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Ferretkona, Yeah you could do it that way or do it with a chevy 4 speed stick or do it with the jag tranny and a adapter plate.
Back then there was a problem with the jag cyl head studs getting weak in the middle. Basicly what happened was the stud were in the water jacket, and would rust out in the middle below the block flat, and snap off with the cly head acorn nut. The result was you had a nice chrome acorn nut and 1/2 of a head stud come up out of the head.
If the owner and the mechanic got lucky, the mech, could pop out a freeze plug and drill a small hole in the stud, and turn the stud a little, then drill another hold and turn the stud a little more, and then a last drilling and turn that stud right out in a long slow process.
The other option was another engine, which often was a chevy 350.
Lovely to look at for many of the models ... but these were among the best money makers for me as an independent aftermarket shop. The failure rates of most of the componentry, esp pre-Ford days ... was staggering.
What was interesting to me was that most of the repair work I got to do was after the local "jaguar specialist" shops (dealers as well as independents) did their work on these cars. Brakes, electricals, and fuel & ignition systems were forever problematic.
I can't tell you how many times I got a car in to my shop that had just come out of one of the specialist shops for a valve job and now had an engine knock or noises that it didn't have before their work ... due to the wrong head gasket being installed. As I was just a few blocks away from a very snooty independent Jag/Roller expert shop in town, they were a great source of work for me when they wouldn't stand behind their workmanship ... they always claimed that the new engine noises were just coincidental with the valve job and that the motor had "let go" on the bottom end due to the improved top end. While they always managed to install top quality parts, they did a poor job of adjusting them or eliminating stuff like manifold vacuum leaks that would affect the carb adjustments on the older cars.
Having owned a number of early XKE's and 3.4/3.8 Mark's, they were classically elegant driver's machines, but I bought all of them to re-sell as quickly as possible before they cost me any more money to keep on the road. I briefly owned an XK120, but the seller came back to me after a couple of weeks with seller's remorse and I sold it back to him after I'd put a bunch of work in to it ... for a nice profit, of course.
The best pre-Ford Jag's I ever saw in real-world driving were the ones that had the small block Chevy conversions with USA starters/alternators and as much of the rest of the electricals re-worked with higher quality wire, sockets, and connectors. While Ford did their best to upgrade the cars, I understand that the politics in England prevented them from making a lot of changes to the cars that were sorely needed. The reliability didn't seem to improve in those years ....
The only way I'd advise somebody to own and drive one of these would be on a "hobby car" basis. Reliable daily transportation for a reasonable cost ... no.
For 60's and 70's jag's as XKE type, it took a special person and a dedicated maint schedual to prevent problems. These cars were not for common man by any means. Pre maint consisted of things unheard of for other cars. Likerear frame rubber mounts that needed to be changed each 2 years. The inboard rear brake rotors. The SU carbs which needed adjusting often to seasonal changes, and cleaning up the fuses and wiring, a constant nag.
Evidently I am older than sunsprit, but the idea is the same.
Why I still like room temp beer's
Jaguar cars have a character very different from other premium cars. I like the looks, both inside and out. The engines are good, but not quite at the hp levels of the top German cars.
I owned a 2000 S-type 4.0 and drove it without any major problems for 127K miles. It was not trouble-free, but it was not anywhere near a nightmare like some people think it should have been.
If I were looking for a premium 4 door sedan today, I absolutely would consider the XF.
New Jags (of the past 5-7 years and currently) are fine, reliability-wise.
They are also some of the most gorgeous, fun-to-drive cars on the road. If I was in the market for a car like that, it would be an Audi A5 or a Jaguar XF. They have an elegance and class that no other car in that class can match.
I've done some driving work for Jag and I have to say the latest models exceeded my expectations. The quality seems way improved over their stuff from 20 years ago or more and the driving characteristics are very nice. The XF to me is very enjoyable and pleasurable to drive. In the recent quality surveys they are up at the top of the charts.
I think Jag is pretty aware of horror stories from decades before so they know the old way of doing business like british leyland isn't going to work in this era.
Personally I would have no issue buying a recent used and serviced Jag.
I'd say the one brand living off their name right now is Mercedes. Except for some quirks, most of their older models if you serviced them they would run and run. Not any more.
There are a few companies in the UK that take older Jags, strip all the electrics and other systems out and refurb them with new modern durable stuff while retaining the appearance inside and outside.
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