1986 Jaguar
XJ6
Vanden Plas
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1986 Jaguar |
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| April 15, 2007 - SOLD!! - I decided that I was over the top, car-wise. The Jag has been fun and scratched an 'itch' I've had to own one. But as nice as it is, I need to 'focus' on the Crosley, the Willys, the MGB-GT, and most of all, the 1939 Packard! I put the Jag up on CraigsList at 11:30 AM, and had cash in hand and an empty spot in front of the house before 2. Not to mention 8 other callers on the car. I could probably have gotten more for it, but I just wanted to get my money back. Pretty amazing, though - 2 hours from posting to gone! |
| April 9, 2007 - Pick 'N Pull got a 1976 Jaguar XJ12 in last week - happily, it was put on the 'hold' list so that parts couldn't be sold off it until this past Saturday at 8 am. The hood was rusty and wouldn't fit anyway, but the grille looked correct. So at 7:30 am I was in the junkyard parking lot, watching trashcans blow away in the rain and snow. Yep, neither rain, nor snow, nor trash-can-toppling winds will stay me from my Jaguar parts! There were about 20 other fools.. uh, hard core car folks waiting with me, and we charged in as soon as they opened their doors. I was the only one after Jaguar parts, and snagged the grille, leaping Jaguar hood ornament, and two wheel center caps all for the not-so-princely sum of $22! The grille does help the look of the car a lot. I've put a little over 1100 miles on the Jaguar with no real complaints. Right now I am trying to decide if I want to keep it or not. With the Crosley and the Willys apart, and the MGB-GT queued up for paint, it might be better to stick a For Sale sign in her and send her on her way. Ten cars is sorta pushing the envelope a little. We'll see. |
| March 14, 2007 - Got in new wheel center caps for the Jag - those holes in the wheels really bugged me, so I found some new ones on eBay. Ended up costing about $50 for three, but they really help the appearance. | |
| March 10, 2007 - I have been driving the Jaguar full time since Wednesday and and am still having a blast with it. Fuel mileage is a little better than expected - about 15 mpg mixed driving. I got a pleasant surprise today when I decided to put gas in the right tank (it has left and right fuel tanks). The right tank was about half full! I thought it was empty. So I got as bonus when I bought it. Anyway, here are some more photos of the car. Some dings here and there, but very solid. Pick 'N Pull had no parts today - one will show up eventually. In the meantime, I am enjoying the heck out of my cheap Jag! | |
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| March 7, 2007 - The Jaguar is legally mine now - went to DMV and get her titled and tagged today. I took her out tonight and was just as happy with it - starts, runs, and drives like new. None of the local auto stores had a shop manual for the car, so I stopped in at a used book store and found a near-perfect Haynes manual, the one I wanted, for $7.00! I'm driving the car into work tomorrow - a lot of my friends there are curious what a $700 Jaguar looks like. I'll be making regular visits to Pick 'N Pull until an XJ6 shows up to provide a new hood and wheel emblems. And of course, the missing leaping Jaguar mascot! |
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March 3, 2007
- Another Brit! I've always
been partial to the XJ6 Jaguars - one of those cars on my 'nice to have'
list but not one I was willing to invest in. At least, until today.
I passed this 1986 XJ6 Vanden Plas sedan yesterday and shouldn't have given
it a second thought. After all, a Jaguar with a starting price of $800
means 'RUN AWAY.' Actually, it really means 'RUN AWAY QUICKLY!'
So why did I stop? I had the 'feeling.' The gut reaction that
says 'BUY ME!' Sort of a psychic sense that has served me really
well in the past. The car was solid, and the interior looked good, and it
only has 101K actual miles.
As the pictures show, the car was less than beautiful up front. A close encounter with the back of a pickup truck took out the grille and crunched the center of the hood, though it didn't reach the headlights. The tan leather interior looked OK, and the body was amazingly solid. So I called up to arrange a test drive this morning. The car passed its acid Jag test - no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. The test drive was a very pleasant surprise - the car runs and drives like new - smooth and quiet. All the options ( and there are a lot) work, and it has a recent state inspection. Bottom line for the car was $700, and I ended up going with the 'feeling'. So far, I couldn't be happier. I replaced the spark plugs, but the old ones were perfect. And the interior cleaned up well. More pictures and info coming. |
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