Let’s face it: all of us have some hopeless automotive addiction that makes absolutely no sense. Yes, you can have the standard car-related love affairs with classic American muscle, European sports models, and the like, but there’s always the outlier that makes no rational sense. For me, it’s old, European limos like this stretched 1973 Jaguar XJ12. Limos make no sense because in addition to the space they take up and hold-my-beer quality control, they have little value to anyone who would consider hiring a limo service in the first place. So, if you want one, you best be comfortable driving yourself around in a hugely inconvenient vehicle. Find this beater Jaguar limo here on eBay with an $8,000 Buy-It-Now.
There was definitely a time in our culture when converting anything with four-door and a real backseat into a limo was quite popular. There was undoubtedly an association with power and wealth if you hired a limo service to take you to work or a black-tie event, or just to take you to the airport. Obviously, people still use limos today, but I don’t think they have the same cache they once did. Still, if you were to bring this custom Jaguar limousine back to life, there’d be plenty of heads turning and necks snapping once it was sporting fresh paint and a new landau roof.
The life of a limousine is an interesting one, especially once it falls down that slippery slope of just being a heavily used extravagance that isn’t worth anything close to what it needs to cruise reliably once again down the Sunset Strip. This one – as you can see by the leopard skin-style door panels – definitely ended up as someone’s risky attempt at living large, as I doubt the first passengers were the type to want upholstery like this in their evening transport. Thankfully, this treatment is seemingly limited to just the rear doors, as the additional photos of the interior show sedate gray leather and carpeting throughout. Aside from the drooping headliner, it doesn’t look too bad, actually.
And while the V12 would have been enormously cool, the Chevy 350 that’s been swapped in makes this a much more tempting project to try and revitalize. The drivetrain swap is quite common on these older Jaguars, especially those with particularly maintenance-prone 12 cylinder engines. It seems to me a previous owner very much wanted to keep this stretched XJ12 on the road, and it’d be fairly easy to get this dead-simple engine to fire again, but the seller warns that it has been off the road for many years – long enough that he’s not going to bother trying to get it to fire up again. I love it, but the asking price needs to drop before it’s feasible for most buyers – especially with no bids at the moment.
Atrocious looking. The seller got smart, they eliminated the BIN, so far it has one bid of $2,800 on a no reserve auction.
Steve R
This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.
This is the stuff nightmares are made of
Divorces is I think the word you were looking for.
This is a divorce lawyers wet dream…
This is an insult to humanity.
Period.
Any vehicle that’s had this done to it is a parts car.
I find the seller’s admonition of “SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY……NO FLAKES” somewhat humorous. A stretched Jag with fake leopard skin door panels doesn’t seem like the type of vehicle to bring out the tire-kickers.
All the negativity over a limo with at least some potential. If this had a divider window and you had a MIL like I have you guys would be all over this one.
This is BEGGING to be the car on a episode of Roadkill..
I could see this Jaguar limo receiving an updated – but more classy – interior, a Bowler Performance 4L80E transmission, a black paint job, and a Hellcat engine to keep the feline theme going.
But this would require a custom chassis from either Art Morrison or Roadster shop, since such a chassis would be strong enough to take the Hellcat’s power.
Finally, this limo could receive high-performance wheels like those offered by American Racing or Forgeline.
I love it. Good car to but to anger your annoying neighbors
If the metal is good cut the center section out & make it back into a sedan. At least it has a Chevy engine.
Send that monstrosity to the crusher.
There’s not a crusher big enough for this monster.
More entertaining to enter it in a banger race.
Graham,
Nah, It’ll be the first one sidelined. All it will take is a direct side impact and the car literally folds in half. There is no structural rigidity in a stretch of this length.
Bill,
Fun to watch though!
Graham, I guess it would be pretty fun to watch that t-bone!
Dig a STRETCH grave and bury this monster.
“Do not ask stupid questions.” OK. I won’t. I won’t bid on it either. Be a jerk in your listing, get fewer and lower bids.
And has 1,308 other items for sale.
That car is as wrong as wrong can be.
Put the cat down, and put it and us out of collective misery…….
Might be better served as a parts car an early 70’s XJ12 as there weren’t many of them. The XJ6 of that age is a bit rare today as well and I’m sure some of the parts transfer over.
Otherwise this is one of those disposable sleds you buy for $2000, get it running and driving just enough to take on a junker rally from Denver to Wendover, Utah where you stop at Bonneville, make speed run and then drive the remains into Wendover, valet park the smoldering pile and walk inside a cheesy casino like a boss.
My god that sounds like fun, who’s with me??
This thing was stripped and left for dead a long time ago.
It should have stayed that way.
Off the road for many years, and better left that way.
If this is the same car that was for sale in Colorado Springs a half dozen years ago, it went begging on CL for months at $2,500. Its bid to $2,800 so its not faired much better after a bunch of years. As a Jag collector, I might be interested in it just for the fun of it. But I wasn’t interested at $2,500 and I’m not now either…
I’ll add…a 1 or 2 foot stretch might be a really nice car – kind of like a M600, but this…
‘beater Jaguar limo’ Oxymoron?
This beast is probably not worth the effort or expense to revive it. However…I own a limousine service and this would be great for winery tours, but only after a complete re-do. The other issue would be getting livery insurance. Because of the age of the car, the legally required insurance would be obscenely expensive, and in California it might not even be available at any cost. Still…it’s fun to consider the possibilities
‘SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY… NO FLAKES.’ ‘Do not ask stupid questions.’
What is it they say… ‘You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.’
I wonder if the doors would still open and close with 10-12 adults aboard?
I predict that they wouldn’t, and that any chassis rust could cause a catastrophic failure,( like the limo splitting into two pieces). I would also avoid grade level (not so level) RR crossings …. the ones with a HUMP .
All that being said, it would make a great motorhome: Theres probably enough room for a double or even queen sized bed inside. Shag carpet everything! I’d put a Kitchen in the trunk , like a “teardrop”. If it rained , I’d just drive through a fast food pick-up window!( pay at the first window, pick-up at the back window)
And , of course, signs on the windows:
If this limo is rockin”, don’t you be be knockin’!!!
I’ve owned about 40 to 50 vintage limousines over the last 45 years, from a 1937 Packard 120 limo, to a 1976 Daimler Vanden Plas limo with armoring [it was the limo used by Queen Elizabeth during the US Bicentennial]. I’ve also owned a vintage limo service in Washington, DC.
I’m the first one to remind people here on Barn Finds that the best way to end up with $1 million in the bank for your vintage limo business, is to start a year earlier with $2 million in the bank!
But in all seriousness, buy this car if you like the idea of owning an interesting car you can have fun with, and you have the ability to do most of the work yourself. Get it running and reliable on the road [at least as reliable as a ’73 Jag can be]. Replace the headlining & clean the interior a bit. Put some used electronics in the cabinet holes — a couple of small flat screen monitors and DVD players, and a decent sound system. Where the paint on the rockers is peeling, sand & paint the rockers with silver paint.
Whoever did the limo conversion got creative with the division window, it appears they used a compact size pickup truck’s rear window with the sliding center section!
By the time you are done, if you’re lucky the Covid19 problem is history, and you can start talking with your friends about taking the limo to dinner. People often like being a passenger in a limo because they can drink during the meal and not worry about driving home. If you have 2 or 3 couples, they will often comp your dinners in exchange for the ride.
One of my customers used to invite me and my girlfriend to join him and his wife at very fancy & expensive dinner events [his treat], provided I drove them in one of my vintage Rolls-Royce limousines.
And that reminds me about one of those evenings: My Girlfriend at the time had the nickname of Bunny, because she had 2 pet rabbits. My customer invited us to a very special event sponsored by Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a highly respected French gourmet group. On sitting down at the table for 8 guests, I glanced at the French language menu, only to realize the Entrée was Lapin [Rabbit]! When my girlfriend left the table to freshen up, I quickly asked everyone at the table NOT to mention the Entrée was rabbit, and the reason for my request.
She never knew!
Another interesting comment from Bill McCoskey. Thanks, Bill!
Never, ever, no way no how would this ever pass inspection here in NY state. After 20 or so people died in 1 limo accident the state put the stop to us inspecting them. Unless they have been certified that they are safe, which this one is not.
its baaaccckkk….
starting bid $4,975
still offered as no run/no drive
https://www.ebay.com/i/303912995782?ul_noapp=true
Somebody is an unhappy camper! (perhaps he should just junk it.)
“RELISTING BECAUSE MORON TRIED TO SCAM ME WITH A FAKE CASHIERS CHECK… THIS VEHICLE IS BEING SOLD ON eBay… DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BAIT ME OR ANY OUTSIDE OF eBay PRIVATE MESSAGES… THIS IS NOT MY FIRST RODEO…”
“Do not ask stupid questions… No, I will not get it running So, that you can drive 3000 miles home…”
“No i will not hold it for you to pick up 2 to 3 months later when you plan to be in the area…”
“YOU ARE NOT PURCHASING THE RIGHT TO HAGGLE THE PRICE DOWN ONCE YOU ARE THE WINNING BIDDER”