Good morning and thanks in advance for The impending education. I’ve been looking for a XKE and what looks to be a quite solid and quite reasonably priced 1972 XJ6 got caught in that net.
I’ve always found these cars to be exceptionally handsome, and while I know that the interiors can be extremely expensive to redo I believe the core running gear is pretty stout if look after.
How are these for every day use? Are they decent for just running around town or do they need a proper journey to really shine?
I’ve owned two, a 71 and a 73 which have served largely as daily drivers from the mid 1980’s until my retirement 4 years ago. I still own the 73 but I drive very little now.
So I should be the bloke to answer your question, non? Unfortunately I can’t. The answer depends so much on you and your preferences. More recent cars are objectively superior (e.g., 1998-present Audi A6). Other Jaguars have more charm (e.g., Mark 2) or reliability (XJ40 and on). Unless you have very specific preferences (like SWB, big grille, fascia with big clocks, infinite opportunity for puttering and maintenance) the Pininfarina version of the XJ6 (Series 3) is to most observers more beautiful, better performing and more reliable than the Series 1 cars. Plus, parts are more abundant for puttering. IMHO.
I bought a 1973 model about three months ago, and the interior is shot, but the body is amazing, ,and the chrome is to cry for. But, it is a non-runner, and came to me on a trailer. Has the old, dual S.U. carbs, and the 4.2 litre engine. I bought the car for the engine and will use it in a tired E-type, when that happens. I hope I can find a home for the rest of the car, and the lucky collector will get a great bargain.
It seems like these have been unloved for a while and that usually results in a slippery slope when it comes to parts and community engagement. Is that kind of the situation that these cars are in?
As I mentioned this is a little bit opportunistic as a potential purchase, it’s not something that I’ve been pursuing over any sort of time.
My 1971 Saab 99 is giving me enough headaches trying to source parts, so not really looking to add anything else to the fleet that is going to result in brain damage.
I know there is a big-big price disparity but wondering if a MK2 would, as suggested, hold more interest.
I should note that this car is running but has not been driven in a long time and will likely need sorting out. Am I correct that this is the sort of jaguar that you want to make sure you buy fully sorted otherwise you’re going to be totally underwater? (Like all of them I suppose).
Thanks again for the thoughts and being patient with the somewhat meandering post.
I use my 73 Series 1 happily as a daily driver in Summer and occasionally in winter - though with covid, there hasn’t been much driving of any type for the past year. It’s quite happy around town or on long trips (I did an 800 mile vacation 1 week last summer) and as a classic an extremely practical vehicle. I put 2600 miles on mine last year (I only drove about 8000 miles the whole year anyway)
It’s a 10 year more modern design than a live axle Mk2 and it shows in driving refinement, handling, braking, cabin practicality and loads of other ways. It’s one of the great saloon car designs of all time. Mine drives pretty well like a modern - but with much worse fuel consumption and a better ride/handling balance.
Spares availability should be a lot better than saab I would think. Early cars have less stuff to go wrong than later ones and so may be easier to live with in some ways. A series 3 is less rare but probably drives a bit better.
I think a car needs to look good, be distinctive and become an unusual sight on the road to be properly appreciated as a classic and the original XJ has now reached that stage.
You haven’t indicated if your potential purchase is manual or Auto, LWB or SWB, which will affect the driving experience / desirability / value a little bit. It’ll all be about the bodywork, if it’s low rust then it’s worth saving. You’d pay a lot more for a Mk2 in the same condition.
I have a '72 Alfa Giulia GT (a great drivers car) parked next to the Jag and to be honest, right now, most of the time I prefer to climb in the Jag.
They’re great cars to drive, safe, comfortable and pretty much everything is available, cheap and easily replaced.
If you have the time space and abilities to DIY then condition doesn’t matter as much if it is solid and so on, if you pay the shops settle for one that works right away.
I haven’t had more trouble than with other cars, whose replacement parts often cost more.
They are not great for puttering around town and dislike not being used. That’s to be expected for any car of that size.
Tappety sound is normal for healthy engines unless it is one very very loud one (then it could be a cam follower that is smashed by the camshaft). A silent valvetrain is worrying.
You can ask to have a quick look under the exhaust cam cover for a short inspection. You can use it to get a better deal. If it’s not bad it is not a real problem.
But seriously, very modern but classic.
We’ve had our 1975 XJ6C (Euro spec, manual + O/D, A/C) for 14 years, some nice trips with the family (Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, etc) behind and hope to be able to drive to Goodwood next September.
Drive some longer routes every now and then and follow the factory service manual and all should go well, Enjoy the whole experience!
tdskip (some “normal” name makes communication a lot easier),
as it was mentioned all series XJs will make perfectly practical classics, as they drive and brake safely and cope perfectly with modern traffic. Space and comfort make a great package. You can fit three rear seat belts and even rear head rests and haul your dear ones in confidence.
The downside of all series Jags is the even for their respective built period sub-par equipment relating to the elements: heating/ventilation is rather poor, most people from hotter areas of this planet tend to complain about the cold air as well. Windscreen wipers are rather funny. SI and II don’t even have interval wiping.
The body is complex and once rust is in you’ll have a problem - so a garage is mandatory.
Finally, we’re talking around 260kg of engine steel and aluminum (head), 11 litres of water and 6 litres of oil. Just warming everything up evenly (before seriously driving!) will take 20 mins at least. Any series XJ is a four-door GT and not a city commuter.
So, yes, if you like the Alfa and the way it drives, you’ll love the XJ, but will take it to similar routes.
18 and 8 ½, actually. 15km should be plenty to have it warmed up reasonably. And my wipers have worked perfectly fine so far, the S3 is more than quick enough and so is the S1, but that sadly has no interval, true. Maybe time for a retrofit, I wonder how to integrate it into the switch in mine but the rest should not be much trouble. After all it just puts the same wiper motor through the reverse park cycle again and again with a brief pause in between.
The AC will not be the greatest but better than nothing!
Again if the interior isn’t too bad, buy it. The engine, if it clatters more than a little, it might want to be looked at before buying.
It’s the human condition to want what you don’t have. I ran a 71 alfa spider for 25 years and still miss it.
Back on topic that looks like a clean car, the interior looks like it would clean up to usable with nice patina, though you might want new seat foam and rubber in drivers seat. S1 seat bases are the easiest in the world to remove and work on.
If those hints of rust are only hints then it should be quite decent.
Recommissioning could entail a lot of work and money, or it could not.
