Detroit Rock City

So that's one more trip under the old XJ's belt. We drove up to Detroit, Michigan for the 2010 International Auto Show and the Jag continues to perform flawlessly. Prior to the trip, I had to do away with the 64 calorie patch, as it had given all it could give and I luckily found a Euro y-pipe at Worldpac for 50 bob. Faithful Charlie and myself set about R&R'ing the pipe on Friday evening and after about two hours of air hammering and cussing, got the pipe fitted to the car. Ok, so a couple of Yuengling cans did find their way onto the rear section of exhaust, but hey, the car now sounds more like a proper Jag. Well, I can at least hear myself think, and carry on somewhat of a civilized conversation when we're underway...

Next came the obligatory topping-off of the car's vital fluids, which in this case meant 1.5 quarts of Castrol GTX 10W-40 (not bad given I'd driven the car 1,500 miles since the last oil change, averaging 80mph on the interstate, give or take), and also a topping off of the washer fluid and we were set to go.

One of the photos in this post shows the odometer reading 122K miles. That equates to 6K miles since acquisition, and still more proof that with just basic attention, a Jaguar XJ6 can be a pretty good mileage-maker. And of course, the car does it in such comfort that it's hard to believe the design [of the Series III] is now 30 years old.

Finally, the second purpose of the Detroit trip was a 30 minute detour to Bloomfield Hills to check out a Bentley Mulsanne S, which I've been trying to view in person forever. The car was about what I expected of a daily-driven specimen, and the price was right, so an email to the seller confirmed purchase. But no, don't expect to see more of that car on this blog. We're dedicating this bandwidth to s/n 426288! Besides, I'd surely be crucified if a beer can found its way onto a Bentley exhaust, although fortunately, the boys at Crewe decided to fit stainless steel systems from the factory....perhaps to ensure a 64 calorie patch would never happen on one of their steeds.

Powr-Lok = Northeast Ohio in winter....bring it on!

So we're back in Cincinnati after a one-day whirlwind +/- 500 mile trip to Cleveland and back to check out a 560SL which turned out to be a real rat. Anyhow, needless to say, the car ran flawlessly the entire trip and I even got to experience the joys of having a limited slip differential in about 8" of packed snow on the ground in Cleveland. The Jag took it all with aplomb, and to think I was worried about the car's ability in foul weather. Bah! I'm sure the practically brand new tires on the car didn't hurt matters any, but my faith is solidified in a Series III's capability to slog through the worst of winter weather.

As for the exhaust, my bodge is definitely on its last legs, so a new (yes, new) cat-less y-pipe has been sourced for the princely sum of $45.00 from Worldpac and I'm either going to bite the bullet and replace the mufflers and axle pipes with new stuff, unless David Boger of Everyday XJ comes up trumps with solid used pieces. Funny thing is that when you're underway at 70-75mph, the car is not intrusively loud as it is when at idle or accelerating from a standstill. Hmmm, maybe I just need to make only highway trips in the old girl. Anyhow, we're at 5,000 miles since purchase and the total invested sum is just a hair over a grand at this point. Can't say I could be much happier and in fact, quite amazed at the fact that a Jaguar of all things, could turn out to be the cheapest-per-mile car I've yet to own.

Only one little scare occurred during the trip and that was when I was plowing down my parents' 1/4 mile long, snow-covered driveway, the battery light began to glow and I watched the volts drop on the ammeter. I assume I must have lodged some snow up in the alternator momentarily, but a few minutes of idling the car when I reached the house had all back to normal again. I still love this car.

I need 'Everyday XJ' for my every day XJ

Well, the 64 calorie patch has lasted remarkably well for the past couple of weeks, but I sense it's not long for the world, as after a few [thankfully] light scrapes on high parking lot ingress/egress ramps, I think I've battered the poor old bit of aluminum from Milwaukee for all it can take, as the car is starting to sound evermore louder.

A quick call to David Boger of Everyday XJ, a Series III breaker, scored a complete used exhaust system and as a bonus, the downpipe and y-pipe are of the Euro (read: cat-less) variety! I'm off to Cleveland tomorrow morning to inspect a car I'm thinking of buying, so the bodged exhaust will have to last for a few more days and approximately 500 more miles before I can get the old girl back on the lift for the exhaust R&R. Oh, and I should mention; any grammatical errors in this post are courtesy of my now semi-fried brain thanks to the beer can's inability to contain exhaust fumes too well.

2010 resolution; no more leaks

On the last day of 2009, the Jag's sump was patched, and so far on the third day of 2010, we're leak free. Man, that kind of sounded "Old Testament". But hey, if God could drive, he'd drive a Series III XJ6, right?

So the only ongoing niggle with the car is a cranky cold start (pun intended!). I initially thought the fuel system was bleeding down at a certain temp, and perhaps it is.....I've not looked into it in depth yet, but whatever the ills are, at ambient overnight temps of 20dF, the car is reluctant to fire quickly in the morning. Obviously, the engine cranks over slower, which is definitely audible- and I don't know if it's a contributor to the problem, but my trick of putting the car in D and holding the key in the start position for 10 seconds or so doesn't seem to have any discernible effect at uber-cold temps, so back to the drawing board with this one...