Jaguar XJ6 Series III Sovereign - Exceptional

Welcome to the auction for my pride and joy, a gorgeous1987 Series III Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign!

4.2 litre straight 6, electronic fuel injection, Automatic gearbox.

Model History & background info

This must be one of the last XJ6 series III’s, with the car being made in the final year of production in 1986 (though the series III did live on to 1992 in V12 guise), and sold in Australia in 1987. The series III is widely regarded as far more beautiful than the later “XJ40” XJ6’s (though personally I love those just as much), and is the final evolution of the original Mk1 XJ6.

Here’s a link to a good review of the series III model on drive.com.au, with a view to ownership and buying a series III now: http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=41398&vf=18

another short article on XJ6's: http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_jaguar_xj6.htm

This is another drive.com.au article, reviewing the later XJ40-XJ6 model (which replaced the series III around 1988), but the note on the end is interesting, on how the series III is seen as the ‘true classic’! http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=36612&vf=18

Late series III’s are the most desirable of all the Jaguar XJ6’s due to the excellent relative economy (by this time the engine was electronic fuel injection and unleaded from the factory), features, and build quality. The late series III’s were being made after John Egan had taken control of the company and sorted out all the quality issues that were endemic through Jag’s made under the British Leyland years. The late series III’s represent the peak of Jag build quality. They are getting harder to find in this condition, unmodified and with everything complete, …and in the form of the top of the line Sovereign model!

This Car’s History & background info

The car was imported direct to Australia from new, and sold by Jaguar Australia (...its not a recent "rust bucket" import from the UK!)

The car is obviously now more than 20 years old, however its still feels really fresh. This is due in no small part to the car being subject to an extensive and extremely expensive ($20,000+) professional ‘nut & bolt’ restoration in 2005, before I bought the car in 2006. All the work was carried out by a classic car restoration garage in McLaren Vale, Adelaide (the previous owner of the car works at the garage).

I have owned the car for the last three and half  years. I now need to sell  in order to fund purchase of another classic (...an original VW Kombi to go travelling in!).

2005 Mechanical Rebuilt/Restoration

The focus of the restoration was the important stuff, rather than a cheap cosmetic make over. So pretty much everything mechanical was either replaced/reconditioned/rebuilt. The rationale for the owner at the time was to make the car 100% reliable and dependable, so that it could be used with confidence by very non-mechanically minded pensioner relatives. As such it drives like a dream, and probably unlike any other available today (if you’ve test driven other XJ’s come and try this one!) The work was extensive:

* Totally rebuilt front end - new bushes, balljoints, rack mounts, shocks
* Totally and expertly rebuilt head, fitted along with new studs, welsh plugs, etc
* Reconditioned transmission
* New driveline rubber
* Rebuilt rear hub assemblies
* New rear shock absorbers
* air con system overhaulled, new air con amplifier
* Injector lines and seals, water hoses, belts, etc.

Within the last few years prior to the rebuild, the following work has also been performed:
 
* Rear calipers rebuilt
* Rear discs replaced
* Rebuilt alternator
* New water pump and radiator
* New fuel pump and change over valve

The brakes in particular are amazing, and really add to the driving experience. Not the spongy vague braking you usually get on an old XJ! since I have owned the car the steering rack, and power steering pump & system have also been professionally stripped and reconditioned. I have also replaced the electric radio antenna, and fitted a brand new heavy duty battery. I have also had the starter motor dismantled and cleaned, and the car now starts first time every time.

The engine in the car is a replacement reconditioned unit (of exactly the same spec as the original - series III, 4.2 straight 6, unleaded, electronic fuel injection). The reconditioned engine installed was far superior to the old engine (which had major issues), and prior to fitting had the cylinder head removed and reconditioned, replaced all welsh plugs, head studs, etc, comment from the previous owner was that the recon engine "had fresh looking bores which still showed hone marks and no discernable wear lip" (but to be honest I have no idea what that means). In operation the engine is sweet, quiet, wonderfully smooth at all rpm, and responsive.

The engine has been serviced since then with the usual oil, filters & spark plug changes, etc, as part of normal servicing. The car does drip a little bit of oil from the bottom of the engine (...it is still a Jaguar after all), but nothing that’s ever given me cause for concern, no signs of any head gasket issues (all gaskets and seals were replaced in the engine rebuild, and there's no oil in the water or water in the oil), and it has always passed rego fine. Does not consume much oil, you just need to check the levels every couple of weeks. No coolant leaks, and the radiator is in very good shape (system was pressure tested at the recent service).

The transmission, rebuilt by Sovereign Auto Services, is a joy. The front end is free of any nasty knocks, rattles, or other such unpleasantness, as should be expected given the work undertaken.

No fluid leaks at all from the back of the car, diff, etc.

Originality

The car is complete and original throughout, right down to the lambs wool over rugs in the rear passenger foot wells (so often missing). It comes with very nice original ‘pepperpot’ alloys, sporting a set of quality bridgestone tyres with lots of tread remaining. The only exception to the originality throughout is the steering wheel. I’ve never been a fan of the ‘pencil thin’ Jaguar steering wheels of the time, so had a gorgeous, fairly expensive and very tasteful 1980’s period Ital Voltante steering wheel fitted instead, just after buying the car. It features a very tactile deep varnished & polished solid wood rim, with hand stitched Italian camel leather in the centre, which all complements the Jag’s woodgrain trim colour tones perfectly. Also, its actually very much in keeping with the car, as of course the exterior of the series III was redesigned by legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, and the wheel is a 1980’s one, so matches the period of the car. The original steering wheel will be included in the sale, so if you want 100% originality you can always get this re-fitted.

Interior

Interior is original too - beautiful Navy Leather and rich woodgrain throughout. Its all original, and generally a lovely place to sit in a traffic jam! Carpet is excellent (mats perfect) as are door panels and related trim, including the lovely original uncracked dash top (dash top also has an quality aftermarket material cover to keep it in perfect order if the car is out in the sun). Headlining is new, and was fitted by a professional trimmer as part of the 2005 restoration.

There’s just a couple of minor flaws in the interior, i) the wood grain varnish has cracked just a little on the centre console and there’s a couple of scratches on the wood just around the switch for the reserve fuel tank (a french polisher could sort these out I am sure, if you are bothered by them, but they are really not that noticeable), and ii) the drivers seat ‘pinches’ a little (support in the centre of the back of the seat is not quite what it used to be). Again, this never bothered me as I’m not too broad so it gives a slightly snug ‘bucket’ feel for me, but you could easily get this fixed by an auto upholsterer (I think its just a matter of replacing the rubber membrane that generates the support). The Leather is all excellent, with no tears, holes or deep cracks, etc.

The car has aircon, and it works wonderfully well, nice and cold!

Bodywork The colour is Tudor White, which looks fantastic on a series III Sovereign, especially with the chrome trim and pepperpot alloys. Paintwork is generally fantastic and gleaming, with the exception of some parts of the finish at the front - little bit of old overspray on the fronts of the wings from stone chip repairs, and there are surface imperfections/blemishes on the bonnet that show up in low or artifical light. They don't really show up when the car's out in the sunshine (as you can see on the pics), but you do notice them when you park up in the garage. These have never really bothered me, however this part of the car is certainly not up to the standard of the rest of the paintwork, and will be an annoyance if you're after perfection. Recommend that you factor this into your bid price, based on whether you want to get them fixed or not. I took the car to some reputable repair shops (NRMA/AAMI approved type places) and they recommended it would be better to respray the bonnet rather than trying to fix its surface imperfections (estimates for respray were in range $600 - $750). Most of the people who have seen the car said they would want to get this sorted to 'complete' the car. I can say that if this was sorted, the car would be simply stunning in every regard. Best bet is to come and have a look for yourself before bidding.

Panel fit is excellent (only exception being the bonnet is a little too high at the hinge on the drivers side - this can be easily adjusted). No signs whatsoever of any accident damage in its life, everything very straight and original. There is also one very small car park ding near the middle of the drivers door, but that’s really about it.

A common and serious problem on XJ’s is severe rusting around the windscreen where water can collect. This was a problem for this car, but as part of the 2005 restoration the windscreen was removed and all rusted metal cut out and professionally replaced at huge cost with all new metal – no ‘filler paste’ bodge ups here. There is no rust anywhere on the car as far as I can tell. The chrome work is superb, as you can see in the photos. Very little fade/hazing, no rust at all, and all the chrome trim parts are complete with nothing missing.

Electrics

Electrics are excellent, have never given any trouble - lights, indicators, horn, electric windows, wipers, electric mirrors, and the sunroof (which by the way does not leak one drop of water), radio and the oh so quaint 80’s trip computer(!) all work perfectly. The only niggle here is that the central locking does not always work. When its working the mechanism operates fine, and is nice & smooth, so I think it could be a poor earth connection (?) Its normally just me in the car, so have not investigated further.

Driving/On the Road

On the road the car drives beautifully. Very quiet inside, smooth, surprisingly nimble (the ride really is sublime thanks to the rebuild) and so easy with all that torque from the big engine. There’s no nasty bangs, rattles, crunches, etc. The only thing to note here is a slight sort of slow ‘tock-tock’ sound if you accelerate hard. The garage that I go to says they can’t find anything wrong (replaced a suspect cracked engine mount, and tightenned the stabaliser bars, but can't identify any further potential causes), and it doesn’t appear to affect the drive or performance in any way, so I have not worried about it, especially as I never drive the car hard anyway. Anyway, mentioning it here for completeness.

Other points

Tool kit, jack, and spare wheel included in the sale.

The car has just been serviced just 2000 km’s ago, and has NSW rego through to April 2010, so there's really nothing to spend (save getting the bonnet paintwork fixed).

The car was located in South Australia when I bought it in 2006, so required a thorough “blue slip” inspection in order to get a NSW registration. It passed with flying colours, needing nothing more than a bulb and windscreen wiper blade to be replaced. The blue slip is a pretty tough test (way way tougher than a pink slip), so this should provide some reassurance as to the condition and integrity of the car.

The car has been very reliable, only had trouble starting on one occasion (which led to new battery and getting the starter motor cleaned/rebuilt as described above).

Revs check is clean. Viewing and/or Mechanical inspections welcome and recommended. There's also quite a lot of documentation/history/invoices, and the original Jaguar Mastercare wallet with original drivers handbook and Australian supplement, and various other bits & bobs (e.g. electrical data charts).

I have only used the car for weekends, so added very few k’s since I bought it. It never goes out in the rain, and is always garaged.

Currently has slightly cheeky ‘XJ65OV’ private registration, this comes with the car - this carries an annual fee (of about $90 I think) to the RTA for the right to use, or of course you can just get the RTA to give you a free ‘normal’ number when you register the transfer of ownership.

I have done my best to describe the car as best I can, and be as detailed as possible. I am a Jag lover, but not a mechanic, and I can get a bit carried away with the love for this wonderful car! So I strongly recommend coming to take a look for yourself if you are serious about bidding, then you can form your own opinion. For the one or two people who have come to see the car and made comment, I have tried to incorporate and update the description here to be as accurate as possible.

Any questions please ask, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

There is NO reserve on the auction, as I only have a few of weeks before I head off travelling, ...it has to go, and I am now resigned to it going for probably nowhere near what I believe its really worth. It is however advertised elsewhere, and if I do get a fair offer I will end the auction early. If however, I don't, then the car will go to the winning bidder!

If you’ve always fancied something more than a bit special, in amazing condition where it counts, and not impossible to live with, now’s your chance!

Payment details, etc

You can pay by either paypal, electronic funds transfer, bank deposit or cash on collection.

Australian bidders only please, unless you can convince me you are very serious about buying and shipping overseas (please email me). Interstate welcome, but remember that you will have to either collect or arrange for interstate transportation (happy to help with pick up arrangements at this end, and I can be flexible on exact day/time of pickup up to around November 23rd). If pick up is going to be later than November 23rd, I can arrange to leave the car in a friend's garage for your collection.

Can I please ask that the winning bidder contacts me within 2 days of the auction closing, and makes full payment within 5 days of the auction closing.

Please also email me if you want to bid, but have a rating of less than 5, and/or a positive feedback percentage of less than 95%, otherwise I reserve the right to cancel your bid.

Finally as always, please please please remember that you are bidding to buy, not to look/negotiate/change your mind later/have a think about it/pull out when the wife hears about your crazy plan...!, this has happened to me once once already, I just don't have any time left for a repeat performance.

As I say, to make sure you know what you are buying, nothing beats a bit of research and then coming and having a look for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.

Good luck and thanks for looking!

Happy bidding :-)

Alistair