My dream daily driver

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
11/20/2014 at 22:36 • Filed to: jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag

Buy one of these, drive it 'till the engine breaks in some way. As soon as that happens, replace drivetrain with Chevy smallblock V8. Mmmmmm...

DISCUSSION (23)

GhostZ > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:41

*twin turbo LS2

Or just a Turbo 8.0L+ Jag V12 or something.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > GhostZ
11/20/2014 at 22:42

Daily driver, so no Jag engines. I generally prefer my cars to actually run.

speedygopher > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:42

Twin turbo Duramax!

michael bleggi > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:43

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/

Alex from Toronto > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:45

Or a 2jz

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:47

Send it off like Top Gear did in Season 3 Episode 1.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:48

So, drive it for a week or so with the original powertrain?

Also, with the SBC, that would be an awesome DD.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:48

Actually, its not that bad as a DD as long as you don't expect to get more than 3 adults inside. That year was fairly reliable, my '76 was a mess. Friends were constantly threatening to do the SBC swap for me cause mine was down more than it was up.

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 22:57

May reviewed one of these which was rebuilt, with modern parts and at great expense, and it was epic. A used one - long before Jaguar could build a wiring harness (Ford fixed that), Smiths instruments, low quality bushings, bearings, stone age transmission, and seals that don't, would be painful. But hey, there's always that fourth job.

Jay Lauer > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 23:29

BAD IDEA.

Kinja'd!!!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight
11/20/2014 at 23:29

How reliable is the I6 compared to the V12?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage
11/20/2014 at 23:30

Yep. Buy it and an SBC, start prepping the SBC to go in as soon as the original powertrain craps out. Put in SBC, hope the lucas electrics don't decide to make everything come over all Ferrari.

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/20/2014 at 23:44

And if any of you haven't seen James May's wine programme, tune in - he pilots a Jaguar XJS all over France:

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jay Lauer
11/20/2014 at 23:58

BUT SBC-POWERED LUCAS ELECTRICS ON WHEELS!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Steve in Manhattan
11/21/2014 at 00:00

"I think I might've cocked it up"

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 00:04

May does so much good BBC television that's not Top Gear . James May Drinks to Britain , James May's Toy Story ... and on and on. It might be heresy, but I think he's the best presenter out there.

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 00:14

You can find much of it on YouTube and Netflix. He's so good.

Axial > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 01:01

That is a very handsome automobile.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 06:16

Much, much more reliable. I've got one in my XJ40 and it's still solid at 152k miles. On the '40 forum there's plenty of cars at well over 200k miles with nothing but regular oil changes. I've heard of head gaskets going occasionally on early 3.6l cars, but you guys didn't get those in the XJS. The I6 only came later in 4.0l format (the one I've got and a great engine) :)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
11/21/2014 at 07:51

What about the notorious Lucas electrics?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 08:26

Hearsay mostly. There are a number of issues on cars older than this but they really cleaned up their act by the time the '40 came around. No more problematic than any other system at the time.

It's odd about Lucas. They had a really shit period during the 70s (probably affected at least partially by the thoroughly indifferent build quality endemic to the British car industry at the time), but that reputation seems to have infected cars made both before and after that didn't suffer anything like the sort of problems that the reputation suggests.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
11/21/2014 at 12:23

So a 1994 XJS with the I6 is likely to be a pretty reliable DD? Any idea what fuel economy they get?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/21/2014 at 18:30

Yep :) anything after '90 had some input from Ford in a couple of areas that still had niggles. Should be solid provided you don't get one that's been abused :)

Mine gets about 25mpg (UK) on average. Not great around town, better on the motorway (think 27-28) and if you're cruising in its real comfort zone of 50-60mph then I've got it up to 33mpg before :) don't expect that often though...