So.. how much of a headache would I be in for if I bought one of these mid-80's Jaguar XJS's with the V12...

So.. how much of a headache would I be in for if I bought one of these mid-80's Jaguar XJS's with the V12? There are some nice looking cars in my area in the $5k-$7k price range, are these things impossible to keep running or something?

dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/5570225081.html

dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5574763057.html

dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5603156325.html

Other urls found in this thread:

ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-spitfire-mk3-v12-twin-supercharged-barnfind-/191656789689?hash=item2c9fa286b9&nma=true&si=z9OvKcRgaIgG3fFk7gjTpUz1oTA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
youtube.com/watch?v=95MhCNKf7CA
hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2010/05/Jaguar-s-Rare--Affordable-V-12-Coupe/3189631.html
hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2013/01/Jaguar-s-Posh--affordable-XJ-S/3720471.html
thedrivenman.com/c-968307-shop-by-category-transmission-kits-jaguar-xjs.html
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

>mid-80's Jaguar XJS's
>with the V12
>these things impossible to keep running
Just highlighted how redundant your thread is

The first one has the worst upholstery I've ever seen. They don't appear to be seat covers either.
The second one is a one picture ad not even worth looking at.
The last one will probably be the most reliable despite the fact its engine swapped, and its very clean looking to boot.

Well I wasn't planning on buying one of those specifically, just tossing them out as an example of what's on my local craigslist currently, If I was to get one I'd keep an eye on craigslist for a while to see if a really nice one popped up. Reading a little about the issues that 5.3L V12 engine has is turning me off of them pretty quickly though.

I had one
They fucking suck dude
Unless you have money or know how to wrench one and enjoy doing it it's not worth it
They are fucking SLOW dude
Fucking 3 speed transmission sucks dick
It was a great looking car though
I always got compliments on it

Yeah dude the engine is a pain in the ass have you even fucking seen the jag 5.3L it's a Fucking mess
Pic related
It's got potential but unless you have money you aren't going to harness that potential

Forgot pic

Fucking fuck forgot again

Well that sucks, I appreciate a previous owner's insight.

Yes, they are nice looking vehicles, that's what caught my eye in the first place. I've been looking at older coupes and 2 door convertibles for a potential weekend fun and project car and stumbled upon those XJS's on Craigslist. I want something that looks nice, is fun to drive, and is fairly uncommon.

yeah, fuck that, I don't want to wrench on that mess

That last one has a Chevy 350 V8 swap done. This is a POPULAR swap on them because it fixes all reliability problems.
Go for that one.

I've owned one.

Expect 4000 dollar services.

Sell it when the engine needs work.

>not the 7.0L Lister TWIN SUPERCHARGED V12.

>Only serviceable by a 76 year old bloke from kent, who has been working on Jaaags since before he was born.

What kind of sadist would design something like that?

I've heard that the newer 90's ones with the 6L are far superior and have less problems but that's hear say
The xjs isn't really a sporty car
It's very heavy, over 4000lbs if I remember correctly
It's more of a car you go for a cruise in

You can tune them up to be fastish In a straight line but it's going to cost you

The people that keep these cars really enjoy them though

The guy I sold mine to had like 3 of them
I would have loved to keep it because it really was a beautiful car but not worth it for me at least

Ohh baby stop
You going to make me cum

Yeah.. I think I'd rather something a little quicker / sportier. I've already got a slow and heavy 3/4 ton diesel pickup truck.

Don't listen to these people too much. The engines are pretty bulletproof. It's the electrics and accessories that have problems. If you have a jag specialist near you, get them to inspect any potential purchase. mid-model cars are the best. Early ones had less efficient engines and probably teething issues and the newer ones were more pigfat. Or you could get a 96 that has OBDII at the expense of performance. If you like them, and have plenty money, go for it.

its a weird kind of v12
allot of its design process was towards increasing reliability (in the 1960s sense of the word)
but there are things that go against that such as the valve train design and the open deck head
and if your not dealing with six double barrel carburettors
there are things like the stock fuel injection to contend with
I want to like it but it's unsettling just like the bmw m70

farrrrk

Yeah I agree the engine itself was solid and has potential but there's no denying everything else connected to it is a mess

Another pic of the xj I had before
The front is my favorite part

having owned a 76 spitfire i can say this is terrifying.

Awesome. But Terrifying.

Get the cheapest one you can find that's body and interior is still in decent condition and swap a LSx and a T-56

Read this before you decide to buy one.

www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/XJS_help.pd

actual link
www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/XJS_help.pdf

This is a terrible idea
The reason I sold mine was because the inboard disk breaks were fucked and it was a shit ton of money and no mechanic wanted to touch a jag
It was nearly impossible to fix them myself

Actually it is very much possible to fix yourself with help of The Book (Experience in a book). All glory to The Book...

it does look a little hectic
ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-spitfire-mk3-v12-twin-supercharged-barnfind-/191656789689?hash=item2c9fa286b9&nma=true&si=z9OvKcRgaIgG3fFk7gjTpUz1oTA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

this looks like one of those v12s that were hobbled together using 2 straight six engines being that it is so ungodly large. also it looks like that engine has been worked on so much by various mechanics its not even funny. it also looks like I took apart a a junkyard airplane apart and made a fuel system for that car out of it

Electrical gremlins out the ass. But you can make about 30 more horsepower by replacing the stock exhaust.

the one reason to own this car
youtube.com/watch?v=95MhCNKf7CA

>Fucking 3 speed transmission sucks dick
Only because you fucksticks buy automatics.

Coupla articles

hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2010/05/Jaguar-s-Rare--Affordable-V-12-Coupe/3189631.html

hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2013/01/Jaguar-s-Posh--affordable-XJ-S/3720471.html

nigga no one wants a manuel in a luxury car

Nigga they made less than 600 of them with the manual over the ENTIRE production run. Don't complain to us that it had an automatic.

How are the new jaguar models?

just check all the electronics

thats what is unreliable, not the engine itself

also, get the 6 liter block and swap a non HE head, because the HE a shit

Fine from 05 up. The latest models are quite good actually, so much so I am really considering a low mileage XFR for my next vehicle.

how about a 2004 xjr?

The 4.2 us inferior in reliability to the 5.0 from 2010. Decently quick for the year though. Reliability of the electrics is way better than any XJS and I prefer the look. If you can afford it, jump to a newer model XF Supercharged. Much much better platform.

DAT V12 SOUND

I'm a college kid so price is huge for me. Looking at jaguars based on how fast/comfy/affordable they look. A shame they don't look too sporty because everything else is p nice. Are there any substitutes for a jag?

Smart folks just swap in a SBC and use aftermarket gages.

I'm new to cars and I don't understand what that means lol

Don't buy a jag

fag megadetected

why not?

They never sold the XJS in the US with a manual transmission.

but, and I could be wrong, but I have seen them converted.

The original 3-speed was a GM unit for what it's worth.

That'd be a hell of a conversion, where would you even fit a master cylinder in this engine bay?

they sell very affordable kits to put everything you could want behind these engines.

>very affordable kits

It ends up costing between $6k-$7k to swap a manual trans into an XJS according to forum posts. Not exactly "very affordable" when the cars themselves are selling for that same amount.

lol thats the price it costs some fag who doest do their own work to swap in a trans.

bruv, the kit itself is over $5k

thedrivenman.com/c-968307-shop-by-category-transmission-kits-jaguar-xjs.html

If you pay someone else to install it then it'd probably be over $10k total.

why are you only looking at tremec units? put a super t10 in it and be done with it. I swear the adapter plates are like 200-300 dollars, clutch setup will be as expensive as you want it to be, and a drive shaft is like what, 400$ or less if all you pay for is the balancing.

Dunno, that's all anyone mentioned in the forum post I read on doing a manual swap into an XJS.

Jaguar restorer here, this is a major case of "If you have to ask, you shouldn't"
these cars need a special kind of love, finesse, and patience that the average user does not possess.

stay away

they probably just a bunch of old guys that cant be bothered to change their own oil. If you do everything yourself sans making your own driveshaft it should only run you 1200 to 2000. These cars don't need an overdrive trans cause of the super low rear end gear so an old gm 4 speed will do fine.

>sold for £3k

Damn, that's not bad

Well, I've done engine rebuilds on motorcycles before, I've replaced some major components in a few 6.0 powerstroke turbo diesel engines, I do all of my own repairs and maintenance on every vehicle I own... I've never owned an "exotic car" and I was really just wondering how deep the water is before I jumped off into it and bought something like a 30 year old V12 Jaguar. I could probably handle the repairs and maintenance required but I'm not sure if I really want to devote that much time and effort into it.

The forums are full of old idiots that have never picked up a wrench in their life.

The only XJS worth buying is the 94-96 with the 4L80E

Yeah, under $2k for a trans swap isn't too bad then, I could have a really nice XJS + manual swap for under $8k-$10k.

I think I'll look elsewhere though... maybe an old MG MGB, Triumph Spitfire, or other old roadster that I could swap a hotter modern engine into.

Swapping engines to a Chevy 350 is pretty common

>affordable kits
Oh user

Yeah unless you really want the car you are going to start to resent it
There always something that breaks
Be it the gasgauge, air conditioning, Windows, the radiator is a big one and God help you if it overheats
Then you will have dropped valve seats and it will require a rebuild worth more than the car

I remember before I bought mine I made a thread on Veeky Forums asking about the car
They told me it was a terrible idea and I bought it anyways
Year later it was broken down and I had to sell it

How much did you make?

Sold it for $2000 because the inboard disk breaks were completely fucked and u needed to replace everything
Pic related is the jaguar rear suspension

I can't possibly be seeing this right. Are those red things inside the assembly the brakes?

Yup
Originally I though it came with drums

JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE FUCK JAGUAR

why would they do this?

why?

It's easily serviced by dropping the subframe.

He probably had 3 so he could move parts around and have one running vehicle.

YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DROP THE FUCKING SUBFRAME TO SERVICE YOUR BRAKES

>This is the stuff of nightmares
>You will never know peace again

Reducing unsprung weight. Inboard brakes are a well known feature for many race cars. Inversely, they are a fantastic pain in the dick to service.

His son had one and he had one
Both running and in much better condition than mine
He wanted to buy mine to restore it
He swapped all of them to a 350 though
Part of the appeal for me was the v12

hello

Stop triggering me cunt

...

Surely engineered for the dealership mechanic's job security

what am i looking at

road grime mostly

>people not liking inboard breakes

:)


One of these from under the car.

I've worked on plenty of Jaguar V12s, they are actually quite an easy engine to fix. They look a lot more daunting then they actually are.

BMW V12s are a lot worse.

The brakes

who needs brakes? just throw a pair of $2000 coilovers on that jag and it'll be SCCA ready

>breakes

I6, so it has so much delicious space in the engine bay.

The idea is cool but it wasn't necessary

Have an 80 XJ6 myself, can't wait to find an XJS to make me really want to kill myself. That or an early 80s Maserati Quattroporte.