February 20, 200521 yr I've been pretty brand loyal to Subaru over the years...I got 220K out of my last '88 GL before giving it away. I recently picked up a 1984 Jaguar XJ6 for $1500. Unlike Subaru owners, the owner of this beauty did not tell me any of the problems of the Jag, so I'm finding out the hard way. The fuel switching and overflow problem is the most serious issue to date, also a malfunctioning odometer/speedometer transducer. Otherwise it has the power and classic looks the Subaru doesn't, but in terms of function, the Subaru is generally better. Any one else have observations or experiences of both cars?
February 20, 200521 yr Having once owned an older British car (58 Triumph), I can tell you that the Jag will be a blast to drive, but you will still need the Subaru to go get Jag parts.
February 20, 200521 yr having owned many Blokemobiles from my first car (57 TR 3 still have it) AH's MG's and a beautiful series III XJ 6 like yours I also have a bakers dozen of Subarus on the lot currently. Use the Jag for your Sunday go to golfin' car but keep the Subaru for a daily driver BTW part of the fuel cross over system is in the trunk under the spare also the solenoid valves are behind a door above the rear tires. I believe I still have my FSM for the series III
February 20, 200521 yr Now you will know why the British never built computers ,they coulden't figure out how to incorporate the oil leak. Nice Sunday driver but a box of trouble (expensive)Jude
February 20, 200521 yr Now you will know why the British never built computers ,they coulden't figure out how to incorporate the oil leak. Nice Sunday driver but a box of trouble (expensive)Jude I don't think a subaru driver can hassle anyone about oil leaks!
February 20, 200521 yr Author Thanks for the feedback. Is it a guaranteed money-sink? Long distance driving not recommended? Engine is running well now but at 135K the life expectancy is not great...
February 20, 200521 yr Money-sink? All cars are, really. I would own and drive one if I could. Long trips, probably OK... depends like anything else on the particular vehicle. Day-to-day flogger, probably not a good idea. Might be OK, as the Jag 6 was pretty mature by that time. The prob with maintenance is that parts might be hard to get and expensive, and a mechanic that will touch it might be worse.
February 21, 200521 yr Money-sink? All cars are, really. True, but few are more of a money pit than a 20 year old Jag If you're going to keep it.. Its time for a small block chevy conversion. The upside is.. Its not as much of a money pit as an XJS
February 21, 200521 yr British cars are novalties - NEVER expect to be able to use one as a daily driver - they are simply not that reliable - and that is putting it VERY nicely - went through 1 month with a 1979 MG Midget in which it blew it's catalytic converter up, blew the brake master cylinder, both rear brake cylinders, and lost an axle - don't get me started on Lucas and it was being BABIED the whole time!!! I like british cars for their looks, and I don't know what else ...
February 21, 200521 yr True, but few are more of a money pit than a 20 year old Jag If you're going to keep it.. Its time for a small block chevy conversion. The upside is.. Its not as much of a money pit as an XJS Actually, it isn't the engine that would worry me, but rather the electricals. I still wake up in a cold sweat due to nightmares of Lucas, The Prince Of Darkness!!!
February 21, 200521 yr And then there was Laura with 2 MG Midgets in my garage.... No they'er not mine but they're kind of cool (??)
February 21, 200521 yr And then there was Laura with 2 MG Midgets in my garage.... Keep the soobs away - far away - the Midgets may be contagious However, I think you may already have an epidemic :-p
February 21, 200521 yr Now you will know why the British never built computers ,they coulden't figure out how to incorporate the oil leak. They couldn't figure out how to incorporate the cancer rust, either.
February 21, 200521 yr to be fair, the reliability of those old british cars was not much worse than the american cars of the time. We're all just used to japanese cars now. Generally the lucas problems come from corroded connections, and also quite frequently from the hack-jobs of the PO's. oh and scoobaroo, wassup frank zappa sig buddy!
February 21, 200521 yr I've owned 4 British cars, they are engineering marvels - two noteworthy items: Lucas Electric - better known as Star Wars electrical systems - often trouble. Jags use GM TH400 transmission. Search on Chevy V-8 conversion for Jaguar - many a happy camper with this common dependable setup. Oh, just saw Humble's post - what he said, LOL. Good luck, r/PK.
February 21, 200521 yr Generally the lucas problems come from corroded connections, and also quite frequently from the hack-jobs of the PO's. Actually, it is MUCH more complex than that - back in the day (sometime around the 60's or 70's I don't remember when). The British parliament mandated that a certain percentage of the insulation used in electrical wires be natural rubber. Natural rubber decomposes over time, so many British cars I have come across have had their wiring harnesses literally decay - a family friend had his 1970's Triumph - all stock - burn up half his house and all of his garage when the wiring harness bit the dust and shorted out - Lucas = BAD newer (80's and later) Brititsh cars don't have this problem b/c everyone realized that natural rubber is a bad idea for electrical wires, but there are still cars out there - and our friend was living in Florida at the time, so the problem of the wires decaying was only perpetuated by the climate - I don't doubt that if the car was kept in a very low humidity environment that the wiring would last longer, but that is not realistic - as you are in Canada, you have a low humidity environment naturally - here in the US South, its a VERY different story .... In addition to that, lucas specs the size of the contact surfaces in almost all of its electrical switches about 1/3 to 1/2 the real size it needs to be to handle the current load without failure - I have disassembled/rebuilt switches for american and british cars of the time, and the difference is striking - and I say this as an Electrical Engineering student the way the circuits are divided up on british cars is also extremely pecular - I am not entirely sure why some things are wired the way they are, as one fuse may control two completely unrelated ciruits - it has been to long since I worked on a brit car for me to give an example - but I recall them being extremely odd american cars are MUCH more reliable than british on the whole - with the possible exception of anything Chrystler they are still cute cars tho - just high maitnence
February 21, 200521 yr Lucas Electric - better known as Star Wars electrical systems - often trouble. Good luck, r/PK. hehe, they got lucas on british motorcycles. triumphs. "the prince of darkness" is what we call em. cuz your headlight will never work! also had a spitfire, not sure if its got the same stuff as the jag, but it kinda sucked in the wiring departement. in this gumball movie i saw, with the guys from jackass, they took a jag and all of the guys in the race were sayin theyd never make it home cuz the jag would break down in no time. money sink... surely more than a subaru is.
February 22, 200521 yr I took mine on a 1000 mile trip. It used 12 quarts of 60 weight. Granted, we (my sister and I) were pushing it, cruising all day at 80-85 mph. The car had over 200k.
February 22, 200521 yr I took mine on a 1000 mile trip. It used 12 quarts of 60 weight. . LOL......"fill 'er up with oil and check the gas"........ Jags start with a leaking rear main seal the day you take delivery of the car and it's all downhill from there. Old British cars are the demon seed. Pretty to look at as long as you don't have to get somewhere at a certain time. Many electrical gremlins. Wierd, frightening rust in an unbelievably short time. Strange "witworth" bolt head sizes. Parts prices that make one's jaw drop. Even a late 70's Chrysler product is more reliable.
February 22, 200521 yr The british did a damn fine job of making a 5000lb (?) car handle really, really good. You could push it waaay over the edge, and a quick check of the wheel brought her right back. A fine car, with worthless oil seals, a penchant for rust, and terrible electrics.
February 22, 200521 yr holy crap, do those old brit cars have the metric,and, a half hardware too? ive had to grind down open end wrenches to work on triumph motorcycles before =/
February 22, 200521 yr holy crap, do those old brit cars have the metric,and, a half hardware too? Not just that my friend, some used bolt sizes that were neither metric nor SAE - but that witworth/wintworth whatever size refered to earlier. The british did a damn fine job of making a 5000lb (?) car handle really, really good. You could push it waaay over the edge, and a quick check of the wheel brought her right back. Ditto on that - I have to give them credit for their handeling.
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