receipt for a full engine rebuild in 2000 (done in Melbourne. Australia) and was there until 2010 at least. But is now in Sydney. Other than that, no idea!
Essentially though it runs and drives very nicely, the chassis is intact and it has quite new springs and dampers, and the leather and wood inside has survived with no permanent scars or much sun damage. So it's altogether a very pleasant place to be... and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use - starting with going to a friend's wedding about 100 miles away next weekend!
First impressions? Actually I've never owned a car from this era before, nor have I had an XK-engined car. The engine is fabulous, has plenty of power, and has that combination of sporty-but-refined that only the English seem to be able to achieve. The handling I would describe as "floaty" - though I would mainly attribute this to the very slow (non-assisted) steering and spindly original steering wheel, which I find makes it a little difficult to place the car accurately. After only 3 hours driving I feel pretty comfortable with the Moss box... and I can't understand why they get so much bad press! And the brakes feel almost modern.
Plans? well the temptation is always there to make modifications to get it to drive better... but given that it's so nice and original I'll do my best to resist! To be honest I bought this car as a bit of a stop-gap while my Maserati Kyalami is being restored, and only really plan to keep it for a year or so. I would like to sort the trim properly, but other than that it will serve duty whenever I need a four-seater. It will hopefully do the daily commute once or twice a week. And a few weekends away in the country are in order as well.
So pleased to meet you, happy to field questions, and doubtless I'll be back with all sorts of mechanical dilemmas as time goes on!
Cheers
Malky
#15
10-29-2015, 04:33 PM
Veteran Member
move to the S type, it has the independent rear suspension of the E -type, twin fuel tanks, twin fuel pumps, twin exhaust system, roomier interior and huge trunk. It was code named MK-3 during development, only made for 4½ years (1963-1968), only about 24 thousand were made for the entire world.
sorry to disagree but water does not come in the interior of my S type when it rains or when I wash it, ( nada, zero ), no wind noise at 80mph either, a better design than the XJ if you ask me. (yes I have an XJ too). Mine is totally rust free, a black plate California car. The S type is a very solid design. Can you fit S type door rubber to a MK-2 ? I have no idea.
but if you want a really rare Jaguar, buy the 420, only made for 2½ years. Same equipment and body as the S type but with a redesigned nose because of its 4.2 liter engine. Nobody seems to like it but it is a real fine Jaguar.
whatever you buy, do not buy someone else's problem. Start out with a choice almost pristine car and nothing else.
sorry to disagree but water does not come in the interior of my S type when it rains or when I wash it, ( nada, zero ), no wind noise at 80mph either, a better design than the XJ if you ask me. (yes I have an XJ too). Mine is totally rust free, a black plate California car. The S type is a very solid design. Can you fit S type door rubber to a MK-2 ? I have no idea.
but if you want a really rare Jaguar, buy the 420, only made for 2½ years. Same equipment and body as the S type but with a redesigned nose because of its 4.2 liter engine. Nobody seems to like it but it is a real fine Jaguar.
whatever you buy, do not buy someone else's problem. Start out with a choice almost pristine car and nothing else.
I was the one who PM'd you, cheers.
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