After 21 years of storage.

 I've been prepping  my granddaughters car  for her to use at college.   It's' been buffed but needs waxing.  Today I'm greasing the rear end (14 grease points plus filling the differential)  

    Tomorrow I drain both gas tanks and replace the in line fuel filter.  Sunday is oil change time  plus fresh spark plugs.  Flush the transmission and fill the radiator.  Monday wheels go on refill the gas tanks  with fresh fuel.  Replace a cracked head light.   

Classy ride for a college student-I'm sure she's going to love it.

Did you get 5 new tires? 

Man, that's a good color.

In reply to Appleseed :

The color may be proper but the paint is horrible. Filled with micro checks and cracks.  Jaguar bought the TPA ( thermal Plastic Acrylic )  paint process from GM. It's sprayed on dry and heated to a melting point which is very close to  the melting point of  the lead underneath.   Nearly every car had to be repainted at least once and some 3&4 times. 
   The earlier cars (the red one). Which I bought with this one. Is infinitely better. It's Lacquer and with  a brief buffing out,  it will have a deep Regency Red finish.  
This one is a 4.2 six cylinder but a V12 will slide right in. ( I happen to have a few of those including the carburetors proper for the year) 

Appleseed said:

Man, that's a good color.

That paint is WILD. never seen that before.

Probably neat patina in person.

Frenchy, did you ever see the videos from Harry's Garage about the restoration of his XJC V12 manual?  

I have had good luck with products like this to improve the look of microchecked paint.  Lasts for a few months at a time.  I Always use the black on dark colors.  Makes the white part black and far less noticeable.

I gave my Corvair a hard workout with Zymol wax this summer, and was amazed at how well it filled in the microcracks.  It ain't perfect, but I feel a bit less ashamed to cruise around in it now. 

stuart in mn said:

Frenchy, did you ever see the videos from Harry's Garage about the restoration of his XJC V12 manual?  

https://www.youtube.com/embed/P_GNk0Yn6lg?rel=0

 

Quite possibly the best looking pillar-less coupe ever designed. It is stunning!

In reply to frenchyd :

I think it was 1997-98 jeeps had a similar thing. I recall a freinds had it. Paint looked ok from a distance but up close it was this. Long cuts/cracks everywhere. Not much to  do other than repaint, and aint nobody got time for dat!

frenchyd said:

Appleseed said:

Man, that's a good color.

Good color

E36 M3 finish.

You are correct.

frenchyd said:

In reply to Sonic :

I figure if it survived 38 years and 93,000 miles  without once putting the spare on  the ground. With 4 brand new tires it was reasonably safe to keep the spare as just that.   

You're doing what I did with the E60. Totaled it just a few months after dropping collision insurance. Threw away a $5000 car for a savings of $150. Buy a matching new spare. 

frenchyd said:

In reply to Appleseed :

Quoted because dang they really nailed the styling on those cars. I love that shape.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you so much.   I really agree and the series 1 with regular chrome bumpers  , Bigger grille, and the shorter wheelbase, is the peak of Sir William's sedan efforts.  
    Yes, the later ones may have more foot-room ,  a little more power and better fuel economy.   But the trade off to get those turn it from a sports sedan to a luxury car.  

Somebody spoils his grand daughter properly!  She will be the envy of her crew.  Jags always have such presence.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Yes I did.   The comment about the flexibility of the Coupe has been well known, it's why the XJS  has some additional steel in it and why there is a behind the door pillar.   But the additional stiffening adds weight to the XJS.  More than 400 pounds.  I think it's weight in America is 4656 compared to the XJ6/12 of 4231.     The British version is even 250 pond's lighter.   The weird thing is the 4.2 is 30 pounds heavier than the 5.3 ( cast iron block vs Aluminum block). 
 The 4 door XJ 6-12 isn't as flexible and the windows actually seal well without the whistling the coupe has. 
     I'll be using the GM turbo 400 automatic instead  of the Borg Warner automatic.  2% less slippage. And 27 pounds lighter. 

cdowd (Forum Supporter) said:

I have had good luck with products like this to improve the look of microchecked paint.  Lasts for a few months at a time.  I Always use the black on dark colors.  Makes the white part black and far less noticeable.

Thanks, I'll order that today.   

In reply to frenchyd :

84FSP said:

Somebody spoils his grand daughter properly!  She will be the envy of her crew.  Jags always have such presence.

I wouldn't bet on that, to most people her age it's just a beat up, old car. Is this the GD with no money? An old jag that sat for years sounds like the perfect winter car for someone with no money :)

I'd buy a new spare. Just because YOU never needed it, does not mean she won't. I'd worry about that before I'd worry about paint. 

Don't overthink the paint. It's not a single stage and the base coat is fine. Wet sand the clear and polish on a small section to see if that will bring it back. If it does, do the entire car then ceramic treat it yourself. If I doesn't, then wet sand and mask the entire thing and hit with rattle can 2k, then wet sand, this time with 1000, 1500 and 2k then ceramic coat. Paint is pretty simple stuff. 

Steve_Jones said:

84FSP said:

Somebody spoils his grand daughter properly!  She will be the envy of her crew.  Jags always have such presence.

I wouldn't bet on that, to most people her age it's just a beat up, old car. Is this the GD with no money? An old jag that sat for years sounds like the perfect winter car for someone with no money :)

I'd buy a new spare. Just because YOU never needed it, does not mean she won't. I'd worry about that before I'd worry about paint. 

She's excited.  The original deal was she drives the families newish  Kia  and her mother would take this when she needed a car.  
 Once she saw the car cleaned and polished she wanted it.  The interior is very nice and exterior buffed up nice.   It's different enough from the rest of the cars at College. Plus a Jaguar was the most beautiful car made.  That isn't gone.  
  Nope I'm not going to paint it.  But I will wax it.  
      The reality is it's a $500 car driven by a young teenager. More than a decent chance it will be in an accident or somehow ruined by neglect  or error.