Hello All,
This is my first post. Looks like a wealth of information here. I am starting my research to buy an old sedan for daily driver duty. The game plan is have a new drive train most likely an LS conversion.
Since these cars all seem to be rusty I am leaning towards a 1986 or so XJ6 in the hopes I will find something almost rust free. I see excellent examples in the $12k (USA) range with low miles and then good examples in the $8k range with 60k miles.

I am drawn to the bumpers on the Series I, but I don't mind the bumper of the Series III.

Is there a good chance these will be somewhat rust free?

What are the advantages to the newer cars vs. the old ones? I did read the buyer's guide, just looking for some additional input.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

 

The late Series 3's are better cars and there are lots out there for what you want to do.

Early Series 3's and 2's have the ugly bumpers and poor build quality quality associated with the general malaise of the 70's.

The series 1's are good for their day and build quality is good for a late 60's car. Many Series 1 parts are getting harder to find becasue many parts are unique to the car. The series 3 shares many parts with the series 2 and XJS. If you're up for a rolling restoration / LS project then the Series 3 are rewarding to work on but will keep you busy.

If you must have a Series 1 buy the best one you can find and make sure it's all there, complete and in good condition. Not a great idea to convert a 1, it's smaller brakes, early suspension and dodgy A/C system makes it a much harder conversion.

Have you seen this? Bumper problem solved.
https://media.jaguar.com/news/2018/0...-nicko-mcbrain

 

My 83 is rust free and has ugly bumpers. But, it is not for sale. I was at a muffler shop the other day. I'll avoid the reason. some car guys there for one reason or another. One admired mine and asked if I would consider selling it. No, sir, just too much blood, sweat and tears and money in it... he responded that he understood that quite welll.

Yup, I would sure miss it..

 

I have had four converted Jags, three S1 and one SII.

My daily driver is a S1 383/200R converted to fuel injection. I have adapted some S3 parts and other Jag model parts as well as modern PT Cruiser front seats. The short wheelbase makes for a very good driving and cornering car (limited rear feet room). The simpler electronics...AC is not a climate control system, but seperate AC and heater. I like the chrome bumpers but it is hard to find S1 cars today in good shape...I would convert today with the LS engine/trans combo but mine was done years ago. Mine is also not for sale and if it was you would have to pay $45K plus USD.

 

difference between Series 1 and Series 3 ?

30 years of refining a car. But the main difference is that the Series 1 XJ has a very primitive and lame cooling and heating system for the interior / cabin. The Series 3 has a modern efficient system by comparison. Complicated but fabulous when working right.

the Series 1 is carburetted, the Series 3 is fuel injected. A world of a difference.

 

I appreciate everyone's input. I am really leaning towards the series III. The newest model I can find that is rust free.
There are some really nice examples. With a 500hp LS motor it should be fun. I will do any suspension upgrades I can. Just want a nice comfy cruiser the family can pile into.
I have modern muscle, but I need a family car. The XJ6 is just so beautiful.

 

I love this guys analysis of owning a 30+ year old XJ. What he says is all true, but just so your not blinded by your desire, pay close attention to all the things he's done to his car to keep it running. Pretty typical and what you can expect to have to do to yours if you get one.


Oh, and if you get a Lumped version then your into a whole other categorie. You will be into what I call Hot Rodding. Throw out your jaguar manual for under the hood issues. You will be on your own to figure out how to retro fit parts onto "Frankenstein". But if you buy it, you'd better enjoy working on cars.

 

An XJ6 as a daily driver ? Hmmm.... The youngest car will have been built in 1985, maybe 86, so 34-35 years old. Series 1s and 2s a lot older, and will be full of rust unless the car has been kept in a dry US State. Also the 4.2 engine suffered block cracking up to about 1982 when the slotted block came in. Of course you can try to get an XJ with a US V8 put in, but as said by INDYJAG-84, you will be on your own from the propshaft forwards. I would tend towards getting the last of the line, say 84-86, and 86 if possible assuming you can find one in ace condition. They do exist as some recent posts have been by guys who've just bought one. Here in the UK, the price of petrol (gas) is too prohibitive for an XJ to be a daily driver. Maximum I ever got from my XJ6 Series 3 was 18 mpg, and if you tootle around town a lot it'll be down to 10 mpg or even less. This is for the larger UK gallon, by the way.

As regards service and maintenance, a guy here in England who once did a suspension job on my 1980 XJ6 told me they were the last of the repairable Jaguars. It's not entirely true, but its probably the last car before all the complexity of electronics came in to automobiles. Yes the Series 3s are EFI, but this is an ancient analogue system and super-reliable,

I hope Doug Dwyer will comment, as he actually runs one of these cars, or maybe more than one !

 

I was involved with prepping two Series 1 XJ-6. the Series 1 cars drive basically the same as a Series 2 and 3, other than the carburetted cars are gas guzzlers compared to the Series 3, but my dissapointment was with the poor ventilation / heating system, whether Heat or A/C, it was very defficient and lame.

The irony is that the previous S type and 420 Jaguars (1963-1967), have very decent ventilation and heating systems when compared to the Series 1 XJ-6. Don't know what happened there. Maybe they were rushing the Series 1 into production and not enough work was put into the Heater and Vent system.

Jaguar did improve the systems in the Series 2 and 3.

Beecham Jaguar in Australia takes the old Jaguar MK-2 and turns them into supercars with modern engines, transmissions, and climate systems. If you have the money.

 

I do !

Series III with a V12

Yes. It's my daily driver

Also ran a Series III XJ6 as a daily driver for many years, from about 1997 to 2006

But.....buying a typical used one nowadays and turning it into a reliable driver will take some time and commitment. It's perfectly doable, though. Most required work is DIY-able. Virtually all problems and fixes are known, thanks to the internet. Parts support is good.

Cheers
DD

 

I have a fully sorted 1987 rust free California car I am going to be selling soon. If you are interested send me a private message.

Jeff

 

Series 1 heaters are fine, mine has been converted with a Vintage Air Electronic servo that is the replacement for the water valve of the type used in all the models.. some just apply vacuum differently. It will drive you out of the car with
heat if wanted. Ask around about the problems with the Jag heater valves rusting up when not used enough...

The air conditioning is just like USA cars from the same 1970's era... simple.. you control the AC heat and it works... no mixing like the later models.. But, it is simple... look at the repair manuals for the complex AC/heat units used from my
model forward... I had a SII that I finally bought the large repair manual for and fixed the problems...but it is so primitive of a climate control that I wanted to avoid it again. Plus, in CA having a car before 1974 with a Lump engine means
you have conversion issues with the Smog Authorities... It has vent windows that work to let in outside air, under dash side vents for ventilation and a large outside vent that brings in ambient air to the side vents...lots of cooling choices.

As a daily driver, 14-15 mpg (US gallons) in mixed mostly city/highway use... but it is reliable and fixable by me... I would never take it to a Jaguar dealer as they know nothing, have zero parts...I do use a local AC shop for charging and a local front end shop for
alignment needs. With a GM engine, transmission, radiator, Ford fans and aftermarket AC condenser...all under hood parts for running are available in each city. The only problems I have now are finding the now 49 year old Jag parts..

I have family about 100 miles south of my house and go there all the time...it will do 65-70 miles per hour at 1750-1800 rpm in OD....it is quiet (has interior sound proofing complete, in the doors and under the headliner). It is so much fun to drive
and watch later model XJ drivers look at it and try to figure out why it has chrome bumpers.. it has later model electric outside mirrors and XJ 40 wheels so all the late model stuff confuses them..

 

Don't know where you are located but here in Canada seeing a Series 3 on the road is a rare treat in modern traffic. Virtually no-one who sees it will know or care that it's not a Series 1. I'm just saying, this car gets compliments from older folk who remember them, and is also often approached by younger people who have never seen anything like it. So you'll have fun whichever way you go.

I have used mine as a daily in the non-winter seasons for five years so far and really love driving it. I miss it in the winter. However, be aware that buying a low-mileage car is no guarantee that you'll get a lot out of it before it asks for something back. I bought my 1986 4.2 XJ6 with only 58,000 km when it was 28 years old. Within 5,000 km of driving, the head gasket failed. Try to look for a good maintenance history and regular use--these cars do not like to sit unused. And as I think was covered above, get one that doesn't need rust repair. the mechanicals are pretty straightforward to fix.

Finally, for the model year 1987 in Canada, there was a Series 3 XJ6 and it had clear-over-base paint. All the other Series 3s up through 1986 had TPA paint (thermoplastic acrylic). This probably doesn't matter if the car you buy has good paint.

 

I think the TPA paint was abandoned earlier than 1987. probably around 1982/3, but I may be wrong. TPA is the very devil, because any paint put on top of it soon fails, so resprays of panels or complete cars need the TPA to come off. My 1980 XJ6 had this awful stuff. Paint stripper used to turn it into a liquid !

 

Read the post nearby about the AC amplifier and you will know why I like the S1...

 

Thanks everyone for all the info. I am not planning to buy for at least 12 months. I will be moving to NC soon and that will take all my time.