Jaguar XJ6 - EXECUTIVES ONLY beyond this point, please

[Fat_Pirate]

I recently became OBSESSED with acquiring a Jaguar after missing out on Partridge's XJ6.  After some frenzied research I decided an X300 was the required remedy, with it's older but bulletproof mechanicals and mid-80s level of complexity.  I duly whizzed through all the usual channels trying to find one, eventually happening upon a poorly advertised XJ Sport (the eBay ad comprised a single sentence and a handful of photos taken in the dark).  I whizzed over to have a look at it, found it GOOD, and proceeded to win the auction.

And here it is!  The seller had even put enough petrol in it to get me home.  It's a shame he didn't put any air in the tyres, but 17psi at each corner certainly gives a luxurious ride, albeit with alarming cornering.

What's that, you don't like the colour?  Don't worry, it features at least 6 shades of red so I'm sure you can find something more to your liking.

Check out the sports interior; yes, it's wood trim, but ahhhhh... it's BLACK wood.  Black wood is the sports wood.  Carbon fibre is actually black wood, I doubt you knew that.  It's merely very clever marketing by Creosote.

 

I'm guessing this was someones company car when new.  That person clearly didn't work hard enough because there's no cruise control.  Who orders a big wafty car with no cruise?  There's no CD player either, no sunroof, and the seats only have electric height adjustment. I reckon 'Sport' was the Jaguar term for 'Popular Plus'.

I love the big fat wheels, at least until it needs new tyres.  It's poised and flat through the bends, but my Rover 75 had the better ride.  Bit disappointed about that.

 

It's very pleasant to work on after the 75; for instance, changing the (inexpensive) plugs didn't require me to remove the windscreen wipers - it's all accessible and quite straightforward.  The engine is mostly silent, but when it can be heard I regret it doesn't sound as good as a KV6.

 

There are zero faults inside.  Well, apart from the clock not working; that's a common fault.  The radio display is buggered too; also common.  

All the air vents have fallen apart; again, common.  The cupholder is broken; another regular failure.  The driver's seat bolster is worn; this is pretty much mandatory.  However, the headlining is perfect... but only 'cos it's had a new one.

 

I bloody love this thing so far.  I have a 70 mile round-trip commute but heavy traffic means I almost always do it on a motorbike - the car is just for when it's too cold/wet.  When I do have to tolerate the jams I want to spend those 2 hours in something nice with a sense of occasion, and this certainly fits the bill.

[Ghosty]

So, if I set fire to a forest does that make a load of carbon fibre?

[warren t claim]

4.0?

[Timewaster]

carbon anyway.

[Lacquer Peel]

Do like. I can see myself in one of these as a posh backup for miserable veg wagons.

[saucedoctor]

4.0?

 

3.2. Do these have the LSD?

[Guest Hooli]

Bloody lovely.

 

 

I doubt it's got a LSD, I think only some XJRs got that.

[The Moog]

Sport didn't have a lot of stuff. When I had my x300 I looked at a couple and was surprised at the lack of goodies

[cort16]

My XJR didn't have an LSD. Even 1mm of throttle travel would have one wheel spinning at 20,000 rpm while you tried to pull out onto  a a wet roundabout.

[saucedoctor]

My pal had an X300 4.0 Sport, and it had an LSD. I wonder if it was an option.

[scruff]

Do like. I can see myself in one of these as a posh backup for miserable veg wagons.

 

I was just looking at your thread and thinking I'd roll in a Berlingo van, and then doing the same on this thread. Only on AS

[Guest Hooli]

My pal had an X300 4.0 Sport, and it had an LSD. I wonder if it was an option.

Might have been then. It was the only thing mine really lacked (except more power as it was a 3.2).

[dollywobbler]

Lovely. I've covered a lot of miles in a leggy X300, and found it very charming. I believe there are induction/exhaust mods that can be made to liven them up/make them sound a bit more rorty. They are almost too smooth.

[RobT]

Welcome to povery XJ6 ownership. Mine has sod all in the way of extras either! I'm jealous of your cup holder, I haven't got one of those.

[michael1703]

Mine hasn't got a cup holder either, n reg 4.0 sovereign

[Six-cylinder]

I have had two X300 4.0 Sovereigns both were quite well equipped with electric seats and cruise control.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Welcome to povery XJ6 ownership. Mine has sod all in the way of extras either! I'm jealous of your cup holder, I haven't got one of those.

 

i'm sure we can find you a broken cup holder all of your own

[HMC]

Great! As a former shabby chic x300 owner, I wholeheartedly approve. Have you found the tool kit on the offside inner wing yet? As the wobbler says, a few bits are available to pep things up a little. I recommend the modified crank position sensor bracket. As the ignition timing is ecu controlled it isn't possible to change it directly. Its conservatively over retarded, you and get a bracket that advances the ignition a bit (5 degrees) by fooling the ecu that makes the engine a small amount more responsive, sweeter running and a little more economical.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

It is good to see another Jag here. The 'Sport' spec didn't come with much kit, it was basically an XJ6 with lowered, stiff springs, sports seats and black stained wood. Most of the posh kit can be retrofitted easily enough, though I believe you may also need to use some link wires for some things since I have read the lower spec  X300 lacks the full loom fitted to all XJ40s. I believe the cruise control is a fairly easy retro fit.

[Fat_Pirate]

Have you found the tool kit on the offside inner wing yet? 

I have found a lidded box, but it contained nothing but disappointment.  No tools for povo-spec losers.

 

The low coolant warning came on this morning.  The coolant level is fine, it was just being a dick and wanted me to get mucky checking it - this is it's true nature showing though, I believe.  It's gone off now.

[barefoot]

It is good to see another Jag here. The 'Sport' spec didn't come with much kit, it was basically an XJ6 with lowered, stiff springs, sports seats and black stained wood. 

 

 

David Marks leant me an X308 sport and told me that it was all totally cosmetic, just bigger wheels & lower profile tyres?

Is there a tool kit on the X308 too?

[Fat_Pirate]

As this is merely my winter car I've only been carrying out the bare essentials, maintenance-wise; oil and filters, plugs, complete set of upholstery...

This was the driver's seat. The other seats had some blemishes which were annoying me greatly, so I bought a complete set in far better condition for £70 from a really nice guy near Southampton.  He's a proper XJR nut (he had 4 outside his house and another 6 elsewhere), and was keen to sell me a 'box and associated gubbins to turn my car into a manual - I politely declined. The very idea!  If I wanted to change my own gears I'd have bought one of those German efforts.

Replacement seat is much better, but I reckon it should be possible to swap the driver and passenger backrests so I plan to make myself a really nice drivers seat by mixing and matching at some point. 

 

I'm also in the process of trying to repair the cup-holder, which involves crafting a new hinge out of Chemical Metal.  I don't actually want to use it (beverage handling is the responsibility of one's valet, after all), it just annoys me. 

[the judge]

Got to love the optimism on Autoshite. Looks a bonnie motor. Zero faults inside....

 

Quote:

 

2016-12-04%2013.19.04_zps48r2ervx.jpg

There are zero fault inside. Well, apart from the clock not working; that's a common fault. The radio display is buggered too; also common.

All the air vents have fallen apart; again, common. The cupholder is broken; another regular failure. The driver's seat bolster is worn; this is pretty much mandatory.

[srad34]

I have found a lidded box, but it contained nothing but disappointment.  No tools for povo-spec losers.

 

The low coolant warning came on this morning.  The coolant level is fine, it was just being a dick and wanted me to get mucky checking it - this is it's true nature showing though, I believe.  It's gone off now.

Quite as common problem, coolant res sensor fails, but being a jag, keep any eye on the levels!

[Partridge]

To be honest, that's probably a far better buy than mine. Executive means it's lower spec, but it's a lot better condition by the look of it. Even then mine didn't have many toys - it had cruise but it was so fiddly and annoying to use, by the time you'd set it, that moment had passed and you had to turn it off - then go through the whole maddening procedure again.

 

And the executive was actually aimed at the corporate market - some of them could be specced up to Sovereign spec anyway. So just fit some chrome framed rear lights and a chrome grill and you have an instant quasi Sovereign.

 

The lack of cup holder was a major pain in the cock in mine. You can fit a Gregg's cup of tea in the cup in the centre armrest thingy though. My new one has a cup holder, but again, you guessed it, broken. So join the People Who Own Old Jags With Broken Cup Holders Club. Yours is slightly later than mine, so you have the luxury of a glove box.

 

FYI, mine had a bill for £500 for a new clock. For god's sake, you could probably buy a used Rolex for that instead.

[Partridge]

i'm sure we can find you a broken cup holder all of your own

Only on Autoshite would a broken cup holder be something to aspire to.

[barefoot]

I too have a broken cup holder, although it's broken only in that the damping has somehow ceased to damp 

And it hurtles out with a clicketty clatter.

I have never tried to store a beverage in it.

[0ldCh0d]

Ahhhhhh Hindsight....Last week (Tuesday to be precise), I very nearly bought one of these, a 1996 N reg, 3.2, Dark metalic blue, It had a decent m.o.t until June 2017 & the auto box seemed to work in D & R......What put me off was.....it did not have leather interior (Jag's need leather) & it had.....a vinyl roof!!!....I shit you not....I dont think that was a factory option. But the price....it did the grand some of.... £175 out the door.

 

.....seeing your one, I wish i had bought it now.    I have a bad Jaguar XJ6/ XJ300 itch to scratch.....but the cost's of things when they go wrong scare me & the rot......So for now,I will stick with my Czech (German) modern daily chariot..........

[Partridge]

^^You are TooSavvy. ICMFP.

[Fat_Pirate]

Ahhhhhh Hindsight....Last week (Tuesday to be precise), I very nearly bought one of these, a 1996 N reg, 3.2, Dark metalic blue, It had a decent m.o.t until June 2017 & the auto box seemed to work in D & R......What put me off was.....it did not have leather interior (Jag's need leather) & it had.....a vinyl roof!!!....I shit you not....I dont think that was a factory option. But the price....it did the grand some of.... £175 out the door.

Blimey, that's mega cheap but I don't think I could handle the trauma of seeing a vinyl roof each time I got into it.  It would be like being repeatedly punched in the bollocks - you could brace yourself, but you'd never be ready for just how much it hurts.

 

Anyway, I have FIXED the borked cup-holder.  It appears as they age, the little damper mechanisms lose effectiveness so the thing starts shooting out with increasing violence, until eventually the plastic pivot points break:

 

So I crafted a new one out of Chemical Metal:

Unfortunately, it came off when I drilled the hole... but not to worry, because the hardcore bodger always has a bottle of Q-Bond to hand (and occasionally, stuck to his hand).  Q-Bond is ace, it's still holding the fairing together on my CBR600 even after I chucked it up the road at 50mph.

 

There was nothing I could do with the dampers, so I've chopped a third off each of the springs instead - it now opens gently, but needs a nudge to fully open.  Let's see how long it lasts...