Jaaaaaag XJ40: Game Over - Death by Alfa Romeo

[barefoot]

All my stuff seems to be insured through various brokers with Markerstudy (insurance company)

Plus eleventy on Peter James (broker) 

He arranged X308, 944 & Scirocco on one policy for £347.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Thinking about it, I am with Peter James.

[RobT]

That looks a cracker, well bought.  I hope it doesn't prove ruinous to your finances!  The one I briefly had was on 214,000 miles and the engine was the best bit of it.

 

Not wishing to turn it into an insurance thread, but I remain with Peter James year on year.  It was £410 last year for four cars (42 year old dullard living in an OK area), and they continue to let me insure worthless 90s chod on a classic policy, so I'm loathe to change really even if I could get it slightly cheaper.  I'll see what my renewal premium is like in a few weeks though.

[dollywobbler]

I can vouch for Peter James too. Only left because I needed business cover.

[Broadsword]

@Magnificent Rustbucket, yours looks fantastic. Let's hope I can get this one up to scratch. Things are going really rather well. I now have insurance for the unbelievable price of £94.50. That is with Peter. S. Taylor. Thanks DW very much for the recommendation, I can thoroughly recommend them. Really good service and of course that amazing price. In a bout of sensibility I opted for their breakdown cover for the 30 odd quid extra since it covers me in the EU too! Very pleased with that result. There were two stipulations. One was to join an owners club. I've now joined Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, second was to send a scan of the V5 for my daily driver. Easy!

 

Collection begins at noon tomorrow from York station! There is already a bit of a list of jobs just from the test drive, more will surface no doubt.

 

1. The boot is difficult to open

2. Nearside rear door seemed unwilling to open

3. Tatty interior needs sorting out

4. General de-UKIP treatment required (urgent)

5. Aerial is at half mast and stuck (I presume these retract electrically on the XJ40?)

6. Boot leaks somewhere  (can the illogical boot setup be changed and the spare but under a false floor??).

7. Full service (I have service bits from the old X330 which I never got round to using)

 

There is a friendly mechanic near me who I'm planning to visit and very kindly ask use of his ramp. Should give me a good impression of the overall condition if I can really get underneath. 

[SierraMikeHotel]

Every time this thread comes up I smile at that picture of David Walliams caressing an old Jag.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

@Magnificent Rustbucket, yours looks fantastic. Let's hope I can get this one up to scratch. Things are going really rather well. I now have insurance for the unbelievable price of £94.50. That is with Peter. S. Taylor. Thanks DW very much for the recommendation, I can thoroughly recommend them. Really good service and of course that amazing price. In a bout of sensibility I opted for their breakdown cover for the 30 odd quid extra since it covers me in the EU too! Very pleased with that result. There were two stipulations. One was to join an owners club. I've now joined Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, second was to send a scan of the V5 for my daily driver. Easy!

 

Collection begins at noon tomorrow from York station! There is already a bit of a list of jobs just from the test drive, more will surface no doubt.

 

1. The boot is difficult to open

2. Nearside rear door seemed unwilling to open

3. Tatty interior needs sorting out

4. General de-UKIP treatment required (urgent)

5. Aerial is at half mast and stuck (I presume these retract electrically on the XJ40?)

6. Boot leaks somewhere  (can the illogical boot setup be changed and the spare but under a false floor??).

7. Full service (I have service bits from the old X330 which I never got round to using)

 

There is a friendly mechanic near me who I'm planning to visit and very kindly ask use of his ramp. Should give me a good impression of the overall condition if I can really get underneath. 

 

The boot and rear door may need their mechanisms lubricating, or they could be out of adjustment. The striker pin on the rear door can drift inwards which can mean the door is held too close in and becomes reluctant to open (or close) - it is more likely to be the mechanism needing a lube though, I should think. How does it manifest its unwillingness?

 

 

The aerial is electric. They often seem to stick, leaving the lowest section still sticking up. It is occasionally possible to get them to retract after cleaning them, but I have generally found that the mast needs to be replaced.

 

This isn't difficult, but you need the correct earlier Hirschmann  mast or aftermarket equivalent. DBC2200 - part number 5 on this page. https://www.jaguarclassicparts.com/uk/jaguar-xj6-parts/in-car-entertainment/radio-electric-aerial/electric-aerial-and-fixings An aftermarket version will be available cheaper I should think.

The mast is removed by loosening the nut on the top of the aerial then turning on the radio with the ignition on. The aerial is driven up and off the car along with its toothed cable. You must note which way round the cable's teeth sit. Insert the cable of the new mast into the hole with the teeth pointing the correct way and get a helper to turn off the radio. The cable is then driven into the aerial housing and the mast retracts into the aerial housing. Do up the nut being very careful not to over tighten it - it is made of brass and can snap off if you're not careful.

 

 

Boot leaks are common on the XJ40. There are several classic leak sites. The first one I would check is the sealing of the plastic lokut nuts (the plastic inserts which hold the screws securing the lower chrome trim on the boot)  - between the rear lights. These leak and allow the water to run down the rear face of the boot under the carpet and will then pool under the spare tyre. It is a difficult one to spot - but is well known now. If the leak is from here, sealing the plastic lokut nuts  will solve the problem.

 

Another site is the grommet round the aerial. I should think that if this is perished it will be obvious visually.

 

The rubber gaiter round the fuel filler can leak

 

The boot seal itself, but this is rare IIRC.

 

The seals around the rear lights - again not the first thing I would check

 

The boot can also leak from the bottom of the rear pillars if they are badly rusted. This rust will cause the rear D Pillar trims to displace as the metal swells - I think it would be fairly obvious if these were bad enough.

 

Rusted blanking plugs on the boot floor could case leaks too.

 

My money is on the securing nuts! 

[Fat_Pirate]

Here's the XJR mentioned earlier:

 

MOT history looks good, FFS somebody buy it before I do!

[Broadsword]

I’m 97% certain I would have bought that blind had I not agreed to the XJ40 only hours before. One day.. one day.

 

EDIT: I’ve just had a brilliant idea. If someone here bought that, we could take it in turns and buy it off each other. A month or so a go then sell on as you come realise that the petrol consumption is worse than the Deepsea Horizon.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

For me the ideal would be an XJ40 with the supercharged engine from the X300. A few people have done that. A fellow on Piston Heads and XJ40.com has gone further and actually transferred the outer panels and interior of a late XJ40 Sovereign on to the better assembled underpinnings of an XJR6. He is doing a superb job of it too.

[Broadsword]

Broadsword calling Danny Boy! The collection starts here. Only got to make it as far as Darlington which is quick, but the drive back to the East Riding is much longer. Should be a good shakedown. Expect a photo from the petrol station soon.

[Vince70]

Which itself was related to a 1-off by Bertone in 1966. Sir William Lyons and Bertone in this pic

That jag mock up looks way ahead of its time i really thought it was a 80s shark nose Bmw 6 series’s

[Broadsword]

On my way back now. Darlington has strange roads.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Looks good, Ice blue and Diamond blue suit these cars. The wiper is parked on the wrong side - if it is naughty, particularly on intermittent, then any errant behaviour is ikely to be a blown fuse located under the passenger's side bolster/knee roll under the glove box.

[Fat_Pirate]

I've been tormented all day by that XJR - it's only 30 miles from me but I don't need it.  The only thing that's stopping me is the trifling problem of 75% of my fleet being fucked, with Mrs Pirate out all day in the only functioning vehicle. 

[Broadsword]

Thanks Magnificent Rustbucket, you are quite the XJ40 resource. The wiper works, but wont park or work properly on intermittent. I'm back. Horrible drive back due to bad weather and traffic, and my nice new wiper wouldn't fit. Darlington is a mess in terms of its roads. It took a little time for me to build a rapour with it. I'm quietly confident this might actually be rather good. Here are some photos. I can't find any meaningful rust. There is a tiny bit under the boot lid. It's arrow straight. Have some photos, see if you spot any nastiness. I'm starting to think the strange engine noise isn't the timing chain. It comes and goes, sound a bit like exhaust actually. The engine pulls well. This is a quick car. I might put a video up tomorrow. 25 MPG was achieved on the trip home.

 

 

 

 

[danthecapriman]

That is really rather lovely. Looks in great condition, nice buy!

[richardmorris]

Lovely.

 

 

Hardly rot, but there’s a bit of rust starting bottom of the n/s/f wheelarch.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

That is nice! I'm jealous.

 

That Fablon armrest is a real bit of giffer artistry. With a J! J for Jaguar!

[Broadsword]

I think the Fablon will come off with bit of gentle pulling after heating with a hairdryer. What's left underneath might not be pretty, who knows. When I was in Halfords yesterday I noticed in their bargain junk section you could buy rolls fake chrome trim. This appears to be the stuff strung all along the interior. I don't have time to work on this till next weekend. Mechanically I think we are actually in good shape despite the lack of service history. I just started the engine from stone cold. The strange noise was there. I think it's coming from the exhaust manifold. Will have to take the heatshield off and investigate. The boot opens fine with the electronic boot release from the glovebox. It's the lock barrel which is hard to operate. All the doors are opening at the moment which is a bonus. I think the driver's door needs a little realignment. Seems to drop slightly when wide open. The electric aerial has been unplugged and is very wet. I think water is getting in from the rubber seal. I had an OG Saab 9-3 which seems to be the same system.

 

Yes the N/S/F wing has small symptoms of rust. Nothing structural yet obviously. It would be really neat to take the front wings off and do a careful rest treatment, then paint, then waxoyl. Then they would probably last.

 

More jobs to add to the list.

 

9. Check the exhaust manifolds.

10. Test reinstating the air-conditioning. The belt is gone, but the radiators look very clean. Imagine if it worked!

11. It has inspection lights on the bonnet! Fantastic, but of course they are broken. Investigate.

12. Check for rust under the scuttle.

13. Cruise control doesn't work. This really need fixing, let's hope it's fixable (the light on the dash still comes on).

12. I have three keys, but no keyfobs. Not sure if this is anything I can do much about (it has a white dome which looks like the receiver, programmable?).

13. Driver's side electric mirror not working.

14. The reflectors on the bumpers are still there, but someone decided it would be classy to stick bicycle reflectors on top of them. Interesting move.

 

The XJ40 forum looks very useful by the way. Some interesting cars on there. I'm on the lookout for some items. Number 1. Original wooden gearknob. Original owners manuals.

 

I would be nice to tidy this up for the summer and take it to an Autoshite meet. I've never been to one before.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I think the Fablon will come off with bit of gentle pulling after heating with a hairdryer. What's left underneath might not be pretty, who knows. 

 

I bet it's the mobile phone armrest, and they've made that Fablon cover to hide the empty hole. 

 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

And yes, Mag Rustbucket is THE autoshite authority on these machines - he was no end of help when I owned mine

 

 

Yes, same for me, his posts were extremely helpful. 

[Bren]

Are the manifolds cracked?

[MorrisItalSLX]

This looks the Dog's Bollocks!

 

Re: the armrest. I would just swap it out, its the wrong colour to start (should be matching grey) and I doubt it will come apart easily.

There are plenty being broken, so it should be easy to get one + any other desired parts.

[Broadsword]

It has the remnants of a car phone aerial by the looks of it, on the rear screen. I very quickly took of the exhaust manifold heatshield off today. As suspected there is a crack in on the manifolds as you can see. Also there is a broken stud on the other bank. It's really rather quiet considering the damage there. Can this be welded in-situ? Good news is that there is nothing wrong with the engine in this case!

 

In further news, it's been sitting majestically on the drive overnight now and hasn't dropped any fluids. Promising start. Further investigation of some of the tat which has been stuck to the door mirrors and bumpers. They are glued on with epoxy by the looks of it, very annoying.

[SRi05]

That is a bloody lovely car, I love the colour. Well bought

[Broadsword]

Now with added video:

 

 

I might post small update videos on the various small fixes I do to it.

[bezzabsa]

Did we ever find out what the Leaper was drooling onto the bonnet????

 

My 'If only' car is a XJR in the nice teal colour they did .....come very close couple of times to getting one......Maybe one day!!!

 

Problem is I'd never get out - too low for my fooked hip n knees

 

 

 

BTW cars new name is GAY JO

 

 

 

 

OK I'll get me coat!!!

[Broadsword]

The emblem in front of the leaper is some leaves, very strange. There is some Roman link to the previous owner. Besides some Latin etched into the old key ring there was a book about Ancient Rome left inside. What did the Romans ever do for us? Maybe the XJ40 amongst other things. Today's new and exciting prodblem is the central locking not working on the rear doors or boot. The boot is unlocked (opens perfectly by the way) but no longer locks. The rear doors no longer unlock, but the lock pins shake with central locking.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Here's the link to the GGG XJ40 thread. That'll save Mag. Rustbucket a lot of typing. 

 

We had a central locking problem too. Whenever I pressed the PANIC button on the dash, the central locking stopped working for a few days. Then it would just start working on its own, until the next time I pressed that button.