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My XJS
Hello
I became a member of “Jaguarforums” early November 2018, after my 1980 XJS came home early October. While I posted a few things straight away without introducing myself (rookie mistake), I then restrained myself from further questions until I read the first 100 pages of the forum, to see what I can learn without asking duplicate questions.
I got to page 100, the other day – so let me introduce myself
My first exposure to the XJS was watching the Bathurst race when I was a pre-teenager, and I just thought it as beautiful – especially comparing it to the other race cars on the track.
In my late teenage years – the local publican owned a XJS, and it was the first one I had seen in reality, and it left a lasting impression on me. It was for sale at the time, but since I was on minimum wage with no fixed address, I brought a Holden Kingswood instead.20+ years later, I have a fixed address, our youngest child has his own license and car, a midlife crisis loomed, it was time to buy another car to restore.I spent a lot of time in 2018 – looking up vehicles for sale, in magazines and websites. Basically what I was chasing was 2 doors (either a coupe or a ute, that way, only the one passenger meaning no kids, something that needed repair, so I could rebuild it the way I wanted. With these parameters, I looked up potential hot rods, Australian classics, American muscle and European sophistication. Some vehicles raised interest, but nothing sang to me in a “that’s it| kind of way.
But then – advertised on the internet was this 1980 XJS, yellow paint, body kit installed, presently registered on the road, and the price was right. This car sang to me – and I kept looking at it on the web site. There were a few obstacles to overcome – we live in central Qld, Australia, the car was advertised in Perth West Australia – a distance of almost 5000km’s which made inspecting the vehicle difficult. But I have a brother who lives near Perth, so he inspected the car for me.
So based on what my brother told me over the phone – an offer was made and accepted. Vehicle was driven to a transport depot by the seller, number plates removed (making the vehicle unregistered). 10 days later, I had my project car sitting in my drive way. So what do you get when you purchase a 39 year old XJS Jag, that you have not actually seen before buyingRust – nothing structural found, the boot is the worst, mainly in front of the rear bumper and behind both rear tyres. Other places, only small amounts – happy
Fuel smell was strong. The fuel tank has since been removed and a fuel cell installed with new hoses, no smell evident any longer - happy
Drive line – new springs and shocks have been installed by the PO in the last couple of years, brakes work well, bushes – some are showing signs of age, but should get through road worthy ok. Gearbox and motor are strong - happy
Cabin is ratty but all there – happy again.Every time I walk past it in the morning and afternoon, a great big smile is on my face, and the song it sings is only getting louder.
The rebuild has started, 1st job is the rust removal, which is about 1/3rd completeTo all the people who have asked the questions on this forum, a big thank you, for all the people who has posted answers, again, another big thank you.I have about another 100 pages to go through, to gather even more information, to make my midlife crisis last forever
Cheers
Steve
The body kit seems to be well made and is very sturdy, so I do not think it was home made. No idea of what breed the kit is - but it makes the car look awesome. The only thing I did not like is taking the door and side rail components off. These were held on by screws, with no obvious location of the screw head.
So I had to dig into the fibreglass to expose the head to remove them, this really made me grit my teeth.
Holes have been patched up and I will be using other means of securing them after the painting has been completed
Cheers
Steve Screw holding the side skirt on Screw coming out - black marks was used to measure approximately where the head was by sliding a scrapper between body and kit
01-21-2019 | 04:12 AM
New XJS Owner
