1 hour ago, DaRoadrunner said:

 

And I thought I was mad buying an XJR...... 12 cylinders, open the bonnet and there are so many pipes and cables it looks like spaghetti. How many gallons to the mile.... don't ask

I bought a 1965 Pontiac GTO Tri-Power (3 2 barrel carburator) in 1967, ruined me for life to drive a normal car, have had T-Birds, Plymouth 440 6-pack Grand National, 1970 GTO Judge 400 dual 4-barrels - first Japanese car was a Datsun 280Z, then a 1985 Skyline scared the hell out of me, pop the clutch and the front wheels would come off the ground.  All in my youth of course, don’t drive much anymore.   Thanx for the memories.

2 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Da Roadrunner is a former uk motor trader and petrol head and as such has gasoline in his veins. We are entering the time of the boring soulless electric car. This may be my last chance to buy one of these magnificent dinosaurs and enjoy its soulful character.

I used to think the same of my 1989 Mercedes 300 CE coupe. A different driving experience, sat on the road like it was welded to it. The W124 engine, supposed to be utterly reliable.

 

It filleted my wallet like any expert fishmonger. When it broke down for a second time in traffic, I said enough is enough.

 

I hear you, but have forebodings. Better luck with your dream car.

18 minutes ago, Explorator en Actione said:

I bought a 1965 Pontiac GTO Tri-Power (3 2 barrel carburator) in 1967, ruined me for life to drive a normal car, have had T-Birds, Plymouth 440 6-pack Grand National, 1970 GTO Judge 400 dual 4-barrels - first Japanese car was a Datsun 280Z, then a 1985 Skyline scared the hell out of me, pop the clutch and the front wheels would come off the ground.  All in my youth of course, don’t drive much anymore.   Thanx for the memories.

At one time in the mid '80s I had a '72 & '73 Buick Electra 225, a '73 Buick Centurian, a '70 GMC 9000, a Fruehauf furniture van, a '74 Chevy C30, a '73 Honda CB730, '76 Honda CJ360T and a Suzuki DS100, all running and a suspended driver license. 

 

The Buicks were all big-blocks. That Centurian was all time favorite. Maroon two-door, with a white vinyl top and white leather interior. As the saying goes, it passed everything but a gas station....

 

If you want a classic, you have to know your way around vehicles, it can't be your daily driver, you have to have space to store and work on it, you need someone that can help now and then, and you have to have a bit of dough. 

9 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Da Roadrunner is a former uk motor trader and petrol head and as such has gasoline in his veins. We are entering the time of the boring soulless electric car. This may be my last chance to buy one of these magnificent dinosaurs and enjoy its soulful character.

It's good to see some folks are as mad as me

Been there done that with a 1988 XJS HE V12

I claimed it was my midlife crisis starting early 1988 to 1998 Never again will I be tempted with a sad cat or an electric pos

On 9/1/2025 at 5:54 AM, DaRoadrunner said:

No, its a 1996 X300 series XJR. Extremely rare in Thailand. Becoming collectible and appreciating in value.

 

Supercharged, goes like Da Roadrunner and drinks like an alcoholic. But she is glorious to drive, full of soul and character. The last of the 'real' Jaguars before Ford went into the American parts bin.

 

It's like having a mistress, you know she will cost you but you don't care.

 

 

My Jag is a X350 XJ8; lovely car and extremely advanced in its day (all aluminium glued and riveted shell, well sorted AJV8). These are starting to get good money as well. And I'd argue full of character as well.

 

 

No good though in Thailand; parts are tricky to get even in the UK now (and the JLR hack probably means complete lack of support now from the factory, which was bad before).

 

The X300 though is a different kettle of fish. Its a heavily revised  XJ40, essentially, which itself has a lineage to the original XJ, with lots of bits from a Jaguar parts bin. The AJ6 is unburstable. I wouldn't touch a X308, unless its had a new block, because of the Nikasil lining issue. I had a 6-cylinder XJ-S before (stripped and rebuilt the rear IRS in my shed, without a manual). These are simple cars to work on, so I am always puzzled by Americans complaining about them. But then, American mechanics seem to frequently struggle with anything foreign, particularly European, and then blame the car, rather than, perhaps, their trade schools (a friend was on a Bombardier contract in Texas, and brought a non-running Triumph Spitfire as something to tinker with in the hotel carpark. I was a car that the local mechanics had given up on, so he was expecting a challenge, and was shocked to find all it needed was a carb rebuild kit).

 

Parts are easy to get for the X300. You don't need a specialist mechanic, just a good mechanic.

On 9/6/2025 at 11:51 AM, Explorator en Actione said:

When I die I want to reincarnate as one of these:

 

1973 Jaguar E-Type XKE 12 Cylinder. 2 Owner. Very Low Miles

 

 

 

Now that's a Shaguar !!...  Yeah Baby, Yeah !!!! 

 

 

On 9/28/2025 at 6:51 PM, Roadsternut said:

Parts are easy to get for the X300.

Where? ....  Avoiding Jaguar themselves that is. They wanted 15000 Baht for this hose, plus shipping and import duty. 

I got one for 3700 baht via AliExpress..... now on its way from China.

 

Typical Jaguar, never seen anything like it.... 7 outlets on one hose.

An ordinary Jag is a nightmare, a supercharged one is a nightmare on steroids.

On 9/30/2025 at 7:56 AM, DaRoadrunner said:

Where? ....  Avoiding Jaguar themselves that is.

 

 

 

 

SNG Barrett, Berkshire Jag, David Manners etc etc. Then excellent used parts from the likes of Autoreserve. Jaguar, through Jaguar Classic, do pretty good online service for OEMs.

 

The supply chain for X308 and older is still largely UK based. For the X350 onwards, it went overseas. The X350 has a particular problem because it was Ford era. For old Jags, sharing some bits with Mondeos and Focuses 20 years on ought to be be good new, from a cost of ownership perspective. In 2020, JLR canceled the Ford supply agreement, and then failed to back fill the loss of Ford engineered parts. So supply is drying up. I'm told their warehouses do still have a lot of parts, because the X350 didn't sell well, but the latest Ransomware attack is the nail in the cotton, and stock might end up scrapped, because they have no idea what it is.

 

You've picked a 1990s supercharged car and are shocked to find its complicated, pretty much like any 1990s supercharged car was. If you were a car dealer of experience, I am surprised you didn't realise that. There is a reason why turbocharging became more popular with the OEs than a blower.

 

I deliberately steered away from the 400hp X350 XJR, preferring a short-stroke XJ8. The XJR might provide the thrills, but also a lot of pain. Its a 10 hour job to replace a £25 valley hose. People, lile you, are buying what were £60-70,000 cars 20+ years ago, and expecting to run them on a Ford Fiesta budget. Which is why all of these Jags, 7-series, A8s, S-Classes end up with rock bottom values.

 

If you had gone for a regular XJ6, you might have a car thats more suited to your technical abilities and/or budget. It might be a rare car, but that's meaningless in Thailand. One of my MX5s was a M2-1002; only 100 of these were made, taken off the line as bare shells, and hand finished by M2-Inc with full hide leather, alcantara covered dash, with Yamaha walnut inlays, matched to a Mazdaspeed tuned motor and breathed on chassis. An utter delight to drive, with Mazda's interpretation of a luxurious but mechanically stripped back sports car. Worth a lot of money in Japan, because its so rare. Just a MX5 in the UK M2, because there is no market for it (6 M2 Inc cars made it to the UK; 2x M2-1002, 2x M2-1001 Clubmans, and 2 M2-1028 Superlegarres. One 1028 ended up being shipped back to Japan, both 1002s and one 1001 are in Italy, and the last one is unknown) . Mine ended up as part of the Miataland collection in Italy (former head of Ford Italy is a big MX5 fan, and has the world's largest collection, as part of a MX5-themed resort).

 

As for the hose you illustrated that has blown your mind, I just see a hose. Nothing complicated about it.

 

I found a XJS to be a piece of P*ss to work on, no special tools nor knowledge needed. I find the so-called specialists and motortrade like to talk up the supposed complexity, I suppose to keep them in business.