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I bought it for $150.00usd im told it ran and drove 3 or 4 years ago. I am a mechanic but I have zero experience with a real jag. I am here looking to glean any wisdom I can from more experienced folks. My goal is a complete restoration, NOT mod. It aperas to be complete other than the hood ornament and keys. I have a title, a shop, time and $$$. I will need a good service manual and a line on oem parts. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Welcome on board, Anthony!
Source a relevant Jaguar workshop manual, and the parts catalogue - as a first step. The rest is plain sailing; the Jaguar respond very well to professional as well as DIY care - the specifics are found in the manuals…
Just assess, as you would with any car, where you want to start - and ask away…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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Hi Anthony,
you hit enter before the pictures uploaded. If you know your way around cars you’ll be fine. The XK-engine is almost indestructible and easy to work on for the most part (the head studs can snap, they corrode inside the water jacket down low). If you put it on a lift for longer watch out for delaminating rubber, especially at the IRS that is said to come down after some time, worst case scenario.
The green workshop manual is very good and worth the money. Watch for rust at all the jacking points, window surrounds and the usual places.
Good luck! Enjoy it.
David
Well done. The Series 2 cars (except the coupes) don’t seem to get as much love as the S1 and S3 cars. I think they are the best looking body myself and am a fellow 1978 XJ6L owner (yes, I am biased). As others said, get a copy of the Repair Operations Manual and the Parts book - its exploded diagrams are a great help.
The body is liable to rust - sills, floors, jacking points, wheel arches. How is the body on yours? The mechanicals are sturdy and straightforward and mostly easy to work on. The suspension and mountings rubber needs to be good so you may need to check that out soon. The engine seems almost bulletproof. I am assuming you are in the US and have the North American spec 78 model that is fuel injected like mine. It’s a Bosch L-Jetronic system and parts for that can often be sourced using Bosch or other makers part numbers (it was used by BMW, VW, Volvo and Alfa Romeo to name a few). The Delanair heating/AC control system is complex and tends to cause a lot of headaches here. Parts sources in the US are widespread (where are you BTW?) - I mention in no particular order in the US - SNG Barratt, XKS Unlimited, Welsh, Coventry West, EverydayXJ, Motorcars Ltd. Mechanical and body parts costs are very reasonable for the most part especially if you shop around. Interior trim, especially the leather, is not cheap.
There’s tons of help available here. Lots can be found searching the forum but the active members are incredibly helpful. Welcome aboard.
David
David Womby - 1978 XJ6L FI, 5 speed manual gearbox
Shop manuals usually on Ebay.
Good parts sources are Sng Barrett and Xks Unlimited.
Welcome to the Jag world. Good luck.
Anthony:
I add m7 warm welcome. Find all the literature that you can and read up on it. even the driver’s manual can be incredibly helpful.
As a professional mechanic, you will find your way. Allk critters have similar functions. so, it is a matter of determining how Jaguar elected to perforn those functions.
The electrics are the greatest challenge, But, the mantra I learned was/is “clean, tighten and lube”. It works. At times, component failure will mislead you.
The ignition switch on my car did that admirably. A NOS from David Boger Everydayx fixed a lot of mysteries!! A great guy and source of good used and a lot of NOS parts.
The biggest, that got the best of me was the rear brake calipers. Inboard. Great engineering as to unsprung weight. but at the expense of service access.
I am a decent DIY guy. but, farmed that chore out.
Oh, Rock Auto has jaguar parts, and good pricing. .
You will find many parts that are common to USA cars.
Power steering pump, AC compressor, event he BW transmission. Dana or Salsbury at the rear…
Although the starter is a Lucas unit, It is very similar in architecture to an older Delco Remy as seen old GM cars…
Broken Ki8tty aka Johnscars in fort worth is a good source of Jaguar related parts.
Enjoy…
Carlt
Welcome Anthoney,
I’m currently doing a rebuild on the IRS from a Series II.
Like Frank stated first step is to get a proper manual. there’s an online version through
https://store.otpubs.com/brands/Jaguar.html These guys are total wankers in my book but the product is decent. the same thing can be had via XKS.com but like I said it’s the same thing just remarketed.
Cheers.
Mark