All old cars were designed to be basic, daily transportation and with some work, most can still do that task. Some just do it better than others. I'm sure an old XJ6 would be a fine DD. I would just make sure you have a back-up and plan on spending at least one weekend a month on upkeep.
Personally, the older I get the less tolerance I have for working on my DD. My 2006 MINI is by all accounts a modern car, but it still gets relegated to once-a-week use.
For the first 5 years I could drive, I only had my '72 El Camino, through high school and into college. It only worked out because I honestly never had that far to go, no real responsibilities outside of school, always had a safe place to park and work on it at my parent's house. In college all of that changed, and the "real life" usage started adding up. Getting jobs and internships with decent commutes, taking road trips, and not having to plan my whole life around a car started to look attractive. So I parked it and bought a Saturn.
Today I probably could drive it every day, if I get the A/C working again. My commute is not hard, I can afford the gas and wear/tear, I have a safe place to keep it.
It's a lifestyle choice, and depending on where you are in life, that lifestyle may be a joy or just another burden.
Do it!!!
I did just that a couple of years ago and regret selling the car. So much so that I am planning a trip out west and maybe picking up an older car instead of renting and bringing it back home.
I bought it here:
sold it:
My only thoughts are I don't consider a 1987 a classic(even with Robbie being much older than I am) and that Robbie hasn't purchased many cars. Every "classic" car I have owned from the late 80s has suffered from electrical issues due to old dry rotted wiring. Mainly lighting and dash issues. I still like modern safety features too much to drive a "classic" car on a daily basis.
Gee, after I wrote the above I realized I daily a 1987 e30 
I bought this car with 175k miles in 2011 and it now has 225k miles.
Tom1200 said:In reply to Robbie on prove me wrong:
Toyota Supra & 300ZX, there are also the oddballs such as the Galant VR4. Toyota Cressidas are really good, Supra motor, nice seats and they could be had in a 5 speed. Also loads of Toyota hop up parts bolt on.
Most any Supra or 300zx or VR4 in the $2-3k category is going to be a pile of deferred maintenance (or worse fast and furious). Any I daresay i'd be equally wary of the deferred maintenance issues you'd run into with one of these as you would with a Jag. Let's remember that 87 was the age of digital dashboards, the earliest magnetic-ride changing shocks, crazy suspension systems like 4ws, and miles and miles of underhood vacuum lines for the japanese GT cars. They might be classics I agree but they are certainly not in the same reliability universe as a miata. I'd argue they are actually more similar to the jag in that respect than less.
plus, their looks just don't really do it for me.
Also, though I know I don't have to rationalize myself to you all, we currently have 2 DD's and this wouldn't be replacing either one. And I either work from home or travel via airline. So having one car out of action for a short period of time isn't high on my worry list.
I daily drove a 70 duster with manual steering, manual brakes, a carb, no ac, 4 speed, and 4.56 rear gears from the age of 17-23. Through high school and college. From Charlotte nc, to beach, to harlan Kentucky, to atlanta, etc. This was the late 90s, early 2000s.
My dailies now are a 95 Silverado and a 98 neon. Bith old enough to drink. 20 years or older are consideredclassic by most people these days.
I wouldn't reccomend being me at any point in my life.
Slippery said:Do it!!!
I did just that a couple of years ago and regret selling the car. So much so that I am planning a trip out west and maybe picking up an older car instead of renting and bringing it back home.
I bought it here:
sold it:
You did pretty well buying and selling that! I assume with the BAT fees you lost a little on the sale, but got a year's worth of fun out of it for minimal cost. Did you spend much on maintenance in that year?
On the topic here: I have been driving my 2001 MR2 Spyder any chance I get. I still think of it as a relatively modern car, but someone shouted "Old school!" to me the other day. I guess it's 20 years old this year, but still...
I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that cars from when I was in HS, mid 80's, are as old as they are. Anyway, as to your point, I DD an 81 GTV6 for 6 years before I sold it to Aussie and to its credit it never left me stranded but I did have some interesting rides home once or twice.
I don't think you're nuts. As many have said as long as you keep an eye on things and accept that failure can and will eventually happen, you can daily drive anything. It just matters how much you're willing to tolerate.
So at this point, the important question... when are you starting a build thread because you got it already?
In reply to Slippery :
50K miles in 8 years... I put those sort of miles on my main DD in less than two. I've had months where I've put on more miles than you average in a year.
I tried using my E30 for DD use for a month while I worked on the main DD. It broke down more than any car I've owned.
The thing about a "classic car" nowadays is that they can be plenty modern. In 2 years, a 1996 model will be 25 years old. That is the line that I've heard most often for determining a classic--that is what it is here in Illinois for registration purposes at least. So 2 years from now, you can have a 25 year old car with vintage tags, OBDII, an airbag (likely 2 of them)... It used to be that a car with 100k miles was all used up, unless it was a Merc Diesel. Now I've got a car (that is 18 years old) with almost 300k miles on it and I'm considering reupholstering the seat.
Threw me for a loop when I saw a '92 Camry with a vintage plate on it. It was an older gentleman who told me he wintered in Florida; Illinois' vintage plates are cheaper than their regular ones and are good for 9 months of the year.
dculberson said:Slippery said:Do it!!!
I did just that a couple of years ago and regret selling the car. So much so that I am planning a trip out west and maybe picking up an older car instead of renting and bringing it back home.
I bought it here:
sold it:
You did pretty well buying and selling that! I assume with the BAT fees you lost a little on the sale, but got a year's worth of fun out of it for minimal cost. Did you spend much on maintenance in that year?
(-) Purchase price: $5350
(-) BAT fees: $267
(-) Maintenance: $696
(+) Sold it for: $5500
(-) Listing fee: $99
Total ownership cost over 1 year / 10k miles $912*
* I am ignoring fuel/tax/title, etc
It was well worth it, for under $1k I had a chance to experience a different car
In reply to Robbie :
The car you posted is over twice as much as I paid for the Einhorn (E34 BMW). It's a 94 and German, but boy oh boy has it ever needed a lot more than I realized before purchasing. Now, granted, it was high miles (225k) and had a ton of deferred maintenance needs, so it's not apples to apples, but if I had it to do over again, I think I wouldn't do it. It really has become a project, and taken away valuable time that I wanted to spend on the other project cars I really want to work on.
Go into it with eyes wide open, expecting that it will consume three times as much wrenching time as you initially estimated, and you will be fine.
In reply to Indy-Guy :
Yes. Key to this plan is not buying a project. When I go look Saturday, I'm going to be really tough on anything that isn't working. Could it get me a discount? sure. But the number one rule is to not buy a project. I read that Jaguar made over 17k of these things in 1987 alone. I can wait to buy a really good car.
Robbie said:The 4.2l 6 cylinder cars got a borg warner 3 speed. the 12's got the th400 (but with a jag-specific bellhousing).
and of course I have pondered MS conversions and the like, but initially the goal would be to stay original as much as possible (remember not making it a project).
The fact that you are aware of those details puts you ahead of most. Indicates you might be a potentially good owner. The stock electrical parts are really reliable, much more so than their reputation, Switching to a MS system can only be justified if you don’t have a spare or want to race the car. Somehow having spares handy keeps the original reliable.
The number one item I see happen to those cars is the tank selector gets stuck on the empty side. It’s not difficult if you know what you’re looking for.
The second most common problem is loose or poor ground connections. Those can be a real nightmare to sort out if electric work bothers you. Often people start replacing the whole harness and never get it back together.
People talk about the difficulty of working on the rear brakes. I’ll admit it’s not for the faint at heart. The first time, however with experience it can be done in a morning.
Harder still is doing a valve adjustment. The right tools ( not expensive ) knowledge, and a great collection of shims makes it possible. I would strongly advise watching someone first. Very easy to make serious mistakes. Oh and don’t be obsessive around that period the factory’s equipment was well, tired. They’d been using it since the 1940’s
Ticking on turn over is common and not a matter that adjustment is likely to fix. However it is possible that the problem is the Iron sleeve the lifter slides up and down in is loose. That is a relatively simple repair. Don’t be afraid to remove the valve covers to check.
Do listen carefully to the timing chains. I have a stethoscope with a long pickup that is perfect to identify the sound of worn chains. I have used a long rod held against my ear with acceptable results. Running the engine low on oil wears chains quickly. Good likelihood if chains are worn so are the sprockets and now you are spending serious money for parts.
One honest bit of advice I always give potential owners is if you buy one,••••• buy a spares source. I watch the various sites like Insurance sales and Craigslist with a sharp eye for a wreck/ rusty/ not running that is $500 or less. In a relatively short period of time I can remove anything of value and bring the remaining hulk to the scrap yard for most of my money back.
That collection of parts proves well worth your time. ( and peace of mind). Transmission dies? No worries you’ve got a spare or two ( don’t worry that Borg Warner is plenty rugged ) the temptation once your spares pile gets a little low either through use or trading, is to buy another, just don’t use too much space to do so though.
Along those lines, join your local Jaguar Club. The meetings can be a pleasant way to spend an evening, plus they are always going on outings, garage tours, dinners, etc.
Its also good to know the few guys who really enjoy the hobby. Source of parts, knowledge which shops to work with and which to avoid etc.
I daily an '01 Mustang GT 5spd that's closing in on 305k for three seasons, and then I park it in our garage over the winter. It's not as old as your potential Jag purchase, but I consider it a classic. Parts are widely available (and relatively cheap), and they're fairly simple to work on, so it has that going for it.
It's only possible because I always have another car I can drive. With four kids, there have been a few times where I've parked it for a while to look into something and it's sat for a month or two. It's fun because I don't have to rely on it, and if I get tired of it, I can drive something else. I look forward to breaking it out of hibernation every Spring.
I have a feeling that the Jag would turn into a lot of work to keep it reliable. A lot of it depends on your tolerance for dealing with the issues that crop up. And when you're driving a project on a daily basis, it's a constant reminder of all the work that remains to be finished. When you're already stressed, that can be annoying.
I love the Mk3 XJ6. A friend of mine has a street legal race car that's had the important things fixed with megasquirt and a Z32 transmission. Mechanically it's been great for him and now megasquirted it's been very electrically reliable as well. Also, they drive really really nice. I'm used to dancing with a fat chick, but the XJ6 was more like dancing with a with a water polo girl(?). You feel the weight and dimensions but it's still sporty and direct feeling. It's probably in my top 10 if not top 5 cars I've ever driven.
John Welsh said:Here is another idea that I have not executed on yet. This idea combines your want of an "ice cream run" car with the forum postings of "what car should I buy my 16yr old?"
I am think of buying my 4.5 yr old her first car, now. Since she was born in 2014, I think I would like a 2014 model. If I buy a '14 Mustang V6 manual trans now we can have that car as a "fun in the sun" and "ice cream" car now. Being in the north, this car will get put away every winter. So, expect less than 10k miles per year.
If we then fast forward 12 more years to the age of 16 for my daughter I should have a fully depreciated, full service history car that could be hers. Maybe it would have 100k-150k miles on it.
Other 4 seat convertibles could be VW Bettle or Mini Cooper (but Im not sure I want to own a 16 yt old version of either)
You must drive a lot. I put my Abarth away for the winter, in July it will be a year since I bought it. I have done just over 2500 miles in the 9 months I have owned it.
I DDed a 1985 Mercedes 300sd for a couple of years and really enjoyed it, then I got into more modern DDs and now I’m about ready to start DDing my 80 450sel, so back to a classic again.
Nothing to see here, other than a cool ass car! I three season'd my last '87 Tbird, and the plan for the current one is the same(speaking of digital dashes and electronic adjustable shocks). I don't call them DD's because I always have a backup these days, but for 1/2-3/4 of the year it is my primary choice of transport. Even though sometimes the real DD was as much of a toy(do not recommend), or in a similar overall condition as the Tbird, it was there when I needed to step away from a broken bit.
Stay on top of the little things and don't let them pile up. For me, this usually involves updating as I replace broken things to improve durability and reliability. Simple enough with a fox chassis car, and it sounds like this Jag would be similar. If too many little things pile up, the car starts to feel like a beater instead of a fun cruiser. If you don't want to go get ice cream in it anymore, what's the point?
Robbie the early 80s Supra or Celica GT-S can be had for reasonable dollars. As for the styling yes the Japanese during this period seem to have two main themes; slab side wedges or squished jellybean. While I like the car I'll admit that various styling queues on are unresolved.
Now as for the age of classics, 35 years ago we bought a 12 year old car (think 2007 model) and now I'm vintage racing it. It's been 30 years since we took it to its first autocross (Miata was a brand new model) and 28 years since we took it to our first SCCA regional race. My 1987 Formula 500 is a 32 year old race car; I was still racing motorcycles then.
CRXs and MR2s are 35 year old cars; to put this in prospective I graduated high school 35 years after the end of WWII or these cars were made 10 years after the Vietnam War ended.
So back on topic if you have a back up why are you on here......go buy the Jag. They drive beautifully.
Its doable if you have the patience and a stash of spare parts. In the past I had DD MGB, TR7, TR8, TVR 280i, Fiat 124, Saab Sonnet, VW Corrado G60, and some other fun classic cars. It helps if you have a backup plan. Wife's current ride is a 77 TR7 hardtop coupe, but when the weather gets a little nicer, it will be an 80 TR8 convertible. In an emergency she can steal one of the kids cars.
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