Jaguar XJS Sports

Some people say that beauty only fades with time but I don't think they have ever heard or even seen the Jaguar XJS,  It was built as a replacement model to the already aging Jaguar E-Type which was in production from early 1961 to late 1975. The Jaguar E-Type was a huge success as it looks were simply amazing and the selling price was still within reach to the mass market. Not many cars enjoy a 14 year production run and is considered one of the best sports car of the 1960`s. Now back to the Jaguar XJS, The car was based on the same platform as the Jaguar XJ saloon something like how the latest Proton Saga is based on the Proton Savvy. The XJS was the first attempt for the British to enter into the powerful V12 market. When we hear the word V12 engine we often think of makes like Ferrari and Lamborghini but in 1977 a Jaguar became a V12 as well. Imagine driving a Perdana V6 but now you have double the cylinders and another 3400cc of power under the hood and to make things better your top speed is  229km per hour and you are back in 1977 when most people drove Beetle`s and Mini`s.

I have driven many classic and exotic cars in my time and to be honest the Jaguar XJS has one of the worst turning circles and a ridiculously long rear trunk which makes reverse parking a nightmare and there were no reverse cameras or sensors to help you back in the day .On another thought the Lamborghini Countach which was the most popular and successful Lamborghini in history needed the driver to open the door and look behind when the car needed to be reversed, So I forgive the XJS as with great beauty there is great responsibility. Thanks to our tax system owning a high capacity classic car is something like buying a packet of rice for RM15 but having to pay RM25 for the plastic bag. The Jaguar XJS that I have at the moment is a 5.3 V12 H.E which stands for High Efficiency, Don`t even for a moment think that it can compete with today`s Toyota Prius  fuel consumption. The roadtax for a 5.3cc car in Malaysia is RM12,475.50 annually so in 1996 the 1st owner who is Royalty decided to downgrade the roadtax to around RM2050 annually so he could sell the car to an average Joe like myself who can afford to keep the car on the road. Now what engine around 3000cc(which is needed to pull the heavy body)and would feel more lively then the original V12 while being reliable too ?. The answer was simple, The Jaguar looks great and a Toyota is reliable. So my Jaguar runs today on a 7M GTE Toyota Supra Turbo engine. 

Being a person who wants looks but also needs practicality this car was the best compromise between both worlds. Jaguar Enthusiast will condemn any classic Jag running on a Japanese engine but I`m not a Jaguar enthusiast and my heart still sings BMW. See Jaguar`s were never popular when it came down to reliability and maintenance as parts were expensive and it broke down pretty easily. I have not seen as yet anyone driving a classic Jag daily to work and back and most original Jag`s sadly only come out on Saturday nights or Sunday afternoon`s for a leisure drive.The  Jaguar I have goes to KL during peak hours and also poses in Changkat during the weekends, Its like having a hot girlfriend which cooks and cleans as well. The Toyota turbo engine also produces 232bhp which leaves most boy racer cars still at the traffic lights.The best thing about this car is that you will never know its a convert till you open the hood. The interior is stock standard and all the original meters and switches work. This is a car that looks fast even in the parking lot.

Suspension setup for the XJS is more on the softer side and the original 15 inch wheels does not do justice for a car with was meant to tour the highways and feel stable at high speeds . So since its already a convert changing the standard 15 inch wheels to a set of 19 inch Breyton GTP's was not a hard decision. After the wheels were changed the classic tourer became a Lowrider(Like something from Pimp my Ride..) 

And this car was born..... The sheer size and design makes the Batmobile look like its poorer cousin.....

Will update soon when the car is transformed further........

Part 2 Mercedes W123 Coupe....

Well the seller`s location was quite close to ours and we managed to set-up an appointment within half an hour from the discovery of the Gem. I have personally seen a so many Mercedes Benz W123 on sale in the past but a 2 Door Coupe was something I really wanted to get my hands on. We met at A&W Petaling Jaya and the first sight of her was simply breathtaking. Who would have thought frame-less doors on such a sedan like body could look so good ,Every time I pulled opened the doors it was like seeing Julia Roberts transformation from slutty street girl to elegant sophisticated lady in Pretty Woman. The interior was not in top notch condition but her sexy black leather looked so typical classic Mercedes. Below the interior,

     

Now it was time for the first test drive, Being a Mercedes made her easy to operate unlike some other classics made before 1985, She had power assisted steering, automatic transmission and no nonsense 2.8cc in-line 6 cylinder engine. The test drive went well as expected from such a bullet proof model, This car was so well built that you could not break anything even if you wanted too.There were no loose panels and all the electronic worked  including the sunroof. The price was discussed and we came to a settlement. We were so keen on the car that we took her back on the same day.

Restoration step 1 was changing the sad undernourished metallic silver paintwork to a more bold metallic Mocha Brown seen it the first batch of the Proton Waja CPS. Rust was not an issue with the car but we did find a very bad repair job on the rear quarter panel which needed a whole panel replacement.Stripping her down for her new coat,

Putting on the Anti-rust coating gave us another idea of how we could still retain a two tone exterior, so now the lower body will be metallic Mocha and the roof will be painted Sapphire Black.

Now was time to paint,

The first view on the paint on the car,

And the completed Baby,

I lost most of the pictures on work done to the interior and engine when my computer decided to clash. The work done on the engine was a full engine service , New plugs , ATF oil replacement and of course a new Air-cond compressor which cost a bomb. The front signals were changed from the standard amber type to a more modern white type. Interior was cleaned up and the door panel leather was replaced.Once all were done the car was put up on the market to find a new home.The new owner is a  Mercedes benz collector and I believe she is now parked at his garage with other classics like the ever famous Mercedes Benz SL. She is now only driven once a month to golf course.What a way to retire from being a daily driven workhorse.

Before

After

The End. Next week will be the BMW E36 328i Cabriolet restoration.Till next week, Take care and god bless.

The 1982 Mercedes 280CE W123C....

Every once in a while we come across something which is truly rare and easy on the eyes,It was about 2 years ago. I remember sitting in-front of my computer on a Friday evening chatting with my now Ex-Girlfriend about some stuff, about some other stuff to do with ladies shoes or something like that. I was quite bored out of my mind and thought of kicking myself in the nuts so I clicked and opened another internet browser and was kind of two timing her in the conversation. While surfing threw some classic car websites and some online shoe shopping sites, I suddenly stumbled upon a 1982 Mercedes Benz W123C for sale. I told her something came up and discontinued the conversation(Just hit me.. Maybe that's why she became an Ex..). Anyways the car looked a bit aged and had weird 2 tone paint job.I picked up my mobile and quickly dialed the sellers number, A elderly Chinese guy picked up the phone and told me the magical words... CAR STILL AVAILABLE AND HIGHLY NEGOTIABLE... I quickly woke up my brother who was suffering from a hangover  because of the night before and went on to see the car.

The first view.

           
To be continued next week......

And the Beetle`s Story continues.....

After an intoxicated weekend full of drama its kind of hard to get back to the usual routine,But we all know that we just have to suck it up and move on with our lives.Now back to the fun side of life, the 1967 Volkswagen Beetle. I left you all last week with the body work primed and ready for paint. Choosing the body color for the Beetle seemed more difficult then expected, We were planing on spraying all the chrome bits Black as Re-chroming them would cost a hand and a leg in KL. Suddenly all at once it hit us, someone uttered the word Captain Purple and the color Metallic Midnight Purple was chosen.Below are the pictures of how our color was messed up and finally sorted out by our trusted mechanic who forgot that I mentioned the word METALLIC !... 
 

And finally .... Metallic....

And with a cool car we all need a cool Air - cond right !

Never forget to sort out the cars wiring when you are restoring an old classic.
Below are the new wiring (Some wires have been painted black thanks to my mechanic which forgot to anti-rust the hood but started fitting back some of  the new wiring.)

And our lovely Beetle was ready for a new home.She now had 4 new tires,refurbished brakes, new wiring harness, A complete new Air-conditioning system and a fresh coat of paint not to forget a fully anti-rusted body. She still needed new interior upholstery and some minor cosmetics to make her perfect but we rather the new owner sort those things out to his or her taste.We were happy that the Beetle was given a new lease on life, rather then being left to Rust in Peace. Once we were done totaling up the cost the Beetle was put up on the market for sale and the phones rang off the hook.

Both parties were happy that day  our lovely Beetle switched hands as the new buyer got a bargain and we managed to put some money back in our pockets.

From This.....

To This.....

 

The End

..... Next Project seen will be the Ultra rare 1982 Mercedes Benz 280CE W123c Coupe restoration.... 

Change of style.....Now with pictures and Video !

This section was supposed to be about the great BMW E28, But over the weekend I received so much feedback about my new Blog that i`m gonna be changing the style a little bit.Everyone wanted to see pictures!!!,I too like pictures as its saves a moment in time.Getting on with matters, This blog is gonna display pictures of cars which has been restored and the whole process documented down for your viewing pleasure.

The hardest project so far done by us was surprisingly not a BMW but a 1967 1.3cc Volkswagen Beetle, I say hardest because the condition was so bad that this Beetle looked more like a fish pond on wheels rather then a car.This 1967 fish pond only cost us RM350 to purchase( RM350 bucks!!!the same price as a bottle of  Whiskey in a club... and you cant drive a Whiskey! ).Now the full story.....The Owner had abandon this lovely Sky blue beetle at one of the workshops we usually frequent. I called her a fish pond because all I could see in the abandon Beetle was water,algae and rust which look like sea coral (Even the steering wheel was missing!).She had been sitting motionless since year 2004. And now car porn of her on the first day of her journey,

I knew the day when we brought her back she wanted to live again, Her 4 tires were pumped up with air and to our surprise they did not leak(been flat for about 4 years). Towing charges was more then 50% of the cars purchase price but it was necessary as imagine starting the car in the above picture.Everyone including my mechanic thought this car should be junked rather then restored. But My brother and I are rather darn stubborn and as usual we wanted to give it a shot because nothing ventured is nothing gained. So first thing at the workshop was to check if she could start or was her engine a gone case. First we removed the fuel line from the tank to the carburetor and redirected the fuel line to a water bottle filled up with some fresh fuel, reason being that the original fuel tank was so badly rusted on the inside that even if she did start up the rust from the tank would have got sucked up into the engine and the engine would have eventually stalled. Next step to was to get a new battery and check if the starter would crank. Please view the YouTube video link below as nothing I type can give you same feeling I had when we started her for the first time.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW4AWUc4Z2I


She sounded awesome and her heart did not skip a beat,I mean she did not misfire. The guy in the video is my trusted mechanic and not my brother or myself.

Now since she could start we needed to sort out her brakes,bodywork,suspension and of course get her a  new steering wheel. Below are pictures of her deprived rusty bodywork,

And below how her interior looked once the water in the cabin was cleared out......Still missing a steering.

Every car can be restored into 2 categories, Completely restored to mint original factory condition or restored according to our personal ideas and of course BUDGET. So beetle lovers I`m sorry but being a budget concern freak I choose the second option. So a budget was set and the work began almost immediately.

The new steering wheel below was a 1992 Mexico type beetle steering wheel because the original 1967 type steering wheel cost around RM700 and we were trying to keep within the budget.

Next was to overhaul the entire brake system and replace all 4 brake shoes. The job was pretty simple and only cost a couple of hundred bucks.Below picture is the old brake shoes.

 

And now the first step in addressing the bodywork , We had a Mongolian worker fabricating the entire floorboard and it took him almost a week to complete the job. We did not buy a new replacement floorboard as it cost more and we wanted to test this guys talent on a so called un-salvageable classic.Pictures of the entire process below,

The outer body panels were later removed and prepared to be anti-rusted and primed.We were quite glad that most of the body rust were only surface rust and no holes were present on the main body. 

To be continued next week ..... Hope you all like it better this way... Less technical stuff but more pictures....still open for ideas and input...... cheers