1989 Jaguar XJ-S V12 Convertible
A car from a Scottish collection, recommissioned over the winter. Twenty-nine photographs, fourteen service stamps and a complete record of the work carried out.
Status
Sold
The car
The XJ-S arrived in 1975 with the unenviable job of replacing the E-Type. It was a different proposition entirely, a grand tourer rather than a sports car, and it took the best part of a decade for the world to warm to it. Twenty-one years of production and a following that has only grown suggest it got there in the end. The V12 convertible, introduced late in the car’s life, is the version most people picture when they picture an XJ-S at all.
This one came out of a private collection in Scotland, where it had been kept in dry storage. It had been resprayed roughly five years earlier in its original light blue metallic, and carried a handful of period sympathetic changes: US-specification quad headlights, a TWR Jaguar Sport steering wheel and a modern retro style stereo behind the original fascia.
What we did
The car ran, but it had been standing. The work was recommissioning rather than restoration. The object was a car you could get in and drive properly, not a concours entry. Most of the effort went into the fuel and induction side, which is where a V12 that has sat tends to punish you.
The file
The car came with its owner’s handbook, stamped service book, V5C, historic MOT certificates and invoices for the work carried out. Fourteen stamps run from Jaguar Cardiff in 1989 through to Hatfields Jaguar in 2020, an unusually complete record for a car of this age.
Where it went
Sold to a private buyer who wanted exactly what it is: a fair weather V12 cruiser with a thick history file behind it.
Work carried out
All invoiced and included in the history file.
- Top end engine refresh
- Cam cover gasket set replaced
- Inlet manifold and intake gaskets replaced
- All twelve fuel injectors professionally cleaned
- Idle control valve rebuilt with stainless steel internals
- New spark plugs throughout
- Fuel pump, fuel filter and fuel tank sender unit replaced
- Fuel return and breather hoses replaced
- Fuel filler neck and gaiter replaced
- Corroded electrical connections cleaned back and remade throughout
- Dashboard illumination fully refurbished
- Rear brakes refurbished and handbrake overhauled
- New battery
- Emblems and badges renewed
Service history
14 stamps recorded in the service book.
| Date | Mileage | By |
|---|---|---|
| 07/2020 | 67,841 | Hatfields Jaguar |
| 04/2004 | 58,847 | Goldings Garage |
| 01/2003 | 58,175 | Goldings Garage |
| 01/2002 | 56,055 | Goldings Garage |
| 01/2001 | 54,022 | Jaguar Marshall of Cambridge |
| 01/2000 | 53,113 | Jaguar Marshall of Cambridge |
| 01/1999 | 50,265 | Jaguar Marshall of Cambridge |
| 12/1996 | 44,795 | R. G. Tebby Car Sales |
| 01/1995 | 39,960 | R. G. Tebby Car Sales |
| 11/1993 | 31,698 | R. G. Tebby Car Sales |
| 03/1992 | 23,152 | R. G. Tebby Car Sales |
| 10/1991 | 14,173 | R. G. Tebby Car Sales |
| 03/1991 | 10,617 | Jaguar Cardiff |
| 05/1989 | 1,031 | Jaguar Cardiff |
Paperwork
- Owner's handbook
- Stamped service book
- V5C registration document
- Invoices for work carried out
- Historic MOT certificates
- Alarm user guide
Photography
29 photographs
Click any frame to enlarge
Register interest
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