The XJ series was the pinnacle of Jaguar’s touring models, with a cabin to rival the most luxurious of living rooms. Spacious, and saturated with leather, wool, and wood, these sedans arrived in 1974 to take the place of Jaguar’s proliferation of aging saloons. The company planned to offer a coupe in addition to its sedan, but problems with window sealing, roof flex, and the coupe’s long, heavy doors prevented launch until 1975. Fewer than 9400 examples were built. I feel like we’ve seen a considerable percentage of these for sale in the last few months, and here on facebook Marketplace is yet another. This one is a 1977 XJ6C with a firm asking price of $2000. The car is located in a Snoqualmie, Washington barn.
The seller notes that this car was restored at one point, but has been sitting since 2006. That long rest bodes ill for the 4.2-liter dual overhead cam six-cylinder engine. Jaguars are not simple cars, and if ignored, will happily exact revenge upon all far and near. If the 160 bhp/Borg Warner three-speed arrangement is not to your liking, there’s always the well-trod path of an American V8 conversion. Here’s a beautifully executed 350 cu. in. V8 swap for inspiration. Maintaining the factory configuration is certainly possible, but I’d want the car to have at least a couple of substantial advantages to make up for the agony of rebuilding this mill. Let’s see what else this example offers the buyer –
The interior is trimmed in red leather upholstery, but rust is showing even on the fasteners here. I fear the condition of the gauges and switches. Meanwhile, part of the interior has fallen to the exterior, through the rusted passenger floor! Speaking of rust, there’s plenty of it – the seller admits that despite the car’s years-ago restoration, the tin worm worked its way into the panels again. Nearly every single photo reveals bubbling – or worse.
The rear bumper rubber overlay is missing. Note the side marker lights – these were an American delivery requirement. This car does present one very interesting feature, and that’s the sunroof. Coupes were delivered with vinyl roofs only; when these cars are restored, the vinyl is often removed and the roof is painted body color. So not only has that occurred here, but a sunroof has been installed. This was not a factory option until the Series III sedans arrived in 1979. Forums do discuss the occasional sunroof coupe; the consensus is that contemporary aftermarket suppliers were responsible for installing these. To my mind, that’s one more thing to troubleshoot. Anyone brave enough to take this one on? Or should it be a parts car?
Sad. Graceful cars, nice lines. Gotta wonder if the one next to it is a bad.
Yes, parts. The tin worm feasted on this poor English maiden while locked in this dungeon.
Might have enough to recoup the money needed to get it somewhere close by to disassemble then toss the remains, keeping in mind that regular gas there is $4.79 @ gallon and diesel is $5.99..
The red car next to it isn’t a Jag, though; Maserati or Lamborghini, perhaps?
Sure looks like a Jag to me – compare the fender-top gas caps between the two if you have any doubt
bt
That’s definitely another XJ6C or 12C. Note the Jaguar fuel filler just behind the B-pillar. There’s also a clear photo of the front of the red Jag in the original FB ad.
Ah, ok; the door looks a bit shorter and there’s that trim that isn’t on the white one.
I don’t do facebook, so can’t see it there.
The dust and the rust on the engine bolts tells me enough about how long this car has been untouched for any reason. MGB’s sitting like this can problematic enough to restore but costs on an MGB can be tolerable. Not so sure on one of these. I’ll pass even though these coupes are beautiful cars. Putting it back to driving condition could be exciting if a Chevy 350 and 4 speed were installed. That’s a project for someone who is familiar with doing that! Time and materials….. that’s the name of the game!
run
The Series I XJ arrived in 1968. It was the model that consolidated Jaguar’s sedan offerings. The Series II XJ arrived for 1974.
Years ago my brother bought a 1967 Jaguar Type 6 (pre-export) right hand drive. Looked like an XJ6 but it wasn’t. Engine broke twice and he got rid of it. I do remember the vin # (not sure if it was car or engine) was 1L10004
I would have no issue with the engine so long as it was in good running condition when parked. Its the fuel system and brakes that will have to be completely rebuilt along with replacing every hose between the front and rear bumpers…
I had one of these about 20 years ago. Bought from a shop that had a mechanics lien on it. Paid $300 for it on a Bill of Sale. Well, a friend owned a Jag shop in the area and I told him about it. Turns out, the car was stolen from his side lot at one point and he still had a title for it. So I gave it back to him.
That’s quite the irony. Sometimes reality can be stranger than fiction.
“Ran when parked”, at the foot of Mount St.Helens circa 1980.
Sure would look good when it’s finished. And it needs a lot before it would be finished. The rust looks pretty extensive in some areas. As Joe says it looks to be a fine candidate for a Resto-Mod change with all new mechanicals and electrics.
Don’t know why you’d replace the E-type Series II engine with an SBC. Those were great engines.
For some reason that engine in US service seemed to be prone to blown head gaskets. One story is that the added load produced by continuous running A/C in US summers over time made it a problem. I’ve had 3 of the 1st series Jags (got a 95 now), and none of them gave much trouble except for electricals. Small block Chevy was the most common and easiest solution since there is a kit for the swap.
How about cost, reliability, ease of finding parts, ease of finding somebody to work on it, performance, just to mention a few
cheaper than a Bentley, Rolls or Porsche, parts are easy, someone to work on it is getting harder but still not too bad, performance, nice. Yeah it doesn’t rip your head off your neck like a Vette, but if that what you want, buy the Vette.
I’m with you, Eric.
Having been around XJS models for a good while, it pains me to hear someone ignorantly blathering about “lumping their V12 with a SBC”.
Rather than just getting educated on what a fine engine the V12 is and correcting what needs fixing. (Flame on lumpers!)
While I was referring to the 4.2L Etype Series II engine in the XJ6C above, I am largely in agreement with you on the XJS engines. My 1990 XJS OTS has been a fine engine. I believe (and you, JJ, may know better) but the early v12s had issues with the heads and were reworked. Of course, the later ones had fuel injection.
Lance, it’s already finished. I wonder if that’s genuine British chicken-coop wire underneath.
Always loved the coupe and came close to buying one years ago. The interior was gorgeous until you got to the switch gear and plastic trim bits. Jaguar decided the cheapest, flimsiest, parts would be sufficient, but alas, it looked and felt like what it was. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when compared to it’s competition, it really stood out. That the side windows wouldn’t seal and the floor was rust prone, (a seam right below the pedals had let go), didn’t help.