I just found this ng. I just picked up a fairly decent 75 XJ6L with no motor/trans. The car is complete inside and out otherwise. Before I get all of the 'purists' fired up, I am putting a small block chevrolet V8 in it. Just because of the ease of maintainance and price/availabilty of parts. The interior/exterior are to remain stock. I love the Jaguar styling and comfort. I also bought a parts car that exerything except for the body/sheetmetal was mint. The body was rusted out so badly that it was amazing that it made it home on a car trailer in one piece. I also have several parts available for sale/trade. Thanks for the read, WEIMER
Weimer, I am by no means a purist, but I think you are headed the wrong way putting a Chevy V8 into the Jag although it is not uncommon.
First off, I own three Jags, 2 '67s and an '88 I have yet to have a problem finding a part for any of these cars and the parts run less than what I pay for similar parts for my Dodge truck, my Nissan 300ZX or my friend's Toyota Camary.
The flip side to the argument is that the resale value of your Jag will be MUCH higher if it has a Jag power plant and transmission. Simply go to Ebay and watch the prices for a while and you will see this. In terms of reliability, my '88 has 190,000 miles on it and it still runs like a top. I have no idea how many miles are on the '67's but they are still factory original 4.2 and 3.4 litre motors and have never been opened. All the numbers still match.
I just finished putting one of the 67's back on the road after a complete tear down and re-spray. I simply brought it to daily driver standard and not show, new CD player instead of original, speakers in the back window, a 3rd brake light etc. The whole project cost me less than $5,000 and I re-built everything but the engine and transmission. (no need).
I will take my '67 and compare it to a '76 with a 350 in any category including speed off the line, top end, fuel consumption and smoothness of operation/ride.
I did this with a John's Cars kit in 86.If you want to build a "hot rod" this is a fun thing to do.I had a great deal of enjoyment building and running this automobile.I had a 406 smallblock nitrous,the works.But it wasn't a Jag exactly.I don't have a kill the "lumps" mentality.I'd build another in a second ;for fun.What do I drive now?86 XJS stock.Nothing as ethereal as a V12.Hard to say if the hotrod or the civil gentlemen was the best,but I still have the V12,and sold the V8.If I had extra cash I'd have both.BTW I spent about 8K on the hotrod,not including the price of the car.Most on the engine.Only got
That is the typical car restoration story. Buy it, put $10 Grand into it and have to sell it for $4. (or less) While I certainly don't consider the '67 an investment, I have completely re-built it for a total, including initial buy price, of $5,000. Book on the car is $10,00+ so I figure I will get out of it what I put into it at least!!
Not to sound rude or above all of that...but I look at building a car as a project, not an investment. If I wanted to make money on this car...its not going to happen in my area whether it has a Jag engine or a Chevrolet. They don't bring big money around here. I can buy XJ6's around here for anywhere from $300 - $800. Believe it or not, this is not going to be my high dollar project...The is my S10 that is taking all of the cash, it can be seen here
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am very fortunate to have the ability to do bodywork,weld, engine build,etc. The hardest part of the Jag project is going to be replacing the frontfloor pans and wheel arches in the rear. I live in Central Ohio so prettymuch any car with some age to it is rusted out underneath. I am going to doa mild rebuild on the engine, detail out the interior and repaint it factoryblack. It is going to be a driver and retain the stock Jag styling andinterior, but I am going to replace all of the wiring with an aftermarketwiring harness from Painless Wiring to eliminate some electrical demons andhave a little piece of mind. I will prbably go with a JTR conversion kit forall of the mounts and Sanderson for the headers. It will have a true dualexhaust with a very very quite(but breathable) flowmaster setup from headersto tailpipes. I am not looking to build a 1/4 mile car, just something witha little 'get-up-and-go' for the highway.I have already started collecting parts for this project so when I do startin on it, I will have what I need, that way I don't have to stop and wait onother parts to finish it up.Also... I have several 79 Jag XJ6 parts for sale or trade if anyone isinterested...My garage is 1/2 full of them right now and I am needing toclear some space to work. Just let me know what you are looking for, andthere is a good chance that I will have it. 2 of the biggest items that Ilooking to get rid of that is taking up valuable space are a set of rustfree doors and a complete rearend/suspension.Thanks for the read...Later, WEIMER
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