Guys, I hope I haven't caused some conflict with my simple questions, I'm new to the forum and to Jags and trying to get as much info as possible, I'll back off with my replies if it's causing problems on the forum. I do appreciate the answers to my questions and I've acknowledged them all I think. At 74 I may not be as 'hip' as I once was but I'm trying my best to learn, an XJS has been on my bucket list for a long time, and now I've got one albeit not a perfect specimen and I need help with it, so this is my reason for joining this forum, just want help and advice not to stir up problems for the membership.

Dick C.

 

Oh DickC, there are no problems here.

If you can't have discussions like these, there would be no point to having these forums.

It might just be me, but I find that these kinds of discussions are a fun way to learn things.

 

I agree Vee, I'm on several gun forums, photography forums, off-road racing, trap shooting, knifemaking, chess, writers, rock climbing, and many more. There's always conflicts of agreement and opinions, depends on whose ox your goring I guess. I didn't want to stir up a ruckus on my first week of being a Jag owner and a forum subscriber, I want to be on here a long time as I will have many more questions as time goes along and I get deeper into this unit. And BTW, I'm doing this in a gravel driveway, my garage is full of machinery; lathes, mill, grinders, etc., so this old man is going to wear out lots of t-shirts laying on the ground! LOL! Such is the life of a life-long gunsmith/gunmaker, I didn't prepare for a sports car later in life!!

Dick C.
dicksknives@aol.com

 

Dick I think you have bought yourself a great machine what V12 sports car is affordable, even if it needs a little TLC to get it going, once you get it sorted PROPERLY you will have years of fun reliable driving, (Try doing that with an 80's V12 Ferrari NOT LIKELY).

Wow that's a shed most would love, you are in a great position to make/rebuild parts.

Going back to the water pump - these have a tendency to leak from the seal, rebuild kits are available, there are at least 3 different V12 water pumps so ensure you get the correct kit.

Get yourself a ROM (Repair Operation Manual) they are available on CD from a number of sources eBay being one. JDHT ( Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust) is a good source of parts info Jaguar Heritage there is a section for classic Jaguar parts.

Hope this helps

 

Thanks Warren, I hope to have lots of enjoyment out of putting this Jag back on its feet, I know it'll cost a few bucks so I'll just have to go from Jack Daniels to Evan Williams or Heaven Hill for awhile, Ha! You mention Ferrari, mine was a 1964 275 with a 315 engine, V12 OHC, enough Weber carbs to fill a bushel basket, lived in Denver at the time, could almost drive all the way across town without having to clean the plugs, driving in 1st gear all the time, shift to 2nd and you'd foul the plugs!! It was mooshy off the line but in about 100 feet it'd start to screw, then as your face distorted you'd hit 2nd, then 3rd, then suddenly you'd look down and your going 115-120 and still had two more gears to go! Came across Kansas (I70) back from a trap shoot, pulled into a rest stop so my my buddy could pee, some highway workers came over and said "we,ve been hearing you coming for 5 minutes, just wondering what it was", it was lots of fun as long as you were where you could keep it running like it was meant to do, never had it over 150 but it had plenty left, I was just afraid of of it after that, the faster it went the lower it got to the road, run over a cigarette butt and it was like hitting a tepee pole!! HA!

Thanks again for all your help guys,
Dick C.

 

No, I haven't taken it the wrong way, I just get irked when people continue to exaggerate problems that cars have. Jags, MGs, and anything else with lucas electrics are constantly being made fun of for how terrible they are, but I have owned 2 british cars and a japanese car and the infiniti was the only one with electrical problems!

This is just an example, but remains my point as a whole. My first car was a 1991 infiniti that has shared nearly every single problem my XJS has had except the water pump leaking. The infiniti however had additional problems with the injectors and ignition system, as well as a really horrible electrical gremlin with the security system.

I guess the biggest difference in opinion here is that you find it okay to ignore various system that make up a car and if they can handle the neglect you grant them praise for being "reliable". I wouldn't praise my dog for not getting sick if I forgot to feed him, that's my fault.

Your point against me "spending 2 dollars for a new one" missed what I was saying. I am not saying that I have a new XJS, but an XJS can be restored if you want to. If I spend just 3 or 400 dollars I can rebuild the master cylinder, replace all 4 rotors, rebuild all 4 calipers, replace all 6 brake pad sets, and replace all soft hoses and fluid. For 400 dollars I can have a 25 year old car with a braking system that is BRAND NEW. In fact, it is better, with better pad materials, better materials making up the rubber hoses and seals, better fluid, and with a better rotor design.

That is part of why I like older cars, you can put in way less money than it takes to purchase a new car, and you can have a new car. My XJS is in no way perfect, but it beats the hell out of anything else I could have bought for 1000$ and I would never want to invest in fixing up a econobox to get me around.

 

I have the big green books and a Haynes manual, they came with the car. I want to do it right, not just put a Band-Aid on it so will probably put a new pump on it, new hoses and stats and it'll never have to do it again in my lifetime, yep, I have a good shop, can make most anything, just sucks to not have anything but a gravel driveway to work on cars. I have a 4WD Subaru Justy which I did an engine swap out last year, just try moving a cherry picker around in gravel with an engine hanging on it, even a little 3 banger engine....no fun!

 

Be careful lifting out that V12 on a gravel driveway!

I went through my 1990 and just like any other car, you have to take care of the leaks and the maintenance. You must do it right. No Band-Aids.

Good Luck with your car

 

BTW, I use ALLDATA.COM.

It has all the schematics, diagrams and procedures online.

 

I don't plan on ever lifting that engine, if it ever needs it I'll have someone else do it! With the Justy, I just raised it up and rolled the car back but still took some jiggling and prying to get it ready.

Dick C.

 

Thanks for the ALLDATA.COM site.