Migs Motahs - New Jag Day

[straightSix]

This is a bit of a retrospective one as the collection actually happened yesterday and I've been busy as soon as I dropped the car off... Anyways, this is a dream car of mine and I've had my eye out for years now so when one came up on marketplace 2 miles from where I live it was a no brainer. The advert contained very little information and a few blurry pictures, so I went to see the car, in the dark, with my phone as a torch. It existed. It started (just). I wanted it. So monies transferred and collection arranged for the next week.

Barely run in with 260k miles, no MOT for 2 years and not moved the past 18 or so months. WCPGW

Anyways, I put in the gallon of fuel I'd brough and we got her started up and dragged out the unit. In the cold light of day only one thing came to mind - fuck.

Now the car came on BBS wheels off a later X308 XJR. I've no idea how to inflate them so like all the best coollections start, the wheel was taken off and the space saver put on. Probably not great for the diff but the garage is only a few miles away.

At this point the seller had left and I was on my own. I knew the coolant light was on so had brought some with me, 5l in fact. Oh, its taken it all, great So at this point I left to get another 5l of coolant. When I returned, battery completely dead, like nothing at all. So I have to leave again to get a spare battery. Also took this opportunity to get another gallon of fuel as the light was still on. Starts up, great! Now, oh what's that, another 4l of coolant taken. Capacity is only 11l, bollocks. maybe it just leaked out in storage...

But the car was running, the MOT pre-booked, and the garage closing in an hour so off I went. After the storage, everything felt sticky, throttle sticky, gearchange sticky but it drove. On the way there I got several warnings for traction fail - assuming the space saver, sould have put it on the front in retrospect. Also, the coolant light came back on...

But to the garage we made it. Several alarming scraping noises when turning left but first impressions are it felt fast, and I wasn't pushing it at all.

The garage are going to take a look at it for me and give me a bit of a report on what it needs then I'll go from there. Plan is get it MOTd the run it for a little bit so that it can prove itself reliable and worth spending some £ on. It's never going to be a show winner but I'm hoping it's a diamond in the rough

Oh yeah, I didn't even take  a photo of what makes it so special. It's a factory MANUAL! Going to be a slow burner for now as I need to clear some space and get some funds from selling off some other stuff. Really hope it's not got OMGHGF...

 

[Matty]

Manual. Very well bought!!

[wuvvum]

Braver man than me!  Mind you you're better off with one of these than the later AJV8-powered cars, even if the later cars are faster.

[Broadsword]

As you know, I'm very excited about this. Hopefully it can just about scrape an MOT somehow. I'll message you as regards how to inflate the tyres, I've had those wheels up to very recently..

[Carl1981]

I love a Jag, my XJ40 was the best car I’ve ever bought, didn’t pay a lot and still got it 13 years later.

being a late ‘40 it’s the same car as yours underneath, lovely things and yours is a manual, very well bought sir!

 

[straightSix]

1 minute ago, Broadsword said:

As you know, I'm very excited about this. Hopefully it can just about scrape an MOT somehow. I'll message you as regards how to inflate the tyres, I've had those wheels up to very recently..

Ah amazing thank you! Was just about to reply to your PM actually. It definitely needs some welding for the MOT. I phoned the garage who used to service it and they said the guy wasn't shy about spending money on it, some years it was serviced 3 times! But it's certainly feeling the miles now

[dome]

Wooft, what a car. Looking forward to seeing this on the road, another XJR on here has to be a good thing🙂

[Jenson Velcro]

Intrigued by the tyre inflation comments. 
What’s so special?

[Broadsword]

1 hour ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Intrigued by the tyre inflation comments. 
What’s so special?

In the case of those specific BBS wheels you need to use a special valve stem that is screwed into the wheel temporarily in order to inflate the tyre. It's a bit of a liability really and too easy to loose the valve stem!

[Jenson Velcro]

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like a solution to a problem that didn’t really exist.

[Schaefft]

Love a good resurrection, especially with such a special car. I really wouldnt mind trying an XJR someday, especially a manual one!

[straightSix]

Update: just got word from the garage, and to quote, "it's a breaker". Basically needs a load of welding (some expected, some not) and fuel pipes corroded through etc etc. Hoping to get down tomorrow morning if possible and get it up on the ramp and go through with him and see how overly dramatic he's being... I would definitely like to save this car is possible. Although if my other X300 doesn't sell... 

Otherwise I might have to fire up the welder myself WCPGW

[straightSix]

Just to add, I just saw two BRG X300 Jags on my lunch break so I'm taking it as a sign. It shall be saved!

[Broadsword]

If the garage will let you have a look on the ramp and talk you through it, take as many photos of it as possible, then sit down and take a good hard look to see if it's worth it. Some bits are genuinely too hard to do DIY. A friend of mine with two very good factory manual cars (lucky git) had the gearbox out of one and soon realized an absolutely critical mounting point had rotted. He has now had to remove the engine to get at this piece (yes he has nice facilities, double lucky git), since he is committed to keeping the car in as good fettle as possible, and the rest of the car is solid. It makes sense to do that sort of work on a nice example, but with others I would not be so tempted. I guess it also depends if the engine is ok since taking a large drink of coolant initially.

I forgot to mention the corrosion on the fuel lines. It will be where the fuel filter is just above the rear axle. A really nasty weakness on X300s/308s I'm afraid, but not a big job on the grand scheme of things.

I've just done a video on some of the rust trap on these cars. Might be of some use.

 

[Matty]

4 hours ago, straightSix said:

Just to add, I just saw two BRG X300 Jags on my lunch break so I'm taking it as a sign. It shall be saved!

Have you room to work bud? Since its a rare car with a bolloxed shell is a running gear transplant into a better shell doable? Are there any structural differences between normal x300 shells and xjrs? 

[straightSix]

Amazing info as always @Broadsword.  Was your friends car in the JayEmm video? If so it looked a great car and again, great unit to work in!

Unfortunately the ramp is busy at the garage and he would have been going in on his day off anyway so going to try and look one evening next week. Like you say, I'll take a load of photos as I've potentially got a lead on a welder at a Jag specialist nearby. Some bits I'm happy to tackle myself but don't have the facilities to tackle anything too ambitious atm. If the head gasket has gone then it really will put the viability of it into question as well

With the fuel lines, I saw some of the rubber lines were a bit perished as well

[straightSix]

1 minute ago, Matty said:

Have you room to work bud? Since its a rare car with a bolloxed shell is a running gear transplant into a better shell doable? Are there any structural differences between normal x300 shells and xjrs? 

That's vaguely what I've been thinking. Not sure about the actual body shell but lots of little bits and pieces interior wise and body wise as well that's I'd want to transfer across. It would also give me change to get everything powder coated and smartened up as well

I've also got a bollocks xj40 as well that could donate some bits. Might be able to make something decent out of all three of them 😂

[dome]

2 hours ago, Broadsword said:

If the garage will let you have a look on the ramp and talk you through it, take as many photos of it as possible, then sit down and take a good hard look to see if it's worth it. Some bits are genuinely too hard to do DIY. A friend of mine with two very good factory manual cars (lucky git) had the gearbox out of one and soon realized an absolutely critical mounting point had rotted. He has now had to remove the engine to get at this piece (yes he has nice facilities, double lucky git), since he is committed to keeping the car in as good fettle as possible, and the rest of the car is solid. It makes sense to do that sort of work on a nice example, but with others I would not be so tempted. I guess it also depends if the engine is ok since taking a large drink of coolant initially.

I forgot to mention the corrosion on the fuel lines. It will be where the fuel filter is just above the rear axle. A really nasty weakness on X300s/308s I'm afraid, but not a big job on the grand scheme of things.

I've just done a video on some of the rust trap on these cars. Might be of some use.

 

I hope this lives again. I replaced the fuel lines on my XJ40 at the same time as the brake lines, it wasn't a terrible job. I changed over to an inline motorsports filter that used regular hose clamps and fittings as the original ones were beyond repair.

[straightSix]

1 minute ago, dome said:

I hope this lives again. I replaced the fuel lines on my XJ40 at the same time as the brake lines, it wasn't a terrible job. I changed over to an inline motorsports filter that used regular hose clamps and fittings as the original ones were beyond repair.

My intention is for this to live again! I'm under no illusion it will require a fair bit of work/money and I'm prepared for both, just hope the welding lead comes through

[Broadsword]

15 hours ago, straightSix said:

Amazing info as always @Broadsword.  Was your friends car in the JayEmm video? If so it looked a great car and again, great unit to work in!

Unfortunately the ramp is busy at the garage and he would have been going in on his day off anyway so going to try and look one evening next week. Like you say, I'll take a load of photos as I've potentially got a lead on a welder at a Jag specialist nearby. Some bits I'm happy to tackle myself but don't have the facilities to tackle anything too ambitious atm. If the head gasket has gone then it really will put the viability of it into question as well

With the fuel lines, I saw some of the rubber lines were a bit perished as well

The car in the JayEmm video belongs to my friend Lee. That car I know well and I’ve driven it, IT IS TRULY AMAZING. Lee’s car is the best X300 I know of. It’s a British Racing Green auto car converted to manual and has now been completely restored as far as the mechanicals are concerned. Every bushing, springs, shocks, nuts, bolts everything underneath has been sorted. It got some very nice upgrades which make it monstrously fast, much, much faster than any other XJR6. A beautiful exhaust system with tubular exhaust manifolds, upgraded pulleys on supercharger, completely rebuilt and recoated (the blades that is) supercharger, modified ECU which’s does the Andy Bracket mod without the bracket, better water pump for the charge cooler. It’s much improved since the JayEmm video with custom big brake upgrade all round and to top it off a lightened flywheel conversion and competition clutch. The car is now complete and happily being used bar needing a full respray at some point. It’s been a pleasure to follow that project..

Actually the nasty bit of welding I was discussion was another friend Mick. He has these two…