Sold Jaguar XJR6 Double Madness - Double Sold

[Broadsword]

Broadsword's Jaguar obsession continues. Long story short, I somehow have ended up with two Jaguar XJR6s.

 

Now for the long story. I had always been looking for the odd XJR6 popping up. I just think they are tremendous. Most are well out of my price range until a red one turned up. It wasn't cheap but I pushed slightly, got a little off due to the short MOT then it was a trip to Sudbury to pick it up a few weeks ago. I was quite pleased when I got to it, a little scruffy in places but ran, drove and had an excellent MOT history, and loads of paperwork. It also did well on the drive home. To avoid confusion with the other XJR6 you will see later, lets call this one ELA.

 

It had a month's ticket and I went for an MOT very soon, expecting it to fail. It did on front brakes, rear subframe bushes (bugger) and a bit of welding. Welding no problem for the guy at the MOT place (he did a good job too), brakes I put in new front discs and pads and cleaned up everything (old discs and pads were toast). The rear subframe bushes were stressy. Cheap parts but very difficult job. I managed to persuade a local mechanic to do that. It took a little while to do, but got there and soon it had a fresh MOT. Success. What a car by the way. Job done, got the hard to source car I had obsessed about.

 

Cue a few days ago. Another XJR6 turns up very close to me... for £999. Got a message in very quickly, but apparently someone got a message in first and had first refusal. I reasoned at that price it was guaranteed to go immediately and that I had no chance. I kept in touch with the seller though, juuuuust in case. Amazingly the first person was a no show and then it was my turn, so I arranged to look at the car. I thought it was too good to be true and was a little suspicious. Why? Because of this:

 

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/shed-of-the-week/shed-of-the-week-jaguar-xjr/38740

 

So this is the car I bought yesterday. It apparently was on sale on Pistonheads and had gained considerable interest over there in September. Now it was back a few months later with the same pictures and same description on Gumtree. Everyone on Pistonheads had the impression it sold very quickly. So I thought the overall situation with the Gumtree ad was strange, but if I could see it in person, that is a different matter. I was close by so not much effort involved.

 

I did indeed get to see the car, it was outside the same house as seen in the pictures on Pistonheads. This was all legit and genuine, just the seller was not particularly bothered and the original sale didn't happen for any particular reason. Now it is a shed, no doubt about it, but it had a new MOT in the summer (new rear wheel bearings fitted!). The real problem despite being cosmetically damaged is that it has been standing and this has got to it. The throttle is sticking and it has a wicked misfire. It was a little frighting, but the engine itself is sound, as is the drivetrain. Two keys, book pack, service stamps, receipts etc all included. Not bad. At £999 you could sell it on for spares even if it didn't run of drive. I offered £700 and the deal was done. I don't think anyone will ever get a running XJR6 cheaper than that.

 

I quickly changed owners online and then tried to tax it. At that point I realized it was classed disabled tax. Puzzling. Went back home and said I would collect the next day. The tax class was easily changed at the Post Office, no worries. My insurer wasn't impressed with the value of the car though. I think they are fed up with me changing cars too often so I went with a different company.

 

Went to collect the turquoise shed this morning with tax and insurance sorted. It was an intimidating drive back with the throttle issue (manageable), but the misfire is bad and I struggled to get up some hills. At idle it is fine and it won't stall, but it throws a hissy under load. It also cranks slow and the parking switch on the gear selector is a little fiddly. This all happened recently after it was sitting a while. XJ death syndrome I call it. It would keep a steady speed ok, but applying load was a problem. I got home though, a result in itself for this money. I just changed the spark plugs, they were pretty sooty. Will sort out sticking throttle then chase the misfire further.

 

So now, being as irresponsibly wandered into having to XJR6 Jags. Obviously one has to go, ELA is a good sound car, just slightly scruffy and has had important work done. Thing is I love colour of the turquoise shed. I'm confident the running issues can be sorted.

[bangernomics]

Two best colours for that model, I’d love to own either. Remember the local dodgy trader (Gary something) had one and would bid on anything and always stood on his word as long as you gave him a warts and all.

[timolloyd]

Great job. These are definitely one of those cars that one day we won’t believe could be bought so cheap.

 

Personally I’ve never liked the turquoise, but that’s just down to memories from school. Someone’s wide boy Dad had one of these in turquoise, whereas the discreet underwriter Dad had one in a much more subtle dark blue.

 

Either way, you could turn a profit on one of these and plough love and cash into t’other. Look forward to reading more!

[Six-cylinder]

Fantastic and a brace!

 

I have thought about these ever since I was taken for a ride in one when they were new. I sold Citroens and a customer bought a ZX for his wife, his company car was a turquoise XJR6 and he was delighted to show me how much shove it had. In spite of only being a year old and on its second set of belts it still squealed under full power, but somehow that just added to the experience. 

[somewhatfoolish]

How much mister? Roffle, or is it a bit rich for that? Epic lacquer peel FTW.

[MarvinsMom]

i had a cardinal red X306 XJR-6 for about 3, maybe 4 years.

 

fabulous, both to look at and to drive, and bloody quick with it! personally i think the turquoise is the better colour, even though mine was red....

 

thing was though, i found it to be THE most needy car i've ever had. there was always something wrong with it. not enough to stop the car, but enough to throw up some warning light that my OCD could'nt cope with. and each time it went to the local indy jag specialist, there was some eye watering bill to go with it. 

 

the final straw was its traction control thing fucking up, and then finding that the unit was NLA. the 4-figured bill too didn't help.

 

so onto the road it went with a "For Sale" sign in its window it went. at the time i wa glad to see the back of it, though now, its another one of those cars that i know i shouldn't have sold.......

 

N422AKP is outta MOT so i guess its no longer with us. which is sad cos it was a good car.

 

here it is in happier times

[Dave_Q]

Doing it right there sir.

 

On insurance value, I always declare £1500 even if the car cost me £150.

 

There is some algorithm that says that sub £1000 cars are higher risk so you can get higher quotes, or some places even refusing cover.

[clayts450]

 

Well two-boughted, sir

[SRi05]

I'm jealous that these ones have gloveboxes!

[Broadsword]

Ha! Actually only ELA has a glovebox, the turquoise shed is a 94 build and does not. ELA amazingly has electric folding mirrors, which work! Jag stole the window switch out of an old Ford Escort and shovved it in the driver door pocket. I was quite surprised when I found out what that switch does.

 

Glad you all like the supercharged duo. Lesson learnt with the insurance, just one of those things. Yeah they are trouble, lets face it, but I think it is worth persisting particularly with the XJR6 because remember only 6500 were ever sold worldwide. Most are in the UK though hence we are able to enjoy them. I think there were only 150 with the manual transmission. The neat thing is that since I have a pair of them I can borrow some part from ELA to help diagnose the turquoise shed, this is quite an advantage. I'm determined to fix it. The engine itself will be fine, they always are, just all the bits stamped with Lucas are an issue.

Funny that when I got home I commented that, despite it barely running, it has a magnificent ability to glide along. Then I read the reprint Autocar issue from 1994 covering the launch of X300 and XJR and that is exactly how it was described. It's an interesting combination of luxury, cosseting comfort, brawn, a bit of sportiness and grand tourer. Not for all but definitely for me. It's strange how they are underappreciated compared to the competition at the time. Technically they are inferior to the Germans. The gearbox is from a Hummer, they are fast but the whine of the supercharger gives a slight placebo effect. It's more about the theatrical experience when planting the throttle. An M5 from that time would out accelerate it off the line. Acceleration in the mid range is tremendous though and it's linear power delivery.

I don't really know the value of the turquoise shed. Assuming the engine gets sorted it's still rough but drives ok. If a replacement bonnet were sourced, it would look 70% better. There is rust here and there which looks not tooooo worrying. It's main worry is rust around the windscreen. Driver's side A-pillar and a little at the top. Then again my first Jag was riddles with rust but was solid underneath and has passed MOTs since my ownership. I know where I am with ELA, which has just been sorted out. It has no issues running at all. It was a proper MOT hence the work done. Colour-wise I prefer the turquoise, it's just so caddish.

[MarvinsMom]

i thought that the GM400 gearbox came out of a Corvette? though Ford also use it on Mustang.......

[Isaac Hunt]

You has been busy. The red one does it for me, the turquoise one less so, but a lot of car for the notes.

 

Did you not have the Autoshite bike XJ6 in red as well ?

[Broadsword]

You has been busy. The red one does it for me, the turquoise one less so, but a lot of car for the notes.

 

Did you not have the Autoshite bike XJ6 in red as well ?

You mean the sensible one. Good thing I have a nearby storage facility for a couple of motors these day. It allows me to swap around easily and confuse neighbors by having one red Jag change to a very slightly different red Jag at home.

[Broadsword]

i thought that the GM400 gearbox came out of a Corvette? though Ford also use it on Mustang.......

Yeah it's that same family of gearbox, which goes way, way back. GM 4L80-E to be specific, which apparently was in the Hummer H1, some Bentleys, other Jags amongst others. It is pretty much indestructible as far as I read.

[Guest Hooli]

I NEED a XJR at some point.... I'm tempted to call DIBS but that might* be silly?

[sofarsogood]

This is how its done.

[Broadsword]

I NEED a XJR at some point.... I'm tempted to call DIBS but that might* be silly?

Silly yes, but the right thing to do nonetheless. I mean ELA is fine, you would probably enjoy that. It works. It's the turquoise one that is probably going to be fairly bad if I can't get the engine running right. The best possible outcome for the turquoise shed is to get the engine running and hopefully discover it's an ok steer. If that came to pass I would start asking round Jag breakers for a turquoise X300 bonnet and just swap it.

 

As far as the engine troubles. Here are some ideas:

 

1. Disconnect throttle cable and run the engine, this might tell us where the cable is sticking at the pedal side of things or whether it's on the throttle body I'm thinking. Throttle body is not so easy to access on these. Something is in the way....

 

2. Inspect wiring on CPS and clean sensor. If the CPS fails, the car won't start, but apparently slightly damaged wiring will cause running issue without killing it totally.

 

3. Swap MAF from other members of the fleet.

 

4. Swap coil packs from other members of the fleet.

 

5. Change coolant temperature sensor (yes it can cause running issues).

 

6. Clean throttle body (might have to do this to fix sticking throttle).

 

7. Swap ECU from ELA. I don't really want to mess with that

 

8. Check the state of the fueboxes and their wiring.

 

9. Panic.

 

Luckily no-one has attempted to clean the engine bay. This gets done quite often and the car never runs again.

[Guest Hooli]

Silly yes, but the right thing to do nonetheless. I mean ELA is fine, you would probably enjoy that. It works. It's the turquoise one that is probably going to be fairly bad if I can't get the engine running right. The best possible outcome for the turquoise shed is to get the engine running and hopefully discover it's an ok steer. If that came to pass I would start asking round Jag breakers for a turquoise X300 bonnet and just swap it.

 

As far as the engine troubles. Here are some ideas:

 

1. Disconnect throttle cable and run the engine, this might tell us where the cable is sticking at the pedal side of things or whether it's on the throttle body I'm thinking. Throttle body is not so easy to access on these. Something is in the way....

 

2. Inspect wiring on CPS and clean sensor. If the CPS fails, the car won't start, but apparently slightly damaged wiring will cause running issue without killing it totally.

 

3. Swap MAF from other members of the fleet.

 

4. Swap coil packs from other members of the fleet.

 

5. Change coolant temperature sensor (yes it can cause running issues).

 

6. Clean throttle body (might have to do this to fix sticking throttle).

 

7. Swap ECU from ELA. I don't really want to mess with that

 

8. Check the state of the fueboxes and their wiring.

 

9. Panic.

 

Luckily no-one has attempted to clean the engine bay. This gets done quite often and the car never runs again.

 

Looks like a plan to me. Good luck with it.

[Guest Hooli]

I've had a thought about this this morning. Do the X300 XJRs have an extra fuel pump like the X308s? Dying under throttle could be low fuel pressure when the demand is increased.

 

Non-interesting fact, the replacement tank in my Sov has the S/C part number on it.

[Broadsword]

X306 does indeed have two fuel pumps. I would need to figure out a way to test that idea. Weather is dreadful today, which is stopping play.

[Guest Hooli]

I found the X308 workshop manual on a Jag forum. Could be worth a google for your model.

I'd tell you the forum but I can't remember as it's on my lappy not my phone.

[eddyramrod]

I NEED a XJR at some point.... I'm tempted to call DIBS but that might* be silly?

Take your time, I'd like to be in position to grab your present car when the time comes...

[Broadsword]

Riiiight I think I have figured it all out now. I couldn't do any work on the car today due to heavy rain. I did poke my head in the door just as the rain stopped half an hour ago. There were some drops of water on the centre console. Ah. I dried all around the windscreen and applied an impenetrable bezel of Gorilla tape, then dried up inside. This got me poking around the front of the cabin looking how damp it really was. Not massively but a bit. Mainly around passenger side sun visor area, and the corners of the footwells. All consistent with a leaking windscreen then.

 

Then I had the idea to pop the plastic cover off next to the throttle (remember sticking) pedal. Ah, corrosion around the ECU. So it all adds up. Damp in the driver's footwell has caused the throttle cable to seize, and more than likely there is something going on with the ECU. I'm hoping it's corrosion just on the connecting pins and earth. Anyway it's easy to remove, clean up and have a look. Hoping to investigate this tomorrow. Water and Lucas do not mix.

[Broadsword]

A little digging reveals someone has been through all this before and reached the same conclusion, after trying many other things.

 

http://jimbutterworth.co.uk/8ecu.htm

 

What a ridiculous place to put the ECU.

[somewhatfoolish]

SAGEM explains it, it's closet frenchness embedded in the electric string that's to blame.

[Broadsword]

Also of note is that it is not the original ECU. It’s from 96 and there was a protective thing making it difficult to remove the multi plugs which is missing (this is a good thing). Not sure what is a good implement to clean the pins and the plugs.

[Guest Hooli]

Electrical contact cleaner, it comes in a spray can.

[Broadsword]

Yeah, I was thinking that and a very fine brush, but of course I have to be very careful not to break any pins.

[bangernomics]

Suede brush usually does the trick along with a can of contact cleaner.

[sporty-shite]

Yeah, I was thinking that and a very fine brush, but of course I have to be very careful not to break any pins.

I used an old electric toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol on the clocks of the Spanish Rocket. Worked a treat.