Hi, All. I posted in the new member section about the XJ6 and XJ12C I acquired last fall:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...-s3-xj6-90940/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...rn-find-90990/

and thought I'd post some pics of cleaning up the coupe. It's been inoperable since 1986; the grime was serious.



I couldn't help myself; had to wash it before I even fixed the flats:








It certainly brightened up several shades. There was enough paint on most of the car to merit compounding it; it actually turned out half decent and no longer looks so sad-









So, it looks ok but it's still a long way from mobile. The rusty rotors made it very hard to push around, so I pulled the front pads and now it rolls easily. The brake fluid in the master reservoir has turned to what looks like sugar crystals; THAT won't be fun. The trans and ps fluid look fine; the coolant level is low so not sure yet what it looks like. The fuel tanks are probably awful, judging from the smell of varnish that overwhelms you if you open a cap. The fire damage was really minimal, and the original owner was nice enough to accumulate most of what's needed, including a new injector harness, a new ignition amplifier, and all the distributor electronics. Still, there's some work to do on the wires that feed the relays above the cooling fans, and I suspect the MAP sensor was cooked. Not sure about the injector amplifier since it sits over the ledge near the grille; the wires seem ok. It will be nice to get the rewiring done so I can install a battery and power things up for the first time in so long.

The real question is whether the engine is rusted solid. The oil looks fine and it's clean inside the cam cover, but after the fire the owner pulled the semi-melted injectors and didn't block the holes, so I expect the worst from dampness. I looked in the cylinders with a borescope and can't see any obvious rust, but I'm doubtful. I haven't yet put a wrench to the crank; I've had it pickled in penetrating oil through the winter but am getting anxious to try it. I welcome any comments, advice, or psychiatric referrals...

Thanks for reading!

Best regards,
Jeff

 

Looks beautiful! If it were mine, I would send the brake components to White Post Restorations to be sleeved and rebuilt.

Good luck!

 

Beautiful car man I have always loved those coupes but couldn't get my hands on the one near me in time before it was sold! I also love the color looks like my 4 door altho mine may be a little bit brighter yellow but I'm not positive.. I believe it is called 'pale primrose' that was the closest color I could find on a Jaguar paint colors website altho it didn't match up with the year of my Jaguar I still believe that's what mine is but I could be wrong and may have missed something in my search. Definitely looks classy on a Jag tho!

 

Only around 5000 Coupes made. So worth restoring !

 

Beautiful car Jeff. Paint work came up pretty well after the wash. Is the chrome side moulding dealer fitted? Haven't seen it before. Hope you can get her back on the road soon. Growing up these V12 Coupes we're one of my favourite cars.

 

All XJ12C's came with the bright body side molding. One of the few differences between the 6 and 12.

Nice looking car. Hope it turns out well for you... those engines scare the bejesus out of me. I looked at purchasing a 12C, but was positively frightened by the rats nest of hoses on top of the engine.

 

Looks beautiful after that wash!

 

Really nice looking coupe - looking forward to watching you bring it back!