After 6 years, I found my XJ-S!
Dec 7, 2014 19:59:20 GMT -6
Randy T., 71corvette454, and 1 more like this
Post by XJSman89 on Dec 7, 2014 19:59:20 GMT -6
Good news, ladies and gents! After 6 long years of separation, I found (and subsequently purchased) my old Jaguar. Not one like it, by the grace of God I found the same car my parents bought new back in 1989. Here's the story:
So my Boss loves Craigslist. He knows about my XJ-S story and every time he comes across one while browsing, he sends me the ad. There have been a couple that I have considered purchasing but nothing serious, I hadn't even gone to look at one in the 6 years since we sold it. But early this week he sent me an ad for a black 1989 XJ-S and I almost brushed it off but after looking at it I noticed some similarities. Same wheels, same mileage that mine had, same paint problem areas, etc. But the more I looked at it I realized it had the same pinstripe, same broken antenna, similar aftermarket stereo, etc. I got excited, and gave the guy a call.
When I talked to him I asked him some of the history of the car and it sounded even better. Bought it 5 or 6 years ago he said. Car has 90K and a shorted out engine harness and the car will turn over, but not fire, which is why we sold the car in the first place. So I said "This is going to be an odd question, but is the vin number (I spout out the vin number)?" and he responds with "Yes, How did you know that?" and I almost flipped. To find my old car again, in the same state I left it and after so long... I didn't think I could be so lucky.
So I went and checked the car out. It had rust and paint issues when we sold and both have gotten a little worse, but are manageable. I talked him down in price from what he was asking, went home that night and talked my wife into this insane little venture (buying a not-running 1989 Jag that is known to be a gigantic money pit, with rust and partially bad paint, bad tires, damaged wood trim, and a host of other issues. She graciously agreed. I'm pretty sure I have the best wife ever.) and I showed up the next day with a tilt-bed trailer and cash.
Long story short, the car is now home (rightfully so!) and sitting in the garage. I can't think of a better Christmas present to get; it still doesn't feel real. I know it's not particularly cool looking, it's not very well built if we're being honest, and it will cost a fair amount to get it back into shape. But it's the car that got me interested in cars in the first place, that drove me to explore a career in Engineering, and gave me some fun times for the few months that I actually got to drive it as a teenager before it died. I feel like I owe it to the car to get her back in shape again!
Don't really have any future plans for her at the moment besides cleaning up the paint; 6 years of dirt, rain, snow, etc. has taken its toll. It's cleaning up slowly but surely, and I think I can save most of it. But there is a website that makes a kit to swap in a Chevy LS motor, and that's a pretty hard prospect to resist. The Jag V12 is nice, but I think a 500+HP LS7 in there would be a nice fit.
Here are some pictures:
At the previous owners house, when I went to check it out
It was way dark by the time we got it loaded. We had to winch it up onto the tilt bed. Not fun at all, especially with not a lot of air in the tires.
The two girls together:
You can see where I've cleaned up the paint vs. where I haven't. The whole car's paint has oxidized pretty bad, but will clean up with some rubbing compound and some elbow grease!
I connected the jumper pack to it (Car doesn't have a battery) and the body harness seems to be in working order, still. All the lights worked, the stereo came on, and I heard the fuel pump priming too. That surprised me. Maybe it isn't as bad as I thought!
Anyway, I just had to share with you all. Excited doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind. Needless to day, I'm pretty dang happy that I got her back!
So my Boss loves Craigslist. He knows about my XJ-S story and every time he comes across one while browsing, he sends me the ad. There have been a couple that I have considered purchasing but nothing serious, I hadn't even gone to look at one in the 6 years since we sold it. But early this week he sent me an ad for a black 1989 XJ-S and I almost brushed it off but after looking at it I noticed some similarities. Same wheels, same mileage that mine had, same paint problem areas, etc. But the more I looked at it I realized it had the same pinstripe, same broken antenna, similar aftermarket stereo, etc. I got excited, and gave the guy a call.
When I talked to him I asked him some of the history of the car and it sounded even better. Bought it 5 or 6 years ago he said. Car has 90K and a shorted out engine harness and the car will turn over, but not fire, which is why we sold the car in the first place. So I said "This is going to be an odd question, but is the vin number (I spout out the vin number)?" and he responds with "Yes, How did you know that?" and I almost flipped. To find my old car again, in the same state I left it and after so long... I didn't think I could be so lucky.
So I went and checked the car out. It had rust and paint issues when we sold and both have gotten a little worse, but are manageable. I talked him down in price from what he was asking, went home that night and talked my wife into this insane little venture (buying a not-running 1989 Jag that is known to be a gigantic money pit, with rust and partially bad paint, bad tires, damaged wood trim, and a host of other issues. She graciously agreed. I'm pretty sure I have the best wife ever.) and I showed up the next day with a tilt-bed trailer and cash.
Long story short, the car is now home (rightfully so!) and sitting in the garage. I can't think of a better Christmas present to get; it still doesn't feel real. I know it's not particularly cool looking, it's not very well built if we're being honest, and it will cost a fair amount to get it back into shape. But it's the car that got me interested in cars in the first place, that drove me to explore a career in Engineering, and gave me some fun times for the few months that I actually got to drive it as a teenager before it died. I feel like I owe it to the car to get her back in shape again!
Don't really have any future plans for her at the moment besides cleaning up the paint; 6 years of dirt, rain, snow, etc. has taken its toll. It's cleaning up slowly but surely, and I think I can save most of it. But there is a website that makes a kit to swap in a Chevy LS motor, and that's a pretty hard prospect to resist. The Jag V12 is nice, but I think a 500+HP LS7 in there would be a nice fit.
Here are some pictures:
At the previous owners house, when I went to check it out
It was way dark by the time we got it loaded. We had to winch it up onto the tilt bed. Not fun at all, especially with not a lot of air in the tires.
The two girls together:
You can see where I've cleaned up the paint vs. where I haven't. The whole car's paint has oxidized pretty bad, but will clean up with some rubbing compound and some elbow grease!
I connected the jumper pack to it (Car doesn't have a battery) and the body harness seems to be in working order, still. All the lights worked, the stereo came on, and I heard the fuel pump priming too. That surprised me. Maybe it isn't as bad as I thought!
Anyway, I just had to share with you all. Excited doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind. Needless to day, I'm pretty dang happy that I got her back!
