any advice? jag xk8 convertible..

[puddle hoppers inc.]

evening all, ive been looking at a "toy" (for want of another word), another ninja and leaving the kids at home for a sunday blast isnt on, tempting as it feels somedays!!! s, always wanted an xjs but the convertible is only a 2 seater even tho its as long as a bus, so anyway, anyone have any experience of xk8's? the non supercharged 300bhp 4.0ltr v8. not getting one for a bit as prices are obviously hiked up at this time of year, or any other suggestion? must be convertible, 4 seater, classic insurance etc
keeping the truck, its far to reliable! thanks, mike.

 

[firebobby]

Triumph Stag, Mercedes SL

 

[bry]

Triumph Stag, Mercedes SL

Have a good tool box if ya get a stag Although i do like the look of em.

 

[Banshee]

Have a good tool box if ya get a stag Although i do like the look of em.

Funny you say that lol, I've just been reading through one of the Stag forums looking at different ways to apply Waxoyl as I'm planning on doing my truck tonight

I've decided to go for the official Waxoyl Pressure Sprayer from Halfords

 

[macabethiel]

Mercedes R 129 SL 500 cab with hard top.

evening all, ive been looking at a "toy" (for want of another word), another ninja and leaving the kids at home for a sunday blast isnt on, tempting as it feels somedays!!! s, always wanted an xjs but the convertible is only a 2 seater even tho its as long as a bus, so anyway, anyone have any experience of xk8's? the non supercharged 300bhp 4.0ltr v8. not getting one for a bit as prices are obviously hiked up at this time of year, or any other suggestion? must be convertible, 4 seater, classic insurance etc
keeping the truck, its far to reliable! thanks, mike.

We have a 1997 R129 SL 500 and its been a pretty good motor. Had it just over 10 years replaced the hood as the rear window was cracked & discoloured when we purchased it.
Had a pair of cats in our second year of ownership (ouch) due to them rattling and the innards coming loose. Last 8 years its been one mirror switch and a steering damper. Easy to service yourself & plenty of specialist dealers around to avoid main dealer costs. They are starting to fetch better prices in the last year or so depreciation will be small if you do not do a huge mileage.

They do not have the complications of the later modesl but nice used R129 's are getting harder to find. The SL 600 is often cheaper but they are expensive to maintain and the extra horses are counter balanced with the extra weight. With the hood down they look the part plenty of straight line grunt though the steering is a little dated in its feel. Hard top comes as standard and when its on any scuttle shake / roof buffering disappears. The later multi valve SL 300 is cheaper to buy but real world running costs similar to SL 500.

We aim to keep ours until we can't get out of it with any dignity - probably another 5 years! Few problems with body rot unless its been shunted as they were 80 k when new they are well engineered. Plenty of scope for some bigger wheels etc.

 

[clivvy]

I don't have much experience of the XK8 other than driving one, and putting a shit load of stuff in the boot-which is huge.

Boss used to have one. He liked it, never seemed to have any trouble but then I wouldn't be told about everything.

For fun toy im not sure id choose an XK8, maybe a Honda S2000 or Triumph Spitfire...:thumbs

 

[macabethiel]

I don't have much experience of the XK8 other than driving one, and putting a shit load of stuff in the boot-which is huge.

Boss used to have one. He liked it, never seemed to have any trouble but then I wouldn't be told about everything.

For fun toy im not sure id choose an XK8, maybe a Honda S2000 or Triumph Spitfire...:thumbs

We nearly bought a Honda S2000 instead of our SL back in 2003 and I do like them. Interestingly the SL has held its value better over 10 years though we were comparing a 1 year old Honda with a 5 year old SL for the similar money back then.

 

[melissachels]

we just had one in the work due to it not changing out of 1st gear (auto, v8), gearbox filter & oil change sorted it & took it for a mot aswell & passed 1st time after been lying for 2 yrs :thumb2

 

[walshie]

Google Nicosil liners in the jag v8, pre 2000 I think it was (you will need to check the date), the petrol used to eat the liners and they changed them to stop the problem. I'll try to get you more info tomorrow, I have a jag v8 man at work who did a lot of research prior to buying his 4.0 supercharged v8 xjs. (Really nice bit of kit - no car weighing over 2 tonnes should accelerate this quick!!)

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

thanks guys and gals, that merc is pretty cool looking! the honda doesnt look big enough tbh it needs to fit the kids in the back seat for atleast early teens! i heard about the linings being changed to horrendous consequences, but i believe it was a recall issue? gonna wait till winter but cant wait lol my budget aint great, less than a new hyundai tbh
did look at a stag, lovely cars.
thanks again all, anymore input appreciated.

 

[briggie]

old car I know ( but im old ) , I used to love my Daimler sovereign 4.2 auto ....... bluddie expensive on fuel even in the 70,s but like riding on a carpet of air ..... when you pressed the loud pedal you could actually see the fuel guage dropping

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

beautiful car agreed, its gotta be a convertible thats for sure

 

[briggie]

beautiful car agreed, its gotta be a convertible thats for sure

cant remember ever seeing a sovereign convertible ...... did they do one ?:nenau

 

[firebobby]

Have a good tool box if ya get a stag Although i do like the look of em.

Maybe in the bad old days, but now the problems have been sorted, most cars will be running larger rads, better water pumps, German chains.
I had one and it was sweet, mates still run them and no problems

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

cant remember ever seeing a sovereign convertible ...... did they do one ?:nenau

not that i know of, i meant beautiful old beast, but we need a convertible for sure!

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Funny you say that lol, I've just been reading through one of the Stag forums looking at different ways to apply Waxoyl as I'm planning on doing my truck tonight

I've decided to go for the official Waxoyl Pressure Sprayer from Halfords

get it HOT! stand it in a bucket of nearly boiling water and thin it with a drop of white spirits, the black stuff makes a lovely job of hiding the rust :thumb2

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

i remember going underneath my old mk3 cortina and wire brushing all the loose shite off, smoothriting it then waxoiling it, what a job! i would like to think the underbody is still alive somewhere, in a scrappy.....it doesnt show up on the mid tax site

 

[Dorn1964]

My partner has an XK8 convertable really nice cars but very expensive to maintain. I took it to work a couple of weeks ago and decided to get new wipers for it...... oh no not your bog standard off the shelf will fit as the washer jets are attached to the wiper arms, genuine Jag parts only! Hoods can be temperamental too, the servo is in the boot and requires maintaining with mineral oil to keep it topped up, dam expensive stuff too. They tend to rust around the rear arches so if your buying one look out for repairs around here. The foot wells underneath have a bizarre section that catches water, bad design i believe, tend to rot right on the jacking points. We had to have both sections plated and welded. Engines sweet but costly to run and Jag had a problem with the timing chains, I think they recalled some to have the problem rectified. Check if it's been changed because if it breaks it's a complete engine re build.... been there done it unfortunately..... but having said all that, beaut car!

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

yep, early cars had a plastic timing chain tensionerwtf ! dont mind spending on maintaining the beast tbh, and it wont be a daily as ive got the truck for that.
lovely cars, any pics of yours?? cheers, mike.

 

[walshie]

Google Nicosil liners in the jag v8, pre 2000 I think it was (you will need to check the date), the petrol used to eat the liners and they changed them to stop the problem. I'll try to get you more info tomorrow, I have a jag v8 man at work who did a lot of research prior to buying his 4.0 supercharged v8 xjs. (Really nice bit of kit - no car weighing over 2 tonnes should accelerate this quick!!)

Update on the Nicosil liners, I was right, they were pre 2000 cars, and the problem was that the high sulphur petrol ate away at the liners, this became less of a problem after 2000 when sulphur content in petrol dropped, so even pre 2000 cars with Nicosil liners shouldn't deteriorate further, best bet apparently is to get a compression check done before I buy, if its crap, walk away, otherwise you should be fine.