[xj] Ser III as daily driver? was Defending Jaguar honor

XJ
1

A Ser III will make a reliable daily driver. My '87 has been my daily
driver for years now.

Of course, unless you find and pay for an exceptional example, you’ll
probably find that most 18 year old Ser III Jags have not received the care
they deserve…so be prepared to spend a fair amount of time and money
initially sorting things out and catching up on neglected services and
repairs. After that you should be in good shape.

I will say, though, that a Ser III of this vintage may be nearing head
gasket replacement time.

Doug Dwyer
Longview, Washington USA
1987 Ser III XJ6
1988 XJS V12From: “Jaguar Jeff” jeff.bolmeyer@comcast.net

On another topic. I’m seriously thinking about replacing my ‘‘daily
driver’’ XJ-40 car with an '87 Series III. I just love the lines.
IYHO, can a Series III make a viable daily driver? I live in the
Philadelphia area and we get hot and humid summers, some snow in
the winter, certianly cold, and I’m on and off I-95 and the Jersey
Turnpike all the time.

I have no problem maintaining the car and have a good mechanic, but
will the car start when I want it to, get me to my clients office,
keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

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2

In reply to a message from Doug Dwyer sent Sun 27 Mar 2005:

I have to agree with Doug here. About
seven months ago, I went bottom fishing and
picked up an 85 XJ6 S3 on the cheap.
The car had a tremendous amount of
deferred maintenance and needed repairs,
however the body and interior were in
reasonable shape (no rust). Just to give
you an idea of what I have done so far
to get it into shape as a daily driver:

  1. New belts and hoses
  2. Coolant flush and rad re-core
  3. New (used) fuel tanks
  4. New fuel rail
  5. New injector hoses and clamps
  6. Injectors cleaned
  7. New rear calipers and pads
  8. New front catalytic converter
  9. New oil,trannie and fuel filters
  10. New fluids
  11. New plugs, wires, cap, rotor
  12. Misc rubber parts (still ongoing)
  13. New heater valve
  14. New valve cover gaskets and end plugs
  15. Misc. tinkering to get things running
    correctly
  16. New (used) air pump
  17. New tires
  18. New lower ball joint (yes, one only)
  19. New steering rack bushings
  20. Front end alignment
  21. New fuel pump
  22. New thermostat
  23. New (used) Air Flow Meter
  24. New O2 sensor
  25. New misc. gaskets

Surprisingly, parts are plentiful and
rather inexpensive compared to other British
cars I’ve owned…provided one takes
the time to shop around.

I still have an a/c compressor to replace
and I want to re-shoot the body at some
point, but for now I enjoy just driving
the car. We just returned from an 800 mile
trip along Oregon state’s coastline without
incident. It was my first real reliability
test since undertaking the work above, and
I have no complaints to report other than
the choices of music I had to endure.

So far, the only time the car failed me was
when the fuel pump when gunny sack in the
parking lot of my neighborhood post office.
This occured just after I purchased the
car. It was a pretty easy and quick fix.

The radiator really did not need to be
re-cored, however it is one of those
jobs I believe should be done on
general principals for any 20 year old
British car. It is just good insurance.
The bottoms of the fuel tanks were
swiss-cheese due to rust and I purchased
two used, rust free tanks from a California
car for US$100.00 delivered to Seattle.

The above may seem like a lot of work,
however I now have a baseline established to
undertake further work and help in the
diagnosis of future issues. The work above
was completed while driving the car on
a somewhat regular basis. Downtime was
usually limited to waiting for parts
to be delivered andtheir installation.

It IS a wonderful machine to drive and
makes very comfortable and IMHO an
inexpensive daily driver.

Good Luck!

Best Regards,

Kirk Yonker
Seattle
81 Triumph TR8 dhc fi
85 Jaguar XJ6 S3–
Wedgepig
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3

In reply to a message from Doug Dwyer sent Sun 27 Mar 2005:

Thanks for the input on a series III as a daily driver. I have
found a good car, it has 95k miles on it now and the real issue as
I see it is it has basically averaged 600 miles per year (thats
right) for the last 10 years under the second owner. The first
owner put approximately 88k on it. The car was delivered in late
1986.

Without the head gasket I’m figuring on pouring $4k into it.
Basically need to redo the suspension, front and rear, breaks and
rotors, the A/C needs work, new set of tires and I should be good
to go. If I have to tear the top of the motor off, well you know
what that is all about.

However, at the end of the day, look what you have!!!

Regards,–
Jaguar Jeff - '95 XJS 6.0L Conv / '94 XJ-40 4.0L
Wilmington, DE, United States
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4

Jaguar Jeff wrote:

Without the head gasket I’m figuring on pouring $4k into it.
Basically need to redo the suspension, front and rear, breaks and
rotors, the A/C needs work, new set of tires and I should be good
to go. If I have to tear the top of the motor off, well you know
what that is all about.

Of all these items mentioned only the engine relates strictly to
reliability, Jeff…:slight_smile:

The rest are strictly speaking standard wear issues revealed on routine
inspection, or will inform you in good time when work is required…

Frank
xj6 85 Sovereign (UK/NZ)===================================================
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5

In reply to a message from Doug Dwyer sent Sun 27 Mar 2005:

I know I’m getting into this late but having been in the position
of choosing between the Series III and the XJ-40 as a daily driver,
I have to say that from a performance and useability standpoint,
the XJ-40 is vastly superior in a number of ways.

Now before everybody goes nuts, I really love the XJ series and
will have another Series II when the time is right and I find the
right EFI car.

However, you cannot ignore the fact that Jaguars keep improving and
moving along with progress.

The XJ-40 is just vastly more user friendly, gets better mileage,
has the added gear in the trans, more power, better visibility,
more luxury appointments…the list goes on and you have to be
willing to take a step back in your expectations if you’re going
for aesthetics rather than imminent useability.

The Series III is absolutely a Jaguar of impeccable breeding but it
is dated.

I see them now more as a lovely touring car to be pampered and
enjoyed for the experience than as a weapon in the daily traffic
battle.

I want a late model for that…say a 2000 XJR! 8>)–
The original message included these comments:

On another topic. I’m seriously thinking about replacing my ‘‘daily
driver’’ XJ-40 car with an '87 Series III. I just love the lines.
IYHO, can a Series III make a viable daily driver? I live in the
Philadelphia area and we get hot and humid summers, some snow in
the winter, certianly cold, and I’m on and off I-95 and the Jersey
Turnpike all the time.

–
Jeb Boyd, Jaguar Enthusiast and Mechanic
Pennsylvania, United States
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6

In reply to a message from Wedgepig sent Sun 27 Mar 2005:

Thanks for all your help. I drove up to West Chester, PA today
and purchased that black '87 XJ6 VDP with 95k miles on it that has
been on eBay recently. The car has as nice an exterior and
interior as I have ever seen. Needs some work mechanically but
nothing that will put me in the poor house. The sorting out should
not be more then $4k to bring it back up to original specs.

When done I’ll be in the car for under $10k which is OK by me
considering the condition of the body, paint and interior. It’s
really something guys!

There is a guy in my Jag Club who wants my XJ-40 so that should be
moved out by weeks end.

Thanks for all your help. See you on the XJ6 board!–
Jaguar Jeff - '95 XJS 6.0L Conv / '94 XJ-40 4.0L
Wilmington, DE, United States
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7

Congratulations. I think you are going in with the right attitude and plan
of action: start with a decent car and realistic expectations, do what it
takes to get it sorted…and enjoy !

Doug Dwyer
Longview, Washington USA
1987 Ser III XJ6
1988 XJS V12From: “Jaguar Jeff” jeff.bolmeyer@comcast.net

Needs some work mechanically but
nothing that will put me in the poor house. The sorting out should
not be more then $4k to bring it back up to original specs.

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