THE INTERNATIONAL JAGUAR 'S'-TYPE REGISTER FORUM

Good Luck!

So the engine is running with a new battery and coil.
I'm not used to listening to the XK engine but it sounds good to me.
Still haven't got the car home yet. Hopefully either tomorrow or Sunday.

I agree with Rob (cass) that even if you pay asking price you are not being ripped off. If you know the guy then buying from him might be a positive if you find you are missing something after purchase. The parts count on these cars is huge compared with many & especially vs US vehicles of the era. You can restore a 65 Mustang from scratch in 1000 hours. Not so an S Type.

The other factor when living here in Eire is that these cars are pretty thin on the ground.
You don't come across many in good or other condition.
The UK is near but to buy there and transport back would add another 500 to the cost of the car.
The guy selling me the car is my local Jag specialist who I've know for a few years now and has always been pretty straight with me.
The car is one of a few he has had in a lock up for a few years that he's clearing out. I'm sure he's out to make a buck or two and he's completely entitled to do that.
I'll see if I can get it for a bit less and we'll go from there.

The thing with a classic car restoration is how much work you can do yourself, how much of the car is in good enough condition to just clean up and reuse, how much money you are prepared to spend on it, to which condition do you want to restore it to (Running and driving or conconcorse) and how much time can you spend on it.

Start with a budget then double it and add £500. Time, never set an end date but have one which is flexible in mind. Save as much of the car as you can and do as much of the work yourself but if you need a specialist then find a good one who is worth the money spent.

We could make a list of costs for you but they might not mean a lot if you were to do all the welding yourself and then get someone to paint the car for you. All we would succeed in doing is scaring you and put you off. If your heart says yes go for it and be damned with the cost.

The car is definitely worth £3000 and even if you bought it and decided to break it for parts you would get your money back three fold.

Spares are readily available, we have plenty of second hand spares we can lay our hands on and we are always here to lend advice via the forum.

Again

Thank you for the replies.
I'll see if I can get for nearer 3K and take a punt

Regards

Chris
Wexford, Ireland

Places to check:


Classic & Sports Car Buyers Guide:

This buyers guide is pretty pathetic but gives you some of the basics.

Values: 4K Euro is about the max I would pay for it. Try & knock the seller down a little.


Rob ~ Even pressed steel used variable amounts of lead wiping to clean up the nose finish. My car also had some lead wiping on the eyebrows.

Thank you for all your replies, they're very helpful.
Cass, I think that the front of this S type is going to need a similar area of repair to your 'not new' wing.
I have a 1992 xjs and am in the middle of repairing windscreen scuttle rot which I considered a big challenge..until I looked at the front of this S type and thought about repairing that.

Thanks for the link to the repair panels, I had only got as far as the whole wings on the Martin Robey website.. but even the prices for these nose sections make my eyes water. maybe this car is too rich for me. But it's very beautiful even in its current state, I just love it.

My heart is beating my head on this one. I haven't been able to give it a poke underneath either..there's bound to be more horrors there.
What is a car like this worth?
It's running, its complete, the rear cages needs rebuilding (but I've done that on my xjs), front and rear brakes need refurbing, needs rear hubs , it comes with wire wheels and a very tatty interior.
Needs painting
The price is 4k Euro. Is it worth it?

Regards

Chris
Wexford, Ireland

Wow the combined price of those two panels is more then I paid for my car. I was lucky that before I bought the car the left wing was a new replacement paid for by the previous owner who had started the restoration. No idea how much was spent on that wing but the right wing had been repaired by my notorious Jaguar Specialists in Royston Herts. (Monkeys). This is what I inherited on the front right wing after it came out of the blasters booth and all their filler had been removed.
I am ashamed to say that some filler had to be used in this area to get the correct shape once more.
The left wing being new required no filler.