Good luck and to a safe ride home.
Keep us in the loop.

BTW, tell your wife I said she's a "keeper" for going along with your crazy idea.. lol

 

Long drives home with a new car are the best.

When I bought my first Ferrari (a 1982 Mondial 8), I flew my dad to Chicago where I met him for the drive home to D.C. I had no idea how to drive stick. Cars AC was broken, had to be push started due to bum battery and kill switch, and the master cylinder was shot.

That was a fun trip home. One disaster after another. That poor clutch never new what happened. Great time with my dad!

 

To pick up my XKR, I flew with my 10yo daughter to Dayton, OH for the drive home to D.C.

She has a wicked sense of humor as this was her carry on.

Enjoy the trip!!!!

 

Worn Shock mounts = Harsh. If the shocks were bad it would be more floaty. Suspension failure is likely a broken wire or unplugged shock

Uncontrolled metal to metal contact makes things harsh. New mounts, bushes and maybe a little lower tire pressure will likely do the trick. My car banged clunked and howled when I bought it and didn't think it would make it the 35 miles home (though the drivetrain was smooth and the trip computer reported 24 mpg)

 

Kat is coming home! 😅

 

Nice and an adventure to boot ! Good luck with the trip.

 

Followup: we made it home 1200 miles safely and without any major incidents. We did discover that the HID headlights start turning on and off after a few minutes then the driver's side will go out completely. Sometimes the passenger side also. We had to rely on the fog lights to help light the way!

I have new bulbs coming today (Amazon Prime FTW) and will swap them in tonight.

Other than that the car thew a CEL P0420 after about 250 miles. Likely this is crud coming out of the engine fouling an O2 sensor, based on my previous experiences. Since the car had sat on a dealer lot for over 3 months we decided to run some injector cleaner through it on the first 2 tanks which might have loosed up some gunk.

The suspension is a strange combination of floaty and jarring. It needs a complete rebuild but until we can get the electrical problem causing the Suspension Fault to be resolved and replace warn bits it is impossible for me to know if the shocks are still good or not.

The engine purred except when I put my foot in it, then it growled with supercharger whine! Transmission is silky smooth.

The car is at 118K so I decided to book it into a Jag dealer for the 120K and have them diagnose and quote on all the work. I can decide from there whether to have them do it or just buy the parts and do it myself.

The body has a few minor dings but the paint is in reasonable condition. Wife and I are both eager to see what a good claybar and buffing will do! There are some paint chips on the nose but otherwise it looks good. Interior is surprisingly good!

After getting home late last night I dreamt all night of driving to work top-down. So this morning I did. With a great big grin on my face the entire way!

Overall I/we made the right choice (XKR with some issues vs XK8). For now it will be my new project car needing only a little time and a modest pile of money which I already budgeted for.

We are already thinking about the first get-away trip together in Katherine.

 

It felt like a strange combination of harsh and floaty. Maybe. It is hard to say.

After I get the Suspension Failure resolved we will dig into replacing worn suspension components. As you might gather I'm prepared to replace the shocks if needed. Of course, I would prefer to keep the money in my pocket!

We got beat up a bit on our 1200 miles home but it was tolerable. Over the next 2-3 months Kat will be restored to be the car I've always wanted! It only takes a bit of time ... and a bunch of money.

 

My crazy idea? I showed her the ad and she said "We should fly there this weekend, buy it and drive home!" Before I knew it she had booked 2 first class tickets to Dallas.

Darned right she's a keeper! She said this weekend was our 35th anniversary celebration. The car is my 60th birthday present from my late Dad.

I think she wanted to reward me for the work (and money) I put into "her" truck - our 2003 F350 7.3L diesel dually. A week ago I just installed a TS Performance 6-way chip to add 100 RWHP and a 4" turbo-back exhaust.

I think her truck would win an 1/8th mile drag if I lined up with the XKR. I'd probably take her in the 1/4 mile.

So now she is happy and I'm happy too.

 

Congrats on making it home.

The HIDs could either be bulbs or Ballast. Its a Valeo LAD5G ballast, they run about $200 each (buy new). Not the best ballasts as they have been known to fry bulbs if they are flakey. Changing bulbs first is a good first step (imo).

Anyway, enjoy. Looks like a lot of project s upcoming. When you have the dealer look at the car, try and get an assessment of the hoses. They tend to be a weak link.

Best and Congrats!
dsd

 

As for the suspension, I believe the R Adaptive Springs are no longer available.

There are choices for new aftermarkets but they all will lower to varying degrees.

The Adams kit, I believe to be the closest match, lowers only 25mm.

 

Like I said.... She's a keeper.

Good luck with your new ride
Please keep us updated on all the work you do.. This board thrives on the info

 

Thank you. I spent 2 hours going over the car thoroughly before purchasing including borrowing tools from one of my friends there to make an educated guess whether it was safe to drive home.

Yes, that confirms what I read. With 2 bulbs for about $30 it is the obvious place to start.

Good point. As to projects this is NOTHING compared to my last few. For one thing the body isn't falling apart and for another the car runs!

 

I hadn't planned on changing springs but I will consider it. Unless they are corroded or otherwise failing I will probably keep it stock for now.

 

I can definitively say it was the bulbs (past tense) and there is nothing wrong with the ballast.

Less than $30 for 2 bulbs from Amazon (chose the 6000K version) and maybe 10 minutes getting my hands grubby has solve that problem!

If only all the issues were so inexpensive and simple to solve.

 

Late congrats on the safe trip home, and pleased it worked out for you.

Good idea on the full service to put you at a known base. The dealer will doubtless find any number of things that 'need replacing', but I imagine the quote will make your eyes water...

Please do post up some pics when you get a chance - even some 'befores' to remind you of how it all started.

Enjoy!


Mike

 

Thank you.

Undoubtedly.

I will see what I can do. Surprisingly, we didn't take all that many photos. Must correct that soon!

 

At a rest stop along I10

 

Me and Kat.

 

After installing new 6000K xenon HID bulbs.