<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by John S Farrington:
Matt, $700 buys you a parts car if it is not a rustbucket. Yes, on a car like that your investment can go up an order of magnitude more when you buy it that cheap. Series 111 sedans can be aquired for $5000 plus or minus in decent condition and that will be a lot less expensive than starting with a parts car. I have several lines on series 111 sedans that are availaable since I am in the service and restoration business for older model Jaguars and we are not that far apart geographically. If you are looking for a very nice 1985 VDP that is mechanically in excellent condition then give me a reply. I am not in the used Jaguar business. I have a client that restored this sedan a few years ago but will sell it because he now lives in Mississippi and cannot get it properly serviced. The car is now in Huntsville and it is a very good buy. Best regards. Jack<hr></blockquote>
Thanks everyone for all the input. This is all still very murky, just weighing options.
I might consider the restored VDP, but I hate to use a restored example. I know that they are not very valuable, but they are beautiful. I know that a lesser example would be expensive to restore, but I am not really thinking that route. I would keep up the mechanicals, with the hope of eventually transplanting it into the SS100 kit. Yes, I know that will be expensive as well, but nifty, and the company buy-back program keeps the resale up.
So you see how I am torn, if I got a restored example, I would feel the need to preserve it as well as may be. That is the reason I was looking for a passable example that would kind of hold together until I could start the SS.
As far as it being a 'work car", I only drive a few miles to work each night, and then it would sit happily under the parking garage until I asked it to tote me a few miles home. Plus I have a 97 Escort that is dead-on reliable for when the Jag just can't be bothered to make the jaunt.
MattP