• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

My Recently Acquired 1985 Jaguar XJ6

Share this page

Thanks, Steve....with an average usage of only about 3,000 miles a year since it was new, I'm gonna have to slowly go through each system & do maintenance...all windows, lights, sunroof, horn, radio, dash clsters, etc work (I've checked them)....engine is strong with good oil pressure & trans shifts perfectly - she's a blast to drive!....its just gonna be tune up, brakes, tires, etc....heck, even though it has an exhaust leak somewhere, the underside's so clean the exhaust (original) still looks new!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] Now I wish I could figure out how to put the photos of our 2 cars next to one another for comparison[/QUOTE]

Tony...not sure if you are semi fluent with the application Paint...but I use it all the time to look at different wheels on my cars....you just opon a standard jpg side view of your car in PAINT and then take open another jpg of the wheel you want to see on it copy it then paste onto your car. You can then drag and resize it in place of the wheels on your current jpg...

Oh h-ll here's what it looks like>>>>>>>
 

Attachments

  • 6037-jag02.jpg
    6037-jag02.jpg
    215.8 KB · Views: 244
Nice! Thanks.

no, I'm not familiar with that program....can you do the same with Dayton wires?
 
regarding the exhaust system, let me throw some hints at you:

1) the Series III XJ-6 (1979½-1987) will pass inspection without the front and lower cats. (assuming your State requires inspections). This was told to me by my Jaguar mechanic.

I eliminated the "Y" pipe cat (the one under the driver's side) by installing a European-version 'Y' pipe without cat. Then, the Front/Down cat was pried open, (if was coming apart anyway), cleaned out all the poison in there, (charcoal honeycomb), re-welded it, pressure tested it, and re-installed it with a new O2 sensor (any autoparts that sells Bosch will have the right O2 sensor). so it "looks" like there is a cat there for overzealous inspectors. The car passes ispections fine.

The result of all that? a faster car from zero, better gas mileage, the exhaust breathes better.

But I also took the new 'Y' pipe and the two, over-the-axle pipes and sent them to Jet-Hot Coatings where they blasted them and inmersed them in their Sterling coating inside and out. The result? a cooler, more efficient exhaust system. I can actually touch the pipes and not get burned when the car is hot after driving it. (the two rear mufflers and two rear-most resonators I found N.O.S. in Stainless Steel as the originals). If your system is the original, (unmolested), it is Stainless Steel. Mine lasted 21 years before needing service.

AND REMEMBER, no welding anything, Jaguar exhaust parts are put together with "Firegum" (not available in the USA, but you can use Permatex Exhaust Adhesive/Sealant) and only use Band Clamps, do not use "U" clamps because those deform and "crimp" the pipes when torqued. You must be able to disassemble the exhaust system in the future, for example, to remove the transmission. I found some Rolls Royce Band Clamps which are even better than the Jaguar Band Clamps, they really grab joints together well without deforming the joints.

I hope that helps, overall the exhaust is a piece of cake, I did mine myself placing the car's body on jacks and the tires over concrete blocks. You only need three donut seals.

enjoy!
Ex
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]If your system is the original, (unmolested), [/QUOTE]

Yep, its original & unmolested...can't tell yet but it appears there's a leak at a doughnut.

Might need to explore some of the things you mentioned when I get her up in the air....those twin pipes out the back sure do look nice.
 
Tony...with wires...I wasn't sure which ones you were interested in so I used standards, bolt on with a mock knock off....put all 3 pics on your desk top double click one then you can toggle back and forth through all 3....I about drove myself crazy trying to decide what wheels to put on my MBZ 500sl...and ended up deciding leaving the originals juts getting them polished instead of the silver paint....

anyway..let me know if you find any others you want to compare....TAKE CARE

BIBBER
 

Attachments

  • 6040-jag02_wires.jpg
    6040-jag02_wires.jpg
    214.3 KB · Views: 205
Looks great also - thanks, man!
 
It does, doesn't it....now I've gotta go see my friend with all the wheels & then figure out the caps.....but, what would it look like with teardrops & redline tires?

6037-jag02.jpg

6040-jag02_wires.jpg

jag02.JPG
 
OK...redlines are not quite as pronounced but teardrops with redlines...nice!
 

Attachments

  • 6046-jag02_tears_redline.jpg
    6046-jag02_tears_redline.jpg
    213.7 KB · Views: 241
BIBBER - you da man!!

Now, you know we gotta have redlines on the OE wheels & the wires, dont'cha? Just to complete the comparison.
 
lol....now you know why I drove myself crazy on the 500sl and just decided to keep it stock....GOOD LUCK!
 
Well, I've decided to keep my original wheels - though I do like the idea of thin Redline tires.

Tried a couple of the teardrop wheels on it (borrowed from a friend) &, IMHO, they make the car look too modern.

Tried a couple of the 60 spoke Daytom wire wheels I have on it & the 60-spoke is nice on an older Jag sedan but not enough on the Series III XJ6.

So, I'm gonna sell the 5 wire wheels I have & let them help pay for the thin Redline tires I know Coker will want an arm & a leg for.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] lol....now you know why I drove myself crazy on the 500sl and just decided to keep it stock....GOOD LUCK! [/QUOTE]

Tony...too funny the one option we didn't simulate...so many times I've gone through the effort of changing and likewise end up liking the original look best...redlines do look good but I agree too expensive....once in a while you run across a set on ebay but pretty rare...I'll keep my eye out...what size you looking for?
 
BIBBER - I've not even looked at the correct size tire for the car.
 
Tony,
Great decision... the SIII is very classy in stock form. The Kent Alloy wheels stood the test of time, I often see the SIII's with wires or newer Jaguar wheels and it somehow changes the classic look. Conversely, I have seen SII's with Kent alloys and I think they are too modern for the car. Jaguars seem most appealing in their off-the-line form to me anyway. The only thing I might consider is a thin redwall on the Kent wheels, and I believe that may have been standard as an option for a short time..? I have seen one car with this and it looked great. Not sure on the original option part, but I can check it out. I think that with the charcoal metallic exterior, a thin red stripe set was a dealer option. My 1985 had these and I thought it would have looked great with redwalls. Just a thought if you want to do anything at all.
 
now that you have the wheels figured out you need to do the headlamp conversion to the 7 inch lamps that it is supposed to have!!!! the buckets and bulbs from your mg stack will work, but you gotta find the embellishers to finish it up!
 

Attachments

  • 6476.jpg
    6476.jpg
    124.2 KB · Views: 510
I have to be able to compare side-by-side:

jag01.JPG


6476.jpg


So where'd ya find the embellishers?
 
Back
Top