Firing on all six
Since I bought the 1989 3.6-litre Jaguar XJ6 seven years ago it has always been a reliable starter. Recently all that changed. After having been standing outside for a week in very damp conditions when I went to start it up, the car simply did not want to know. The battery has been getting a bit tired lately and I know that it will require replacing soon but that wasn’t the cause of the problem.
Nevertheless, I eventually ran out of amps churning the big six over, so I pulled the other XJ40 alongside and got out the jump leads. I eventually got the XJ6 started but it took some time before it was running on all six cylinders. Eventually after a good drive it was almost back to normal but then the problem repeated itself a few days later.
This time, I was sure that I could hear the gentle cracking of a spark arcing away somewhere. I looked under the bonnet but could not locate the problem. Later on, once it was properly dark, I went outside, restarted the car and lifted the bonnet. And there was the culprit, a spark jumping to earth from the high-tension lead running from the coil to the distributor.
Thinking that if one HT lead had broken down, after 123,000 miles, the rest could be considered suspect, I bought a complete new set. Then, I realised that the original distributor cap and rotor arm must have been in situ for the last twenty-seven years as well, so I contacted Elta Automotive (sales@elta.co.uk) and ordered new correct Lucas replacements.
The new rotor arm did have a slightly different appearance but it fitted perfectly and replacement was
straightforward. Once all the new leads and components were fitted, I twisted the key. The trusty old Jaguar started perfectly and settled instantly into a totally smooth tickover. Finally, I removed the original yellow ‘Danger - High Voltage...’ sign from the old plug leads, cleaned off 27 years of grime, refitted it to the new leads and shut the bonnet. The Jag now runs better than ever.
About a year and a half ago, soon after I bought the 1988 Sovereign, I had its original 390mm metric Teardrop pattern alloy wheels restored, so they have always looked well. Having fitted new correct Jaguar shock absorbers to the front of the car last month however, I decided to try the larger imperial 16-inch wheels and tyres currently fitted to the 1989 XJ6, just to see if they would further affect ride, handling or feel. All wheels were duly removed from both the XJ6 and the Sovereign and then swapped over. The final task was to swap over the spare wheels, as the wheel nuts on the 16inch Alessios differ from those used to mount the original Jaguar wheels. Due to the Alessios’ different offset, the original Jaguar spare wheelmounting bolt does not have a long enough reach. Instead, a long coach bolt with appropriate washers and plastic guard works perfectly.
On test, the difference actually proved to be quite noticeable; now fitted with the 16-inch five spoke Alessio alloys, the Sovereign’s ride remains excellent, if anything, perhaps marginally better. Also, having that slight difference in offset, the track has a small increase resulting in steering and chassis dynamics feeling a tad more positive.
On the other hand, the XJ6, now on Jaguar Teardrop metric wheels as supplied new, now feels original and unspoilt, whilst at the same time looking correct.
I know purists won’t approve of an unspoilt low mileage XJ40 on Italian after market wheels, but it was an acceptable upgrade to fit 15 or 16-inch wheels to XJ40s in the late ‘80s. Anyway, the Alessio’s are period wheels anyway I reckon they look brilliant.
This time, I was sure that I could hear the gentle cracking of a spark arcing away somewhere