JAGUAR XJ6 3.6
Keith looks back at his best – and worst – classic buys. This week, a Jag that, er, have crossed Europe…
WHAT I PAID
WHY DID YOU WANT ONE?
I needed a car for my third go at the Staples2Naples banger rally and this time I definitely wanted to travel in comfort. The previous year, I’d gone in an Austin Allegro 1500, and decided early on that I never wanted to undertake such a trip again in a car so unsuited. What I needed was a big, fast, wafty barge to take me. I quickly decided that I needed a Rover 800 or a Jaguar XJ6, and it ended up being the latter after Jag Breakers – a Bolton-based company that, amazingly, breaks Jaguars – offered me a lovely 3.6 with 94,500 miles on the clock for just £100. I was in. I had planned a wonderful drive through France, over the Alps and across Italy in this leggy executive – especially when I peered inside for the first time only to spot a manual gear shifter and a clutch pedal. Oh joy. Little did I know what this big cat had in store for me, though…
WAS IT A JOY – OR A NIGHTMARE – TO LIVE WITH?
I’ll be honest, it was a nightmare, albeit a smooth and refined, super-comfortable nightmare. But I loved that car, despite all the issues. First impressions were very good when I picked it up – the exterior was tidy, the tyres were meaty and the interior didn’t smell too bad at all. But it soon became apparent that this car would need work for the event – the clutch was past its prime, the rear door
3590cc/6-cyl/DOHC 7.4sec
ENGINE 0-60MPH
handles were broken and the dashboard was screaming about all manner of catastrophic electrical maladies that simply weren’t there. But despite all the warning signs from the clutch, I continued to run (and enjoy) it as a commuting car for months before getting down to the serious matter of preparing it for the rally. In the end, just ten days before the event, the clutch seemingly failed – but topping up the slave cylinder at least meant that there was drive and a little clutch action. But that was never going to be enough and the clutch went for good the night before we were due to drive to Calais. I really should have seen the signs – it’s not as if the car hadn’t warned me!
WHAT’S YOUR ABIDING MEMORY OF IT?
Obviously, I never ended up living the dream of going over the Stelvio Pass in a manual, rear-wheel drive Jaguar – instead I took a Rover 800 that I picked up in a firesale just hours before I should have been boarding a ferry – so I need to rewind six months to those halcyon days I spent smoking around in a lovely Jaguar XJ6 that had cost me less in total than it would have taken to fill the fuel tank. Just think about that for a moment. The car was smooth, comfortable, and looked every bit the four-door supercar (especially as it was sitting on some rather fetching JaguarSport alloys). It reminded
221bhp@5000rpm 21-28mpg
POWER FUEL CONSUMPTION TORQUE TRANSMISSION
me that good cars always give you plenty of warning about impending doom, and you really do ignore these signs at your peril – it’s a lesson that I’ve taken on board to this day. I was sad to not take it on an adventure, but sadder still to sell it on to a friend, who fixed it up and made a mint. Still, it reaffirmed my love for Jaguar XJs, and fuelled my desire to have another one. One day…
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR BUYING ONE?
The world has moved on considerably since I bought my hundred quid XJ. For a start, it would be worth at least ten times that much now – not least because the supply of project cars is really starting to dry up now, and survivors are mainly cherished classics. All I’d give in the way of advice is that even a knackered Jaguar XJ drives really well, so don’t just rely on a test drive when appraising a car to buy – try to look underneath, paying particular attention to any structural rot around the sills, suspension mounts and floor pan. Then check the suspension front and rear very closely indeed, because there are many bushes and links in this set-up, and they’re all vulnerable to wear and tear. Then, obviously, check that everything electrical works. If it’s a thumbs-up on those scores, the car is probably a good one. As for the engine, well, it’s pretty much bulletproof…
248lb ft@4000rpm RWD, five-speed manual
MAXIMUM SPEED
136mph