Nice Jag!

[swisstoni]

V12 Migaloo said:

Would you not say that's good value in comparison with a restoration to get something in a condition like this....

It all depends what’s going on under that paint.

[I-am-the-reverend]

reddiesel said:

I don’t know if that was the general consensus at their time of manufacture . I owned a few of them and the air suspension at least when new was a wonderful ride .

Indeed - they drive very well.

They are also worth comparitively bugger all and they are far, far better than previous XJ's.

[and31]

swisstoni said:

V12 Migaloo said:

Would you not say that's good value in comparison with a restoration to get something in a condition like this....

It all depends what’s going on under that paint.

I’ve said it before in this thread that I’d love to have another but the fear of the dreaded rust is too much for me-Harry Metcalfes gorgeous XJ12 coupe didn’t look too bad until they started digging under the surface.
( I tried to convince my dad to buy that same car when it was advertised in the JEC magazine for 6 grand I think)

[dbdb]

I-am-the-reverend said:

reddiesel said:

I don’t know if that was the general consensus at their time of manufacture . I owned a few of them and the air suspension at least when new was a wonderful ride .

Indeed - they drive very well.

They are also worth comparitively bugger all and they are far, far better than previous XJ's.

The do drive well. My brother had an aluminium Super V8 in about 2004-ish. It was an excellent car but we both felt it lacked something compared to the earlier XJs our father had owned. It was competent and efficient and I agree far better in many objective ways, but subjectively it lacked the swagger and style of the steel cars - and that was the main reason for buying a Jaguar. It felt like a German car. Horses for courses, I guess.

Perhaps counterintuitively, he later had the X351 SuperSport. That car had regained some of the feel of the old XJ Jaguars and I greatly preferred it (as did he).

[reddiesel]

dbdb said:

The do drive well. My brother had an aluminium Super V8 in about 2004-ish. It was an excellent car but we both felt it lacked something compared to the earlier XJs our father had owned. It was competent and efficient and I agree far better in many objective ways, but subjectively it lacked the swagger and style of the steel cars - and that was the main reason for buying a Jaguar. It felt like a German car. Horses for courses, I guess.

Perhaps counterintuitively, he later had the X351 SuperSport. That car had regained some of the feel of the old XJ Jaguars and I greatly preferred it (as did he).

In a word I would say it was the switchgear that was the detraction over the earlier cars though as always its good to hear other opinions . The X351 sadly never interested me and that was simply down to the aesthetics . I don't however decry the cars capabilities .

[dbdb]

reddiesel said:

In a word I would say it was the switchgear that was the detraction over the earlier cars though as always its good to hear other opinions . The X351 sadly never interested me and that was simply down to the aesthetics . I don't however decry the cars capabilities .

For me it is the driving position and overall feel of the car. In the older XJ whether one of the Series cars or the XJ40/X300/X308, you sit low down and the car envelopes around you. The dash is high, the roofline low, the windows are relatively shallow and the windscreen is close. The footwells are narrow and the bonnet looks as if it goes on forever. The cabin is aromatic, smelling of leather and even slightly of hot oil on a long journey. The car is very smooth riding and glides down the road. It is a heavy car and feels it. It also feels strangely 'special', a difficult to define quality missing in the later cars.

The X350 is quite different. Highly competent certainly and objectively better in a number of ways, not least fuel consumption and rust resistance, but there is something missing - at least from the way I measure a car. You sit high up - on the car rather than in it - and the car does not envelope you. They feel like a well made and luxurious car which could have been made by anyone and although it is packed full of Jaguar 'styling cues' it does not feel like one. It is a bit more like a Mercedes. I recognise they are good - even excellent for their time, but have never felt a desire to own one. They are more practical than the older cars, but for me, a little bland.

Taste is a very personal thing - plenty of people dislike the XJ40 yet I consider them beautiful.

[reddiesel]

Fair comment and the smell of Jaguar Leather raises some memories

[I-am-the-reverend]

dbdb said:

Taste is a very personal thing - plenty of people dislike the XJ40 yet I consider them beautiful.

A Sovereign or Daimler in black with the early type wheels and big fishtank headlamps is very handsome. They really were a massive leap forward imo and the AJ6 was as good as anything Ze Germans made. I was never as keen on the X300, then or now.

One car that came close was the E38 7 Series, particularly the V12 but it had to be a stock one on 16 inch wheels - none of that 'Sport' nonsense.

[dbdb]

I-am-the-reverend said:

A Sovereign or Daimler in black with the early type wheels and big fishtank headlamps is very handsome. They really were a massive leap forward imo and the AJ6 was as good as anything Ze Germans made. I was never as keen on the X300, then or now.

One car that came close was the E38 7 Series, particularly the V12 but it had to be a stock one on 16 inch wheels - none of that 'Sport' nonsense.

One of the nicest XJ40 I ever saw was a black late 3.6 litre Daimler with burgundy leather at a dealer in the early 1990s. It was a fabulous looking thing. I also think they look surprisingly good in signal red - quite a rare colour on them, briefly popular in the late '80s.

I far prefer the XJ40 to the X300 as well. They look much sharper and for me at least the X300 is the start of Jaguars no longer making the most modern car they could. The XJ40 was very technically advanced in 1986 - more so in many ways than the BMW E32 or the Mercedes W126. The X300 was only a facelifted and mildly re-engineered XJ40, whereas the E38 was substantially a new car. That showed.

[Rob 131 Sport]

dbdb said:

I-am-the-reverend said:

A Sovereign or Daimler in black with the early type wheels and big fishtank headlamps is very handsome. They really were a massive leap forward imo and the AJ6 was as good as anything Ze Germans made. I was never as keen on the X300, then or now.

One car that came close was the E38 7 Series, particularly the V12 but it had to be a stock one on 16 inch wheels - none of that 'Sport' nonsense.

One of the nicest XJ40 I ever saw was a black late 3.6 litre Daimler with burgundy leather at a dealer in the early 1990s. It was a fabulous looking thing. I also think they look surprisingly good in signal red - quite a rare colour on them, briefly popular in the late '80s.

I far prefer the XJ40 to the X300 as well. They look much sharper and for me at least the X300 is the start of Jaguars no longer making the most modern car they could. The XJ40 was very technically advanced in 1986 - more so in many ways than the BMW E32 or the Mercedes W126. The X300 was only a facelifted and mildly re-engineered XJ40, whereas the E38 was substantially a new car. That showed.

I couldn’t agree more. I drove my Dad’s 4.0 XJ40 and a number of X300’s thereafter. I could not understand all the hype regarding the X300 as it drove much the same as the XJ40.

[I-am-the-reverend]

From 1986:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHBlZ1Q39Zc

Enjoy!

Edit: Is that THE David Manners?

Edited by I-am-the-reverend on Saturday 29th June 17:52

[GoodOlBoy]

Interesting video and, yes, it is THE David Manners

[Penguinracer]

Call me biased but to me the the E32 had a character the E38 lacked...it's like comparing a Series 3 XJ12 / Daimler Double Six to an X300.

I still find it difficult to warm to Jag saloons after the Series 1 / 2 / 3.

To me a Series 1 XJ12 on six webers, warm cams & a Tremec TKX would be the nuts.

[V12 Migaloo]

Penguinracer said:

Call me biased but to me the the E32 had a character the E38 lacked...it's like comparing a Series 3 XJ12 / Daimler Double Six to an X300.

I still find it difficult to warm to Jag saloons after the Series 1 / 2 / 3.

To me a Series 1 XJ12 on six webers, warm cams & a Tremec TKX would be the nuts.

I was the same until my dad changed his XJ SIII V12 (now in my custodianship) to a X300 4.0 sport. Everything about the X300 was far superior to the old Series III, yeah we thought it didn't look as nice but it was an excellent car that match the build quality of ze Germans... at least we thought so.