project 2...

Jack, my second Jaguar project, is a 4.0l facelift XJS in Signal Red.

He was, quite simply, "unplanned".

Finding Jack began with an email from Letitia of Xclusively Jaguar informing me of an XJRS "going cheap". I have always fancied an XJRS so this was not to be missed. I was passed on the details of the owner and I emailed him right away to get the low down on this black XJRS. The gentleman, Chris (from XKZ, as advertised in the Xclusively Jaguar newsletter) was selling it as he had acquired it as a part payment. It was black in colour, recently resprayed, the 6.0l NOT the 5.3 (which was what I wanted if I was going V12) and it was up for £1500 ... So of course, what was the catch? There had at some point been an "overheating" problem, the coolant had been lost somewhere, the heads were considered warped, and there was even talk of dropped valve seats and damaged pistons and liners ...

However, without further ado, and after seeing some photos, I headed down to South Buckimghamshire anyway to take a look at the beast. I stopped on the way to pick up Paul Hands from Hyper Engineering because what he doesnt know about the V12 isnt worth knowing, and I am very new to the V12 so all help was greatly appreciated. As it turned out, it was just as well Paul came with me - he knew the car! This was also very good for him as the guy who had owned it (and no, thats not Chris!) owed him a lot of money, but thats another story ... The good thing having Paul to hand was that he knew the shoddy workmanship that had taken place beforehand, and whilst he was able to point out the usual areas of rusting on the XJS, it was obvious even to me that the paintjob was poor. The previous owner had got everything sprayed - if it was not a wheel, it was now black! The chrome, the growler on the bonnet, everything! The jacking points to the rear were also deemed "unsafe". Paul then got down to the nitty gritty - the V12 was not a job to be taken on lightly, and a lot of hard work would be needed. Work was not a problem, I was happy to put it in for the right car (Joe's face fell at this point, I think he knows he will be drafted in...) What eventually clinched the deal was the fact that the piston liners were Cosworth parts, a set of these liners alone were £1500 - if I could even get hold of them, and there were the other engine problems, finding heads to fit the 6l (although rumour has it that the 5.3 heads fit?), and all the other engine parts. And dont forget, the coolant failed, so I would have to find the reason for this failure ... and this is all before I even get to the body work!

Now, I love a project, and had my numbers come up at the weekend I would have bought it without thinking, but with limited funds I had to be sensible, and so I sadly walked away. I hate seeing a Jaguar that could possibly end up scrapped, and I try to help them as much as I can, but unfortunately this just wasnt possible this time. However, Chris and I have remained firm friends, and he has since told me that someone from Grubloggers bought it, so lets just hope that they save him and dont just grub and log him...

Walking away from the XJRS was hard, but talking to Chris and Paul, it was clear that even they thought that it was the better thing to do. Both thought it best that I stick to the AJ6, I know this engine and most importantly I can afford to insure it and afford to run it as an every day car! It was at this point that Paul mentioned the XJS in his garden that I had seen earlier. I went back to his house and had a good look around the car. Paul was honest, it was a project, it needed work, but the price reflected this. And with this gorgeous bright red car just looking at me longingly with this big oval headlamps how could I turn it down?