yeah yeah yeah, Im immune to the temptations of the Dark Side...
The Dark Lord, Lucas cured me with his touch years ago lol
That said that 3.8 Mk II is a nice jigger but not at crack pipe prices, I wouldn't pay more than 5k-10k for a Mk II and honestly? Id be happier spending the balance on the car myself.
I spent way too many years trolling Jag's in Trading Post and other classifieds and I can tell you this one simple Jag truth........
Do it once and do it right........ Yourself.
Both my Lil Brothers have Jags, The middle Brother spent literally tens of thousands getting his 79 S III Daimler (Very first year of S III Production) running right and then keeping it running making a 10K car a nearly 50k car (Not counting thieving my spare rebuilt engine) that was still essentially an Unreliable POS and he tried to sell it many times claiming "thousands spent" and "Well sorted, nothing to spend" etc
It was such a good car he bought a Hillman Minx to drive to work because his Daimler was always breaking down.
My other Bro used my contacts and did the running around and sourcing on a number of Jags he owned always sourcing unmolested honest cars that were cheaper than the other shiny examples and spent the difference fixing the common issues correctly and had reliable, good looking and fun cars that he actually made money on when he turned them over.
Middle Bro's car leaks oil from everywhere so he sends it to the mechanic who states he needs a new engine.
Youngest Bro's car has same issue to he buys a gasket kit, Good gasket sealer and replaces the rocker covers (They are known to crack, and then leak) but goes looking for the issue BEFORE stopping the leaks.
The issue is huge Crankcase pressure so a PCV issue, The fix is undoing the breather on the front of the head and cleaning the mesh of its tarry goo, checking the flame traps (If it has them) and replacing them or cleaning them and THEN doing the gaskets, seals and covers.
Middle Bro has huge costs (Even though he nicked my Donk) and although this fixes his issue its the laxy way out.
Lil Bro's fix works well.
High Crankcase pressure will also make Jags smokey and a lot of the time cleaning that brass mesh in the PVC housing would stop the smoke, Cheap fix to what would be a huge expense if misdiagnosed.
To own Jags you must have a few essential things,
Blind optimism..
Jag Enthusiasm..
Realistic expectations..
A good tech network..
A Blue workshop coat with embroidered Jaguar..
And above all you have to get your hands dirty and care for the old girls.
Stop it Motec - you'll send me blind
I look at these and almost reach for the phone but I have this niggling feeling that the economy is not good and that I should hang on to the little there is in piggy. Anyway, I have been offered some Phantom tools and they have to take priority...
Regards,
Brian