.... So I decided that another car was needed for Cruising. I wasn't sure what I felt like.. then suddenly, this lovely 1987 Jaguar XJ40(XJ6) just appeared and it was meant to be!
The car had been sitting in a little old man's garage for the last five years. It was covered in a thick layer of dust and had a couple of flat tires. It was original purchased by the Woman who owns Canadian Tire... and had all of the Factory Personalized car manuals.
I managed to get her to run... even with the awful ancient gas in the tank! She had 170,000 km, which I thought was pretty good for a 22 year old car. Upon discussions a price of $1950 CAD was agreed and I hopped in to drive her the 13 blocks home...
She sputted and lurched the way home. Power steering and Brakes both were out, and alot of the electrics didn't function(brake lights etc)..
So here goes! A haynes manual and a set of Factory Manuals and I'm off!
Things I have done to make this mighty cat road worthy once again!
1) Minor rust bubble on the Trunk lip. Common I have discovered to XJ40's. Vancouver is very good for minimal rust so I sanded,filled and painted. LORDCO mixed up a direct match from the "Silver-Birch" paint code. They make a huge aerosol and touch up jar for $35 CAD and it only takes an hour. I also reglued the Headliner at the rear by the rear windscreen. It was starting to sag... but looks like I caught it properly.
2) Replace all the brake pads. Cost $35 CAD each set from Ebay(with the pad elctronic sensors!) JAG wanted over $200 each set! Full system bleed with DOT 4. I may replace the rotors, but it turns out the 87-89 XJ40's differ slightly from the later years. I am sure something with come on EBAY.
3) This car uses a Hydraulic Brake Power Booster instead of the standard Vacuum systems found in nearly all other cars I have ever seen. This system also used to control the self adjust rear ride system. The entire thing was problematic right from the factory. My rear shocks had already been re-fitted to the JAG standard shock and spring setup. Turns out the pump reservoir was bone dry! Still not sure why as there are no leaks? It takes a special Castrol Hydraulic Mineral Oil. I bought 2 liters($11/litre) from a local JAG shop and filled the sytem.... Power Brakes once again.
4) The powers steering wasn't functioning, and upon closer looks, I discovered that the high pressure hose from the pump to the Rack had a slit in it. Onto my trusty computer and $105 with shipping and a brand new hose was on the way. It only took 2 days, and was a breeze to install. The only issue(which I found later) was that the supplied O-Ring on the pump end of the hose was too small and failed about 2 days later. I found a larger O-ring (off of an old Chrysler fuel injector of all things?) and replaced it. No problems since!... and who says Chrysler stuff isn't reliable LOL!
5) Cleaned ALL electrical grounds and replaced all the bad light bulbs. About $20 CAD and a whole lotta time. But all is as good as new.
6) Replaced the 4 1/2 factory woofers below the back seat. The orginal surrounds had degraded. $15 CAD on ebay for a brand new set of 4 Ohm 100 wat SubWoofers from a home theatre system. The stock stereo now pounds again!
7) Full tune up. Fuel Filter,Oil Filter, Spark plugs,Cap, Rotor and Wires, Full fluid changes, etc... about $150 CAD
8) She failed air-care here in Vancouver, So I decided on changing both the O2 sensor and Cat Converter(it was rattling).... o2 was $15 CAD on Ebay for a universal 3-wire and the Cat cost $85 plus $100 to have it welded in. After she flew through AirCare!
9) The truck and Hood struts were blown and it was missing the two under dash pads. A trip to the local wrecker(RALPH's) and $70 bucks later good as new!
10) Tightened all of the A/C hose connections, and Topped up the system(I was lucky enough to have some R-12 in the garage from dear old Dad!)
OCT 2009 UPDATE
Where to Begin?
1) Finished replacing all of the brake rotors. Weird thing was a minor pulsation when the rotors were at a certain temperature... I found two new old stock rears on ebay for $50 CAD including shipping. The fronts I bought new from autoparts online Canada for $77 CAD each(free shipping). Brakes are 100% now. I am playing with the idea of replacing the power hydraulic system with a standard Vacuum Servo(a series III booster should fit with minor modifications - I will keep you posted).
2) I replaced the Upper A-Arm bushing on both sides. Normaly these range from $30-80 USD each(and you need two per side). I ordered from Rockauto.com out the states for $8.65 each! AND THEY WERE OEM JAGUAR BUSHINGS!... Great. Fairly easy to replace... except on the Drivers side, some of the hoses get in the way of removing the pivot bolt.
3)Sway bar bushings. Easy replacement and only $3 each!
4)I bought a used set of Tail Lamps on ebay. I got them for $75 including shipping. A pretty good deal considering they cost $200 each at the wrecker. Mine were cracked and dis-coloured. The ebay ones were not cracked at least and they were from a later XJ40 so they had the chrome surrounds. I decided to take them apart, clean, sand, and Repaint them. See the photos below as they looked great after I finished. If you do this Mod... make sure you buy a translucent Red paint and clear coat. This makes them look like polished plastic once again.
5)My radio decided to not eject the Ipod Cassette adapter so I took it to bits. Rather then waste more time(It is worn out) I have ordered a Sony Ipod ready head unit(Same model as I have in my Jeep-that way if I lose a faceplate things can still work). Wiring is "old-School" as both sides use a shared common and seperate channels for the Under seat Woofers. Looks like I will just run a new negative line from just the front speakers and that should set things right. The head unit with then run the four door speakers and I will put a small 40watt amp under the from seat to drive the Rear seat woofers seperately. Due to the way the car is built there is no point of putting a large amp and woofer in the trunk, as it is completley sealed from the passenger compartment. I will update the pics in the next couple days as I do the install tonight.
6) New Tires! Tiger Paws for only $110 Balenced and Installed!
DECEMBER 2009 Update
1) So a couple problems with the cooling hoses. Being 23 years old(and some of the hoses looked it), I don't blame them for giving up. Two hoses in particular failed. The first being the by-pass hose which runs from the Thermostat housing to the water pump. The second is what's called the 'BASTARD' hose that runs from the water pump to the water rail that supplies coolant to the head and block. I decided to replace all of the hoses. All hoses from Autopartscanada.ca cost around $125 with shipping included. All were fairly easy to replace. The bastard hose didn't really live up to it's name, as it was simple to do with only two clamps. They say you have to remove the intake manifold ... but I just moved the airbox and MAF assemblies out of the way and managed to get my hands in underneath. See the photos for more of an idea. I decided to ditch the coolant in-line block heater as things never get all that cold in Vancouver. Time to do all hoses was about 2hours.
2) I also replaced my cam cover gasket for the third time. This time I order a proper OEM version, as the crappy aftermarket gaskets kept splitting - causing an oil leak. The good one cost about $30 and fit beautifully. Make sure you torque the cover screws to only about 8/lbs.
Still a Cruiser!
I will keep ya Posted!
Beautiful Silver Birch!
How Can you Not Dig Fold Down Tables?!
All the Electrics Working as they should!
Very Tidy AJ6 Engine... Loads of Torque!
Have to have a pretty Girl Wash your car !... :)
SwayBar and A-Arm Bushings!
New Brake Discs all round.
Radio to Bits!..... Looks like a rats nest... but actually quite simple!
New Sony IPOD ready Head Unit. Make sure you remove the factory inline radio fuse. It is only 6amp. Modern stereos draw much more current. I think this unit is up to 10 amps plus what ever amp you put in the same circuit.
Pulling The tail-lamps to bits, and sanding with 1000 grit wet-dry
Spray with Translucent Red and ClearCoat after!
Before and after... and Installed!
LOOKS GREAT... much better then the original cracked lamps!
The BASTARD hose on the left, and the bypass on the right. Both were split and caused quite alot of steam!
New Lower Rad Hose and the old. I didn't re-install the in-line coolant heater, as things never get that cold here in Vancouver.
BASTARD hose and bypas installed. Difficult to get to... so be patient!
