First of all, this is the first car I've ever bought sight unseen, and might be my last. I did get many pictures, asked plenty of questions, and had my Brother in law inspect the car (not really a car guy).

The automatic trans seems to have some issues, won't stay in 1st gear even under WOT, shifts to 2nd at 2000RPM. I suspect the aftermarket Weber downdraft carb installation may be the culprit... maybe the throttle isn't opening far enough. The car won't accelerate at all, I think I could walk away from a stoplight faster. I don't know much about automatics, hope it is something simple. I have a reciept from a full rebuild of the trans 2 years ago. I plan on getting a hold of some originial ZS carbs, and going back to stock since I have no experience with these Weber carbs, and I don't know why so many people use them. When I look at the path the air/fuel has to take with these things, I can't imagine them being any good for performance.

Are there any affordable triple carb options for SU or ZS carbs on these engines? I know E types had them for a couple of years, but those are rare and expensive.

The "minor" oil leak seems to be quite a bit more than that, and the oil seems to be coming from the back of the cylinder head, but not the cam covers. Is there an oil line there that might be leaking? Is this common, and easily fixed?

Overall, I think it is a beautiful car with tons of curb appeal, and apart from the engine and trans issues, it drives great. The previous owners have cared well for this car.

 

hi,
check the transmission fluid level when hot.

yes, there is a Banjo fitting / oil line at the rear of the cylinder head, towards the exhaust side, which can leak. Use a mirror and flashlight to find it. Not sure if you need to replace the banjo seals made of Fiber or Copper.

I've seen used 3-carb intakes on eBay. I'm not familiar with the linkages or anything else about them. 2 carbs is plenty "trouble".

 

After some further investigation, I found that the throttle is only opening about half way due to the throttle stop being adjusted all the way down. After getting that adjusted to almost full throttle (the linkeage is a little jacked up), I drove the car again, and found that the transmission slips badly when the motor is booted. It still won't stay in 1st gear past about 1800 RPM. Also found lots of oil inside the air cleaners from the breather on the front of the block. I recently saw a Wheeler Dealer's episode on a Mk2 Jag that needed this breather cleaned out, so I'll have a look at that too. Bottom line is, despite what I was told, there is no way that this motor has been rebuilt.

The oil leak appears to be coming from a round 6-bolt access plate on the back of the block below the cylinder head. What's behind it? Easy to replace the gasket?

 

Reminds me of my xj6c aquisition. Approach it one day at a time and patience is a must. The BW65 transmisson uses a cable attached to the throttle to signal load and thus control shift points. Sound like the cable is not hooked up. Take some time to fully evaluate the engine with a compression or leak down test. Then go over the chassis very carfully to identify hidden rust. Consider removing the rear interor side panels to check for rust.



I bought mine sight unseen too. As it pulled up on the flatbed transport... it looked good from afar but it was far from good. I was told it was running rich and has some surface rust. It didnt run at all and need complete floor boards, rockers, fenders and the trailing arm support area was crumbly. It was badly painted with rustoleum. All things the seller didnt mention. It was very very bad but it was my dream car and would give me the opertunity to improve it. It would be sin for a novice like myself to weld on a car that needed minor repairs but my car was arguably too far gone so I gave it a shot. After reviewing Fiboys xj6c web site I was inspiried and on and I figured I couldn't make it any worse, Today the Xj6C has a Chevy 400, 700R4, headers, custom exhaust and many other upgrades. I've been welding, cutting upgrading fixing for three years and it keep me out of the bars and away from the TV.