Stovebolt.com Forums The Back Office The Greasy Spoon 70 XKE Evaluation

My uncles Jag finally got into the que and evaluated. It was worse than I had hoped for, but that is the way these things work.

1. Engine is stuck. They are trying to free it up, but they are expecting too much damage is done in the bores. It has sat since 1985.
2. Trans and rear end is a open/inspect/seal. No reason to think anything is bad in there.
3. Complete brake job
4. There is typical rust and rot for these British cars, but it is not horrible. Either way it needs to be cut out and replaced.
5. If my uncle chooses to not pull the body and save everything but the lower 12" of the body it will be in the 125k range.
6. If he chooses to pull it rotisserie it, he is looking at the 200K range.
7. The good is that this place does everything in house. The guy who owns it races these Jags and personally does the engines. The bad is that it comes at a cost.
8. If he were to sell the car right now he would get around 35K for it.

I have been advising him and being an extra set of ears. We have visited many shops and this one seems to have everything he is looking for.
I know that what ever he wants to do now and in the future will on get more expensive so the time to do it is now so he will not have the car down in the future while they dive into it again and again.

Here is the link to the pics if anyone is interested in seeing a jag that has sit in a garage for 37 years. CLICK HERE [photos.app.goo.gl]

Wow! Not trying to rain on his parade. The body work cost seems excessive. Just some basic math and if the shop is charging $100/hr that is 1,250 hours. Maybe it will take that many hours. I see the Motortrend shows like Iron Resurrection where they completely tear a car down, replace all the mechanicals, electric, interior and body work and sell the car for just over $100K. I understand parts for a Jaguar will be more expensive but body work is body work. What difference does it make if it is a Jaguar or a 1972 Chevelle? I have always loved that era Jaguar but maybe I have been lucky I have not had the opportunity to acquire one as a project.

Seem overpriced to me also.

I agree completely. I would think a whole new car could be had for the 100k mark. Problem is he wants a place that specializes in Jag's to do the work. I have a friend who has done three over the course of 30 years in his body shop. No one will give him a better price than he will, but Ed wants everything to be done under one roof. Soooooo, this is the best I could find for him.

It seems when the values of these cars started to climb quickly, so did the cost to restore them. And did I mention he has a unhealthy attachment to this car?

I can understand his attachment to the car. I’ve always lusted after one but my size prohibited me from pursuing it. I would think pulling some tried and true tricks to get the engine fired up and the brakes functioning properly so that he could drive the car for awhile would seem prudent. After a few months of driving he could then make the decision to sell or restore. Sometimes the decision is easy and sometimes hard but knowing that you made the right decision for the car makes the effort worthwhile.

I fell in love with Jags back in 1969 when I had a 1960 MGA but I was wise enough not to go for it. Later I read that a front suspension overhaul would be over $20000.00 I am not much help but that is how I ride. I have a friend that had two of them and they were a money pit.

Jag, Jay leno. [youtu.be]

I lost out on two E-Types- - - -a 63 that was sitting beside a tractor shop in backwoods Kentucky with the cylinder head off for $300.00, and a 67 in semi-restored shape, running and driving with a new clutch, top, and upholstery, for $3500.00. I was a homeless Viet Nam vet and more or less living from hand to mouth when the 63 got sold, a few days before I could scrape up the cash, and my wife had tried to surprise me with the 67- - - -it got sold the day before her application for a loan from her credit union got approved! The rust on the one in your pictures is typical of several I've inspected for potential buyers in the past few years. Jags have all sorts of nooks and crannies for the rust gremlins to hide!
Jerry

Web old,

That's a nice find for Leno. Out in CA it stays nice and dry. I doubt the engine will free up and run well for any length of time.

My Uncles was in humidity. The design of the unibody traps moisture and does not let it out till it rusts out.

Will be talking to him over the weekend and see what he wants to do.

I was lucky with my '62 XKE. Found it while I was a meter reader for the gas company back in 75?. It was under an open sided carport covered in a Lot of dust. The used car dealer owner had paid a local shop to do a back lot restoration a few years prior and his daughter used it as her college car. It looked good from 10 feet, but don't take it to a real Jag show and expect any awards. When the generator failed and it died on the side of the road that was the final straw. It hadn't been cranked in 3 years when I paid $2k for it. A fresh battery and 5 gallons of gas plus an hour's work was all it took to drive it home. The local old school shop rebuilt the generator for like $15 and all was good.

One bit of good advice an older friend gave me after I had decided I shouldn't be driving it much (a lady pulled out in front of me and I almost t-boned her big car with the Jag). "It's better to wear em out than have em rust out". I've pretty much honored that advice for the past 50 years. I know there are reasons the white Jag sat so long, just a shame it couldn't have been enjoyed all those years.

In my opinion, if the shop is respected in the purified air of the Jaguar snob world, and if the car is complete and totally and truly original, then it's worth the price to have the work done. Assuming it's all quality work. If any of the qualifiers just mentioned do not apply, then I'd spend $100k and buy a super nice road ready Type I car and enjoy it. When the XKE first appeared in 1961, Enzo Ferrari called it "the most beautiful car in the world". I think that opinion still stands today.

Best of Luck to the Uncle.

RonR