• 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

Strange Cat on Ebay this Week.....

Share this page

bmurphy7369

bmurphy7369

Jedi Trainee
Offline
Would this be called a 1975 XJ350C Cabriolet? A friend of mine sent me this link from ebay this morning. I have seen another of the XJC Conversions on the Australian Coupe website but this one is particularly well done, I think.


42_1_b.JPG


https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6278&item=2468360866[/ URL]

Brian

[ 03-21-2004: Message edited by: bmurphy7369 ]

[ 03-21-2004: Message edited by: bmurphy7369 ]

[ 03-21-2004: Message edited by: bmurphy7369 ]</p>
 
I agree, a very nice looking car!
thumbsup.gif
And something a little different... It's surprising how many of the XJ6C and XJ12C coupes are around despite how few were ever made (maybe considered more collectible when new, so treated better), so this convertible is a nice looking alternative.

I suppose the only reservation would be how well the body structure was re-inforced with the top gone.
 
Sherlock,

I wonder if there is a standard protocol to follow while making such a conversion. It seems to me that structural weakness may be a problem, but I am sure also that a good body man would know how to stiffen the car up. After searching now for a year to find the chrome rain rails, a year in which rust has worsened around the rear of where the vinyl top used to end, I am half-heartedly considering doing something drastic on my coupe...... probably just a passing thought however. Any input on the pros and cons would be much appreciated.

Yours,

Brian
 
All I know, is that I've read many articles and have come across references to convertibles (even production ones!) that clearly didn't have enough re-inforcement.

My understanding is that a car developed specifically as a convertible from the get-go will tend to be stronger, because the aftermarket company and/or individual who does a convertible conversion on a car that was never designed for a convertible needs to be careful. And I've heard some stories...

Which reminds me of a humourous story
smile.gif
A friend had apparently rolled his 1981 Honda Civic hatchback, I guess the roof was no good so he just took the roof off and drove around town like that for awhile, this was in Calgary (a big city) but eventually the cops saw the car and promptly pulled it off the road. I never saw the car pre-rollover but did see the car after the roof had been taken off and it was definitely not a professional job.

[ 03-30-2004: Message edited by: Sherlock ]</p>
 
I like that. It looks quite slick. The factory should have made one.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>The car does not have a sunroof; it has the original hardtop that attaches with bolts. It does not have a soft top.<hr></blockquote>

Neat idea but wonder how one would incorporate a convertible top onto it? &, I do love those older coupes - there are a couple of 12-cylinder ones running around Huntsville
 
Usually when a convertible conversion is done on a unibody (to use the old Anerican term) car, there is alot of structural reinforcement added, primarily underneathe longitudnally and for both the firewall and rear bulkhead.

Many unibody convertibles were not originally designed as convertibles. The Celica convertibles of the late '80s and early '90s come to mind. They were actually shipped over with rooves (hoods) intact so that the bodies wouldn't fold up on the ship. They were then converted over here.

GM J body and even the Sunbeam Alpine were based on cars designed to have rooves, but with bracing added.

As for that Jag, I love it. Converted correctly, it will be a great car. In recent years, Cadillac Eldorados and many other luxury cars have had their rooves whacked and with good bracing, they aren't bad at all.

BTW- whack the rook off a Civic and don't add bracing, and not too far in the future, you'll be jumping out over the doors because you won't be able to open them.
 
I've just read some articles on new car development in the past, and read comments that when a new car is developed from prototype stage as a convertible - as opposed to a conversion after the original car was designed as a coupe only - it has much better structure. I've even read lately that car manufacturers are developing the convertible version separate from the coupe version to ensure a well-built convertible with strong structure.
 
When people first started converting the XJS to a convertible, the fitst ones had a frame that was integral for strength...Jaguar later approved 1 manufacturer to do complete convertible conversions to ensure the car was strong enough....it would be interesting to see what the guy did for extra strengthening to the body after he took the top off - of course we'll probably never know as his son probably also doesn't know
 
When I first bought the coupe last year I did quite a bit of reading on the internet. I seem to remember a website, possibly JCNA's Coupe page, that mentioned that the first coupe was actually a Series I and I think that it was announced in 1973. According to the writer, the production was delayed due to the factory's need to strengthen the pillarless top design. This article also said that it was rumoured that the black vinyl top was added to disguise the amount of metal that had to be added to the roof to make the body strong enough for production. Does anyone remember any such history surrounding the coupe? If this is true, that would definitely be one for the cons of doing a conversion.
 
Brian - both the ones running around here have black vinyl tops glued on the metal roof
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> bmurphy7369 said: When I first bought the coupe last year I did quite a bit of reading on the internet. I seem to remember a website, possibly JCNA's Coupe page, that mentioned that the first coupe was actually a Series I and I think that it was announced in 1973. According to the writer, the production was delayed due to the factory's need to strengthen the pillarless top design. This article also said that it was rumoured that the black vinyl top was added to disguise the amount of metal that had to be added to the roof to make the body strong enough for production. Does anyone remember any such history surrounding the coupe? If this is true, that would definitely be one for the cons of doing a conversion.
<hr></blockquote>
I've read something similar to that as well, I've so many various articles I couldn't say where I read it specifically. Having said that, these coupes from the mid-1970's rate up there as a very nice looking car. Is your car posted in Member's Rides here?
 
Sherlock,

Great photo collection! I am not yet proud enough of the condition of my '75 XJ6C to post any pics. If it weren't for the malaligned bonnet and the fire/heat bubbles on the bonnet, not to mention the rust around the rear of the roof, I would not hesitate to post pics of my car. Give me 6 months and a bottomless checking account and the photos will be forthcoming! Come to think of it, the passion for these cars from the Motherland shouldn't necessitate pristine/concours condition......... Where's my digital camera anyway!

Brian
thumbsup.gif
cheers.gif
england.gif
 
Thanks Brian
blush.gif
,

You think your car is bad... I haven't seen it but I have a large collection of "rusty classics" that sound far worse than yours, a small selection posted in "Latest Finds" album on Webshots there. As for the worst I've personally seen... a 1954 Austin A40 Countryman, parked in the same spot on someone's lawn since 1971! I saw the car about a year ago, my friend tried lifting it and the frame was folding on him so he gave up...
 
Sherlock,

I posted some pics on the Jaguar Member Rides page.

https://www.britishcarforum.com/PHPhotoalbum/thumbnails.php?album=2

My car is the Olde English White XJ6C at the bottom, I think there are eight pictures in total. Keep in mind that these photos are pre-delivery and were taken outdoors which was apparently the car's home for many years! (Why on earth the car was stored outside for who knows how many years, after a ground-up restoration, is beyond my comprehension). Also note the lack of the vinyl top (standard on all coupes) and the resulting rust drippings at the rear of roof. This problem probably is what leads many owners to chop of the roof of the car.

Brian
 
Tony,

I missed your post about the two coupes in your area. All the XJ Coupe models were sent from the factory with the black vinyl tops. If you see a coupe without the vinyl, such as mine, it has been removed by the owner, probably during a re-paint. Some Jag enthusiasts felt that the car was more attractive without the vinyl. I personally think that it is not, but that it eliminates a future source of rust (and saves money on the re-do!). I rather think that without the original vinyl, the car takes on a Corvair-type aura.... just the prudish purist in me.

Brian
cheers.gif
devilgrin.gif
 
Hey Brian,

Checked out your pictures, I've seen worse. So is this one a restoration project? Or hoping to get it on the road soon?

As for the vinyl roof question, I've taken a few pictures of XJC's, I'll have to check to see if any of them are stripped to the metal now.
 
Sherlock,

The plan as of now is to drive the car for two years, then do a ground-up restoration. Tonight I rebuilt the fuel pumps in preparation for the first cruise of the season. The only reason, well two reasons, that the coupe is not my daily driver are first of all the carbs (backfire causing flame damage) and the intermittent fuel pump problems. As of now, the carbs are rebuilt and fully functional and as of just tonight the fuel pump problem is cured! Just a quick install on the pumps and I should be on the road... there is also a local body shop that owes me quite a bit of paint work. I am seriously considering returning to the original combination of Metallic Silver paint and the matching Red Leather trim..... let me know what you think of the colour combo.

Yours,

Brian
driving.gif
 
Brian, That coupe conversion looks like the best that came from somewhere else besides Coventry. Maby Sir Walter had it custom built since that was his favorite Jag body. If I had seen this picture I would never have sold the XJ12C that I briefly had. Sorry for the long delay in correspondence: do you need anything in the way of info concerning the ZS carbs on your coupe? I have had a busy time in the Toy Store and also had a long trip through the Yucatan Peninsula. I have been through a number of Zenith carburetors on Jags and MGBs. What do you need to know? Thanks for your comment to Michael concerning his V12 problems. His toils and tribulations are historic. Best regards, Jack Farrington
 
Jack,

Hope you had a nice trip in the Peninsula. I think I have come to the conclusion that I need to check every fitting on the throttle shafts. There isn't a good connection from the accelerator and I don't have enough spring to return from the open position (return spring(s) may be missing). I have been trying to find an original factory diagram of the Throttle Assembly and of both carbs, exploded views with part numbers. It is pretty apparent that someone has lost or tossed a few brass pieces, turned them around, or put some of these on the wrong carb. Two parts houses have promised to fax these from their books so that I can order the springs and whatever else is missing or bent beyond recognition (if available), but so far I haven't received them. The Hayne's manual for XJ6 and my Weber/ZS manual stop short of showing the exact layout, they usually show a diagram of one carb which is not really helpful in tracking down the problem. If I did have the return springs, I don't see where it should attach to the car (manifold, lower part of carb body?). I could pick up some springs around town, but need to know where I am going with them first. Every time I tell all of this to a parts supplier the standard response is "Buddy, you've lost me." I have no doubt that I am not describing the trouble very well, but without knowing how this was set up originally, it's difficult to speak intelligently about it. If you understand any of this, give me a shout. I think that what I need to know now is pretty specific to the XJ6 Series II assembly. If you have done any of these recently you may be familiar with all the small pieces that fit to the throttle shafts to keep the car's accelerator working properly. Thanks again, Jack.

Brian
confused.gif
 
Back
Top