Jag XJS - upstate NY

Saw this on Albany NY craigslist

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/1626276502.html

Pictures are a little blurry so I emailed. Its powered by a fuel-injected Chevy V8. In the reply the owner provided more details, said the spark plug wires had been crossed, and a new starter motor was being installed.

No price listed so I don't know if it would come under $2010 or not.

Don't own, have an interest in ,etc etc

I'm close enough to go look at it if anyone's interested in it.

Wonder what he really wants for it....

Wow! This is the response I got from the seller:

Not GRM Friendly pricing.

Hi Dan,

This is long, but its only because you can't explain something so awesome in only a few words.:)

Well I want to be reasonable with the price, I'm not out to rip anyone off by any means, however I do want to be paid a price that the car is worth, so I will begin by telling you everything I have learned.

After about 1 month of owning the car and having 3 different mechanics helping me out, I've learned that it is extremely rare to come across a vehicle like this. The three mechanics that have evaluated the car are very creditable and can be referenced if need be. Two of the mechanics are pretty much family and are honest. One of them is my Dad's friend who owns his own garage and is a Class A Mechanic and the other is my cousin (who has just completed 4 years of schooling in Auto-Mechanic Engineering).

Being a researcher myself, I thought it would be best to have another diagnoses from one more source. There is a local garage with a Mechanic who is known as, "Rolling Bones" and is infamous for his great work on converting and restoring Antique & Classic cars. (Google his name if you would like to...He is from Greenfield NY & you will see some of his work). With that said, you will be sure to know that the information I have about this Jaguar and its components are accurate and not words from a "backyard mechanic".

The engine being "bored over" is a fairly hard task and takes mechanical labor, skill and the right machinery. I'm not sure if you are knowledgeable with engines, but if you are then you know that this is a petty bad ass step to take in the process of making a Hot Rod. The original engine block had a Carburetor. So, not only did this guy rebuild & Bore it more, he then converted the carburetor to a 7.4L Overhead Throttle Body. This conversion is one of the best features the car has. It allows for more fuel flow to the engine and creates a crazy amount of horse power. The 7.4L allows so much fuel to flow into the engine that the guy had to install an adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator to be able to control the amount of fuel being pumped into the engine. The fuel pump regulator was made by SX Performance and is not exactly street legal. You can open it up if you wanna fly like hell, or keep it closed for normal driving performance. In order for this to operate smoothly at such a high temperature he installed every necessary part and insured that it was modified to top quality. It has MSD Heli-Core suppression ultra hi-temp wires and very high performance wiring system of a car made for the up most desirable engine performance. All aspects of the conversion were taken into consideration with his modified coil packs and intense cooling system. There is a little red button installed right into the console that triggers one of the two fans when you are running the engine at a high temp and need extra air flow to keep the engine cool.

The guy that built this car either was either going to race it or maybe he planned on driving it for a long trip at top speeds. When he started having problems with his passport, he had literally just finished the car. He obviously picked a trust worthy friend to leave it with, because it took them over 10 years to decide for sure that he wasn't coming back.

All in all, the car and its engine are VERY rare and has been carefully and slowly worked on. From what my neighbor told me, it took him over five years to re-build this car, and all of the parts have not seen any ware. He loved it so much that when he left, he flushed all of the liquids, plugged every exposed hole, put it on cement blocks, removed the battery and wrapped his Sheep Skin in Plastic then stored them in the trunk. He must have known there was a chance of not returning.
The modified Bad Ass engine has not seen over 20K miles and that alone is worth some big bucks.

I will give you a fair price because it does need minor body work and a paint job. There are still dead wires and old components from the original Jaguar engine that were not removed, so I will take all of that into consideration with the price. I'm thinking I should not settle for less then $10,000. with this awesome Jaguar. The high performance parts alone could be all be sold separately and bring you in good money. After learning about this car, I will be re-listing it on Craigslist with all of the correct information and details and am very confident I will get my asking price. However since I haven't listed it again yet, I will give you an opportunity to make me an offer. Tell me your maximum bid and your intentions for the car....I will respond asap.

I am sorry that this is so long, I just don't feel right about selling it without informing the buyer of all the features this car has. I have fallen in love with it in a little amount of time and wish I had the money to invest that would bring its appearance to life and make it show worthy. The links I have put on the bottom of this email will give you an idea of the possibilities that you'll have if you own this. The hardest & most expensive parts of creating a Hot Rod / Show car is already done. It even has the upgraded headlights already. Is has "posi" rear suspension system and electric hydrological braking system.

This is a one of a kind engine. Almost all conversion Jaguars have the regular 350 V8 engine and most have a carburetor. Some of the good ones are rare and have the 5.7L tuned port injection.This Jaguar is a few leagues ahead of all of the other Conversions. It has the 7.4L Over Head Throttle body that is almost unheard of in a small sport car. This is usually only done for a high powered race car. Here is the link to Photobucket so you can see more pictures of the car and its components. Please keep in mind that it is a little dirty and needs to be cleaned up:

The 1983 Jaguar XJS HE for sale: http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/HollisterXJS/

Here a few links of what my Jaguar should look like. These cars do have an engine that even comes close to mine. 8)

http://www.britishcarlinks.com/Dickenson%20Jag.jpg

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/758407

http://www.classicconvertibles.net/cars7.htm (third car down...Its red)

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page.php/carno/64725

http://www.designscomputed.com/cars/Jag.HTM

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C145764/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8021817@N07/2743711818/page2/

** http://forums.hotrod.com/70/7072429/swap-meet-cars-for-sale/1979-jaguar-xjs-350-350-swapped-too-much-new-to-li/index.html (this car is how my Jaguar should look. The engine this guy has in that Jaguar is NOTHING compared to the one in ours....if the engine area was cleaned up and the interior was done, you would have a very ADMIRABLE and High performance car)

P.S. I put a lot o work and thought into writing this to you, please respond either way, I will be copying this email & displaying it exactly as I have stated here.

Thanks for your time!! Hollie

Another response:

Hi Dan,

Answers for your questions:

My neighbor had stored it in her barn for a friend who was from a different country. Something happened and he had to go back home. He did leave the title, original sales paper work, Jaguar XJS repair manual, Jaguar owners manual & lots of others ( converstion manual, schematics ect).

The engine was converted from the original V12 to a 1985 350 V8 from a GM C/K truck. It is fuel injected. The top is a 1987 7.4L Over Head Throttle Body. To make this work, the original guy had to have the 1985 engine bored over. The mechanic who is helping me out with the car informed me that the engine is similar to a 454 and he also said the engine has less then 25k miles on it!

Its had many upgraded modifications. Dual stainless steel exhausts, Marine type manifolds, Fuel pressure regulator, Pressurized fuel pump & filter, toggle switch for Fuel pump. It even has 100% Australian Sheep skin seat covers and a customized MOMO racing wheel.

I have MANY pictures & video footage if your still interested. We have cleaned the entire car & working on replacing some of the enterior.

Yes it runs, the reason it wouldnt start before was because the distributor wires were completly backwards and all screwed up.

It runs & sounds bad ass

Thanks!!! Hollie

Ps. The only reason we still have this car is because at first I didn't think we would be able to GIVE this car away...lol After recieving over ONE HUNDRED emails (you can check through my email if you dont believe me), I relized that there was something special about it. I am thinking about keeping it for my college vehicle, but am still considering offers. So far I have been offered $4,000. by a mechanic who came and checked the car over....I am not sure yet, so I haven't givin him an answer. With a nice paint job & a little TLC I think I could get over 10grand. Maybe even more....

Let me know what you think....The car is located in Saratoga NY, where are you???.

$10K...hah!

It'd better have cleaned up extremely well and be running like a top to even warrant $4K.

He's negotiating. Wanna chime in?

Jag guy said: well dan i would love to sell you the car,what would u be willing to afford to pay?i will go down on the price,money talks and i could sure use some of it,lol let me know. thanks,

Wow, this is very awkward!

I was browsing Jaguars online as I usually do in my spare time and happen to stumble across this page...I started reading it and was amused to see that my Jaguar was attracting this much attention. I'm the author of the emails you displayed and find it hilarious that you think $10,000. is too high. That might be too high for you but honestly, be real. Many Jaguar or Racing enthusiasts would pay way more for this beauty.

Restored interior & wiring..body work, brakes, rotors...every part has been replaced and is running top notch. It growls and roars, not to mention the compression from the exhaust blows holes in my driveway!

If you know what 500 hp does behind the wheel of a Jaguar then we're on the same the page.

Its simple: Bad ass American Muscle (454 engine) in an ultimate European handling style (Jaguar) will smoke the doors off of any restored car you have!!

Welcome aboard Hollister.

The comments I made I stand by, nothing was meant to take away from you or your car. Read some other posts at GRM and you will see that while your car may be the best one of those in the Country, it's just not what we're about.

I was interested in your car as a tinkerer and car guy, but as a family guy with bills and a mortgage, it's out of my budget.

Good luck with the sale and I'm sure a Jaguar or Racing enthusiast will be very happy with it.

Dan

My mother told me once that if you have nothing nice to say... I don't remember the rest.

Step 1: Learn more about the car than the people you're selling it to, bud.

Hollister -

Just as a point of reference - I let a much more desirable '76 XJC go when it passed the $5K mark. It was a beautifully restored example with good paint and a fresh interior. It sported wire wheels and a Chevy 400 small block. In short, it was a near perfectly done V8 Jag conversion that was ready to drive away. As I recall the owner got $6K for it after several months of failed ebay auctions.

You reference the one on hotrod.com as what yours could be. He is asking $7500, and will not get it, and that is for a much nicer example.

I see in those pictures a $1500 (at most) project car. If it's got structural rust, knock that one off of the price. FYI, FWIW, YMMV, $.02, etc.

I agree...what brings value is a complete, running, well finished car. Not a vehicle that needs complete finishing and shine.. Yes, at most your car is probably worth (Maybe) $1500, even then you might have problem finding a buyer.

friend of mine just picked this up a few nights ago for $2300. has 180K on it. Drove it home...no issues yet. it's a 95

I stress the "Yet " part

She should have taken the $4g.

In reply to AutoXR:

That is rad. Where I'm from, ~$2300 only gets you into an '80s XJ6.

I do see the occasional ratty Mk2 for cheap, though.

Hollister, welcome to the Board. Might I suggest you go and read some of the other forums here and learn about your car so that you stop embarrassing yourself when you send emails to prospective buyers.

First, "boring over" an engine is rarely a "pretty badass step in creating a Hot Rod". It is done because the cylinder walls in the engine are damaged enough that the piston rings no longer seal, so boring out the cylinders provides the proper surface for new rings to seal on. It is done on many engines that are rebuilt, whether they are intended for high performance or not. Boring over your 350 cubic inch Chevy likely increased the displacement to 355 cubic inches, 360 at the max.

Next, "opening up" the fuel pressure regulator to allow a lot more fuel into the engine will not give you more horsepower. To properly burn, fuel needs to be mixed in a fairly specific ratio. If you have too much fuel, your car will run very poorly, if it runs at all. The Chevy 7.4L engine that your throttlebody came from was not known for making a lot of power. When it was introduce In 1988, it made 230hp. That's less than most 3L V6s on the market now. Adding that throttlebody to your 350 (now 355?) engine that made about 170hp from the factory won't give you even the 230hp that the 7.4L made. If it added more than 10hp to your engine, I'd be shocked. Your dual exhaust and marine manifolds (WTF?) might add another 200hp. That would give you about 200hp, less than many 4 cylinder engines available today. Now, why on earth did the guy use marine manifolds on a car? Marine manifolds don't perform any better than automotive manifolds, they are simply designed to work in a boat. Marine exhaust manifolds may have waterjackets for cooling the manifold, they are typically beefier because the engines run at higher loads for longer, they are not higher performance. Marine intake manifolds are the same way - they are simply designed to be used in a different environment. He probably used them because he got a good deal on them, not because they were the right choice. Now they may perform better than the stock manifolds on your engine, so I'll throw another 30hp at your engine. You're now up to 230hp, about the same as a Ford Escape.

Don't advertise the 'pressurized fuel pump and filter' as a performance thing. Fuel injected engines need high pressure fuel pumps (and filters that can withstand that pressure) because they are squirting the fuel into the engine instead of relying on the Venturi effect to suck gas into the engine, as in a carburetor. Without a 'pressurized fuel pump and filter' your car would not run. The same thing goes with your adjustable fuel pressure regulator. That was installed to make sure that the correct fuel pressure was available to the injectors so that they would inject the proper amount of fuel that the computer tells them to inject.

Now, your 350 engine is similar to a 454 in that they are both V8s, they are both made by Chevy, and both have the same poorly performing throttlebody installed. You do not have a 454 in your car, stop saying you do. You do not have 500hp in your car, stop saying you do. If you have a dyno plot to prove me wrong, please post it. Don't post "Rolling Bones" told me so, because he's just guessing.

Instead of having your neighbour, cousin, random hot rod guy blow smoke up your ass about what a great barn find you have, find a Jaguar specialist and have them tell you what your car is worth. I'll bet you they tell you that you should have taken the $4000 offer. You claim "with a nice paint job & a little TLC I think I could get over 10grand". Do you have any idea how much a paint job costs? Not including fixing any rust, dents, etc it will easily cost you several thousand dollars. Sure, you could do all the work yourself and save a lot of money, but judging by your post, I don't think you have the knowledge to do it. Take the $4000.

Bob

As long as we're being specific: I love this part

guy selling the jag said: ...It allows for more fuel flow to the engine and creates a crazy amount of horse power. The 7.4L allows so much fuel to flow into the engine that the guy had to install an adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator to be able to control the amount of fuel being pumped into the engine. The fuel pump regulator was made by SX Performance and is not exactly street legal. You can open it up if you wanna fly like hell, or keep it closed for normal driving performance. In order for this to operate smoothly at such a high temperature he installed every necessary part and insured that it was modified to top quality.

Because, you know, it won't just make it crazy rich and belch black smoke to crank up the fuel pressure.

Also, is he saying that the fuel pump is operating at a high temperature? Maybe the engine? Is he thinking the chevy engine operates at a higher temperature than the jag engine?

And of course, the DOT specifically regulates fuel pumps and regulators, because they are the true key to moar powerzzzz.

Weeee - fun.

For $10k, that thing is a rusty pile. I'm sure that "7.4L overhead throttle body" really helps out - I know I equate blowing intake manifold gaskets with performance! THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE POWAH!

Seriously though, I don't mean to harp on Mr. Hollister, but if that car was really so "bad ass" I don't think we'd be looking at ugly cast-iron marine manifolds (???) and literal PILES of rust under the quarter panels.

HollisterXJS wrote: I'm the author of the emails you displayed and find it hilarious that you think $10,000. is too high. That might be too high for you but honestly, be real. Many Jaguar or Racing enthusiasts would pay way more for this beauty. ...If you know what 500 hp does behind the wheel of a Jaguar then we're on the same the page. Its simple: Bad ass American Muscle (454 engine) in an ultimate European handling style (Jaguar) will smoke the doors off of any restored car you have!!

If any "Jaguar or Racing enthusiast" would pay MORE than $10k for that, and a TPI intake manifold bolted onto a 350 equals a 454, then let me get a hit of whatever you're smoking! I have a Subaru Brat that's worth $20,000 at least!

Nah. If you can find a someone to pay that for the car, go for it! I don't think you'l get it around here, mind you.