The car was beat to ****. The interior at first glance looked ok, but that was all the armor all he pumped into it. All the wood needed to be replaced, small things all had to get done also like the cigarette lighter cover...

Then came the mechanics. The car swayed far worse than anything i've driven in a long time. Not only the shocks needed to be replaced, but undoubtedly there is suspension issues. Brake calipers in the front had issues, rears needed pads so i couldn't really tell whats up with those. He supposedly swapped out the pulley and had eliminated 3 mufflers(sounded like ****), but the car really didnt go with any gusto, so i put it in sport mode and that did absolutely nothing. He claimed he dyno'ed at 419hp, but there is no doubt my all stock w/pulley upgrade would have taken him and on top of that... my car is much much smoother.

I gained a big appreciation for my XJR today. Also..the forum member just called me and said he bought the 01 VDP Supercharged I had found in Texas. Congrats Gerry!!!! That was so much of a better buy.

 

Nice Job Marko! Way to look out for our fellow board members.

 

A prince indeed!

 

Thanks Marco !

Thank you SO much for doing that for me... I owe ya big !

And thanks for the lead on the VDP...

Glad i pulled the trigger on the VDP...and got it secured...

Leaving Tues morning and will be at the car by 11:30am driving it off for the maiden test drive....

Turns out one of my best friends just moved about 5 minutes from the dealership.... Perfect !

Its rodeo down there and i will get to spend the week with him and have some fun....

Counting down the minutes till Tuesday !

Thanks again Marco...you da MAN !

 

Amazing how ads so often turn out to be complete BS! My daughter dated a guy several years ago who went to great pains to make his POS cars look good on the internet so he could sell them sight unseen. I won't buy a car that I can't put my hands on, or the hands of a trusted friend or relative or car inspection company.

Good job, glad you had the time to do that great service for a fellow enthusiast!

Mike

 

Great Marko! It helps a lot to have "friends" all over. If you (or anyone else), needs something in the Palm Springs area (San Gorgonio Pass), I'd be glad to help.

 

I really wanted the vdp supercharged, but in the end, I just couldn't do it so I directed Gerry to it and he bought it. Would rather see the car go to a forum member than some schmuck that will destroy it.

It was a far better buy than the one I looked at for him.

 

Again, i cant thank Marco enough for going out of his way on 2 attempst to look at the XJR....

Although it was the color combo, and supposedly had some upgrades for powere that i was looking for... he clearly made me realize it was not the one...

And turning me onto the VDP S/C was just great...

And YES this car will be enjoyed and cared for....

First things first... i have to look at the tensioners !

I am going to try to get some service info from Jaguar tomarow...as the car comes with none..

Then on to make it a mean beast !

Looks like an Avos T/S, rear swaybar, and a Brembo upgrade are in its future next season...

 

Nice assist Marco, kudos to you for helping out another forum member my friend

Its things like these that help to make this forum what it is.

Hope you enjoy the car for a long time Gerry

 

Nooo! by an R for this work, you'll realise this if you drive both, the long wheelbase is more akin to a limo, Bentley without the price tag, throw in the rarity and suspension it's a very big no-no....you think a poxy swaybar will cope with the acceleration? You'll need sports springs and dampers, bigger front anti rolebar and all bushings to R spec too which means destroying the ride.....

What was Marko saying about a shmuck buying it and destroying it?
I'll get me coat....

 

.
I am NOT looking to go road racing...

And nothing i do to this car would not be reversable....

Putting a T/S on this car is nothing but a bonus....

And i'm NOT a Smuck...thanks for your input

 

I'm with Sean on this. But it's your car.

This thing is a VDP with ba11s. It will never be the "R", and it doesn't want to be. I don't know if you ever drove all the models? VDP has a long wheelbase, and it's MUCH heavier car than the "R". Sport suspension on this would be a mistake IMO, but.....it's your car again!

This is the executive, "limo like", people hauler that will get the VIPs to the destination in a hurry. It doesn't corner well, it's slow from the start, but once up to speed, it glides (softly) on the road very fast.

I drive a VDP without the "kick", and it CAN get up and go on the highway (it's a dog on the sidestreets, and at the stop lights), but when I drive my wife's plain XJ8, the difference is very obvious. Her car is much quicker (from the start, and in the corners), and very "nimble". The S/C equivalents (XJR, and Super V8 VDP) are the same, just with more power.

I drove a Super8 VDP here in CA (didn't buy it) when it was for sale on Craigs. If I ended up buying it, I wouldn't have changed anything.

And again,.....it's YOUR car, and you can do as you please.

 

I'm not talking about converting the eniter suspension to R stuff...

Just bigger sway bars to aid in some cornering....or should i say stability...

And more power is always better IMO..... I like brutal straight line power....

I know what this car was meant to be, and what it is....

I am really looking forward to the smooth ride qualitys and VDP ammenities...

But i also thing it can be made to be a barn burner in a more straight line capacity and have the best of ALL worlds...

Again, i am not on a mission to molest the car, just make it more of an amazing machine all around...

I see another VDP member here that has a whole big list of upgrades done to his.... and havent heard any negativity about that car....

Dont worry this car will be treated like a queen... and driven like a NYC hooker, but still be pampereed accordingly in the end...

 

I like the idea of upgrading your car mechanically. You will be getting the best of both worlds, VDP luxury, XJR acceleration, and enhanced handling. I'm surprised with the criticism. It's not like 20" rims are being added here. Gerry sounds like a car enthusiast. There are not enough car enthusiasts who drive non XJR X308s. Many X308s I see driving around look terrible and are falling apart. Gerry sounds like someone who will actually invest $ in making his car better. IMO, we need more people like Gerry. The VDP is a sport sedan, not an English Lincoln Town Car. I give you the thumbs up man.

I think some might be thinking that you will be doing not only performance mods but also polarizing mods like headrest TVs, flip out dash screens, removing all the mufflers and etc in the future? I'm guessing maybe that is where the criticism is coming from?

Btw, the Supercharged VDP is only 30lbs heavier than the XJR, so the acceleration shouldn't be much different than a XJR (if at all different).

 

Thanks Burmaz... Yeah i wont be installing any Ghetto stuff LOL.

This car is already amazing in itself.... but i know it can be made to handle and still retain its luxury feel...

This car will be better than it was NEW....

And be a much more capable machine.

 

We are missing a point here. The man bought the car for his own money. He is free to do to it whatever he wants! Its called customizing. We should be respectful of different views and tastes.

Personally, I'd leave it stock but that's just my opinion. On the other hand I'd like to hear back how will these changes affect the ride and the feel of this car. Gerry, please keep us updated.

 

My car is a Comfort suspension (no rear sway bar, smaller diameter front sway bar, softer shocks and bushes). I fitted a rear sway bar and links from a Sport model and the behavior is different, more straight, no more boating in the curves, better handling as before.
Anything that improves the stability on a long and heavy car can be only a plus.

 

Better than new is a matter of opinion. As others have said, it's your car and you can and should do whatever you want with it, and whatever that might be is fine with me (not that you need my approval ), but (and you knew there'd be a but) if you ever plan on selling the car, any mods you make will probably cost you if the buyer is looking for a "stock" vehicle. I just talking from a "buyer's" perspective -- when I see a nice car that has mods, I pass, that's just me, but I don't want to deal with someone else's mods. Just my opinion.

On the other hand -- have fun, let us know how the suspensions upgrades go, and if you do the upgrades take photos and post a how-to so other who might be so inclined can learn from your efforts.

 

I think you are getting criticized b/c XJR drivers out there might be afraid of a VDP S/C beating them off the line in a drag race.

I'm sure I might have gotten criticized for the cosmetic mods I have done to my VDP, but I have had mine for 9 years, and don't plan on selling it. I'm guessing that you might be in the same boat?

But, sadly, I don't see these cars become high priced classics unless you have a one owner car with extremely low miles (like 20k) and all the service records. I haven't seen any old XJ6 or XJ12 (series I-III) sell for HUGE $, unlike their E-type counterparts.

 

.

I think you are right... but on the same note, i dont chop up "nice" cars..

If i am building something "custom" i tend to buy a rougher example as modifying isnt as much of a crime...

Nothing will be done to the VDP that cant be undone.....

All the mehanical ugrades i want to do to the VDP, should not only increase overall performance but enhance the car, and add value to the performance minded buyer, if i ever decide to sell at a later date....

I am seriously looking forward to this project and enjoying the car for years to come...