Jaguar XK8 - Can we keep it in the GRM fold?

101K miles. Drives and runs well. Salvage title.  I have a thread here on the forum that gives you a good idea of the recent history and condition of the car: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/you-only-live-thrice-james-bondo-pt-3/183556/page1/

I've lost momentum on this and I'd like to find the next owner while the weather is still nice enough to fly and drive it home.  It's been a great car that we've used for nice weather outings - we drive it to the beach, out for dinner, over to friends, etc.  There are still some things that could use sorting out:  I never looked into the ABS light that was on when I bought it (have the sensor and the cable from the PO, just never did anything with them), a power steering leak (I just add fluid occasionally), the dash gauges need wiring (the car came with the wiring kit and instructions), etc.. I'll put together some more detailed info on the car in the next couple of days.

Edit - Oh yeah...   $3600 if you start a thread on it.

EDIT April 2023 - The car is in Georgia and for sale again.  See the end of this thread or the above build thread for more info.

Perusing the other threads.  Other than what is listed here, any nagging issues you didn't have time to fix?

I could be interested in this and it's not far away....

Off the top of my head, here's what I can think of that might be relevant. None of it is particularly serious and I wasn't bothered enough by it to not just drive the car.

• Stereo doesn't sound right – think maybe the midrange wasn't hooked up when the PO changed stereos and got rid of the dated digital display. I think the old stereo is in a box. The awful display was replaced with real gauges. The car came with a wiring kit and instructions that I never dug into.  The changer in the trunk does work.
• The driver's side seat has a crack (see thread) so I added some seat covers.
• The car was losing coolant so I flushed the overflow system and replaced the cap. Think it's OK now, haven't added coolant since last fall.
• I get an occasional whiff of burning oil. Think this might be a valve cover gasket? In any case the car doesn't use an appreciable amount of oil.
• It leaks enough power steering fluid to want to have cardboard or a tray under it. I think it's the rack, which I think is a standard ZF. There are rebuild kits available. And again, I just never dealt with it.
• After you turn the key to start the car, you need to pause in the on position before hitting the starter. Not sure if this is a Jaguar thing, but the PO told me about it and the car never fails to start.

The Jag 4.0 of this era had a timing chain guide/tensioner problem and the PO told me this was fixed. Think it's in a thread somewhere. Also there's a great video if you google “Jaguar green shower” of a poor woman getting hydraulic fluid dumped on her. PO told me this was also dealt with.

I'll take a walk around it and post anything else that seems relevant.  I'd be happy to talk about the car via phone.  Message me via the board.

Forgot the ABS light, which I mentioned above.  PO troubleshot it and thought it was the front left sensor and gave me the sensor and the cable which I of course never bothered to replace.  Don't like ABS/stability control type stuff anyway.  And I've seen an occasional random "brake fluid low" light, which it's been doing since before I got it.

I have a couple boxes of misc parts that I'll get around to taking a couple of picture of as soon as I can get to it.

Oh, man, I took an too-busy-break from GRM and missed this getting posted.  I'm the prior, Pimpm3 before me.  It's a great example at a great price.  Not perfect, but a great driver with enough small projects to work on without major disassembly.

The timing chain stuff was done in Pimpm3's care, and there was a receipt for it.  Fuel pump, too.

The key is a charming British thing.  The key cylinder has a longer throw than Ford/GM.  I would turn the key and just hit the starter contact and then be ingrained to stop turning the key.  So I got into the habit of turning it to accessory, resetting my wrist and turning the rest of the way.  Maybe if you have a double-jointed wrist you'll be fine.

Original stereo had a bad display, so I picked up a random replacement at Pick-a-part.  It wasn't that much better, but I removed the resonators and it had a happy growl so most times that was the music.

Any other questions I'm happy to try to help.  I would also love to see this car stay in the family.

EDIT:  I forgot to add - the rear convertible lines have been replaced with higher quality aftermarket.  I also added a pressure reducer.  You can find this by googling around - back in the day an engineer-owner did a thorough job to understand and troubleshoot the pressure spikes that lead to blowing hoses.  He developed a valve for this and there are no references to failures after the part add.  It was pricey - $400 or so - but it will hopefully keep the front hoses alive.

In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :

What are the details that led to the double rebuilt title?  My fiance (whose family owns a body shop that she runs) thinks I'm insane!!!

In reply to Region_Rat :

Total #1 - Pimpm3 bought it at co-part type auction after insurance total.  Left rear damage.  No photos but all it took was a taillight and side marker.  Bumper still original.  He had a body guy that did a minor repair to it.  Trunk closes fine, gaps are fine, no leaks.

Total #2 - outside during hurricane, tree fell across it.  Rippled the hood and broke the windshield.  There is a picture of it sitting with the tree on it somewhere (maybe my thread that was referenced in jwagners thread).  Hood has been mostly hammered out since.  Looks like minor hail damage at this point.

I am very tempted to buy this and bring it back to florida.  Very Very Tempted. I mean, It's only a 1400 mile drive.  haha

I bought it from USAA with a dent in the rear quarter. I think I spent around $1,500.00 at the body shop the 1st time around.  I then owned it for several years. 

A tree fell on it and my C5 corvette during a hurricane.  The tree branch damaged a fender and broke the windshield, totalling it a second time.  I had the fender replaced and a new windshield installed the 2nd time.  It was around $900 if I remember correctly.

I did have the timing chain fixed at a shop.  The receipt was with the car when I sold it.

There's a buyer that has given me a verbal committment, and on GRM that's enough for me.

Thanks @glueguy and @pimpm3 for the color commentary.  Much appreciated.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive the car to Florida, and if I weren't tied up for most of the next month (and another buyer) I'd probably volunteer.  Another road trip would close out the story of the car perfectly.  Fetching the car in Florida was a helluva story - sending a check to a guy I'd never met, for a car I'd never seen, losing the key on the beach, getting it towed to another GRM'ers place who volunteered to help out a guy he'd never heard of, and on and on and on.  It was my doing:  I found the key in the spare tire well when we got home.  The kindness of strangers rescued us from my bonehead goofs and resulted in an epic road trip.

If the new potential buyer is here, I'll second the sentiment that I would have no issues road tripping it a long distance. It's a solid car. 

glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:

If the new potential buyer is here, I'll second the sentiment that I would have no issues road tripping it a long distance. It's a solid car. 

Tis me! Very excited with this fly n' buy. jwagner has been great to deal with. 

glueguy, I was eyeing it when you snagged it from pimpm3. So, I will be the fourth GRMer to get this. That's as good a provenance as you can get! 

I also have pimpm3's 986 so I'm the third gen GRMer for the Boxster.

Hit me up if you have questions about either of my ex convertibles 

In reply to Hasbro (Forum Supporter) :

That's awesome. I drove it three hours home at night in the rain with only rain-x no wipers. Jwag drove it across the country after wailing on it with a hammer to set the alignment. This car is invincible. 
 

I've really been looking for an XJR, but I might be tempted by the drop-top.  Consider my name in the hat.

In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :

I certainly hope it remains invincible! But I am aware of what I am dealing with here. 

I'll fly into O'Hare on September 24th and either drive the whole way home (Athens, Ga. area) or stop once. I'd like to kind of take my time and veer off the highway if there are some good places to check out.

Congrats! Of course you'll hit the tail of the dragon on the way home, right? You'll practically drive right by it anyway!

In reply to dyintorace :

About 5 years ago I made another fly n' buy and went to the Dragon in my new '04 4.0 Ranger, 30k and pristine. It at least had a five-speed and was actually sort of fun. The XK8 is an automatic on older tires so not so sure about going there this time. I would really like to have it nicely sorted out with new sticky tires etc before playing there. And I have a really nice X1/9 and pimpm3's former 986 that would be much better suited for that kind of driving. But there should be lots of other great roads I could take and still be heading home.

Hi, have a few questions mostly for the previous owners por favor;

- Has the water pump been replaced?

- Has the tranny oil been done. If not I'll do that asap.

- How about the thermostat? Read that it could problematic.

- It doesn't have the CAT variable suspension, correct? I am considering some conservative suspension upgrades.

- Does the suspension need an alignment?

- Some good parts suppliers? Jagbits?..

- A decent leather seat cover replacement? 

- Insurance; thought I'd go with Hagerty, think it is about $500 and can insure 3 more vehicles for a total of $876. I listed them all at 1,500 miles per year.

- I might start a separate thread for this; think I'll go with 255/40/18 and 265/40/18s. A smidge wider and a smidge smaller diameter. I haven't owned higher than utqg200 on a car in many years but think I've narrowed them down to;

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, $$$ or Super Sport (not sure what the difference is),

Continental ExtremeContact Sport, $$

I'll stop here for now. Really looking forward to being the next owner!

I'll take a poke at a couple  of the questions -

- Does the suspension need an alignment?

It was aligned not that many miles ago by the PO, but that's before I replaced the tie rod.  It drives straight with no pull, but if you want to do it right the front toe should be checked.

- A decent leather seat cover replacement? 

The seats are in pretty good shape save for the drivers seat bottom.  Not sure what's involved in fixing that, might be easier to pickup a used seat.  Or a new seat bottom leather.

My tire shop buddy thinks the Conti Extreme Contact are the answer for performance cars driven mostly to totally on the street.

Here was my build thread from before jwagner

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/james-bondo-the-jaguar-that-politely-sneers-in-the/176065/page1/

- Has the water pump been replaced? 

Don't think so

- Has the tranny oil been done. If not I'll do that asap.

Definitely not

- How about the thermostat? Read that it could problematic.

Doubtful

- It doesn't have the CAT variable suspension, correct? I am considering some conservative suspension upgrades.

Correct, does not.  I replaced the rear Bilsteins.  

- Does the suspension need an alignment?

I had it done after the shocks but then it had some excitement in the transfer so I would say yes.  I would probably do the front struts (mainly because the bushings are disintegrating and will lead to a clunk) and then align it.

- Insurance; thought I'd go with Hagerty, think it is about $500 and can insure 3 more vehicles for a total of $876. I listed them all at 1,500 miles per year.

Sending you a separate note

I'll stop here for now. Really looking forward to being the next owner!

Can't wait for the build thread!

Woo hoo, thanks guys! Appreciate all of the feedback.  Just finished reading glueguy's two threads. The three of you have completed quite a list of stuff. Hope I can carry on the tradition.

The car is in Georgia and For Sale again.  Sadly, since Hasbro has passed, his sister would like to sell the car.  I'll update my old For Sale thread.  If you PM me I'll send you his sister's contact info.

I visited my friendly local DMV office today and picked up a duplicate title.  I'll copy the sales details and forward it to his sister so it should be ready to go very soon.

Dang, I hadn't noticed him post much. Sorry to hear that. Condolences to his family.