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Jaguar XJ40-XJ6 (1992)
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I had the privilege of being one of the first journalists who could drive the XJ40 along the twisty roads around Dunkeld in 1986, when the XJ40 was introduced to the International Motoring Press. I tested the new Jaguar with unforgettable Masters (and close friends) Athos Evangelisti and Gino Rancati; we are portrayed here together in Dunkeld, waiting for our XJ40s to be delivered for the road test. These were real gentlemen: they don't make them like that anymore |
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 During the dinner, the affable Jim Randle was sitting with us (Evangelisti and Rancati were Very Important Journalists at the time, closely in touch with mr Egan as well) and it was a great dinner  This flask was Jaguar's commemorative present for the International Motoring Press during the XJ40 launch at the 'Stakis Dunkeld Hotel'. It is perhaps significant that this is one of the very few 'Press gifts' that I took great care to preserve during all these years, whilst I have lost/ misplaced/ given away so many others |
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I loved the XJ40 and kept on loving that series even if not all the reviews were so favourable. (To be honest, I kept on loving Jaguars even when they were bought by Ford and still love them, though I don't understand the new XJ.) Its 1st series was accused of not being very reliable, but once the original digital dashboard was changed to an analog display, it improved a lot and now enjoys a fairly good reputation |
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I wrote the road test and general review of the XJ40 for the 11/86 issue of AutoCapital, at the time unquestionably the most important Italian magazine for top-level and classic cars. If anyone is interested, I have scanned the article but its text is Italian-only. I wrote other road tests of the XJ40, for example a longer one for 'Le Grandi Automobili', but this is harder to scan |
The November 1986 issue of CAR, at the time undoubtedly the best car magazine in the UK, was largely dedicated to the new XJ40, and as you can imagine from the cover, the writers were really impressed |
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I found at last a nice, well-preserved XJ40 (XJ6) that apparently nobody wanted to buy for months. It is a tribute to Emilianauto's owner, Romano Bernardoni, that he didn't mercilessly dump the car in some scrapyard but decided to keep her for sale amongs dozens of other assorted cars waiting for the right guy who would pick her up. Well, I couldn't resist the timeless allure of this classic British saloon in Solent Blue (JFJ) with Magnolia (AEM) leather trim, still with its original paint and interior. Though I didn't really love its manual gearbox and it has ugly wheels, I needed to save her from the scrapyard; it is one of the first thousand 'second-series' XJ40, and delivered in December 1992. I think that this elegant Big Cat will find herself in good company in my garage with my Bristol 403 and 409, Morris MM Tourer etc |
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The VIN label (placed at the base of the B-pillar, L/H side, as shown in the pictures above) gives lots of information about your Jaguar. Type, model, gearbox, then body paint (JFJ=Solent Blue) and trim colour (AEM=Magnolia) and the date of manufacture (AG= January 1992) |
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Body number plate is attached in the rear body panel, normally hidden by the rear bumper. Here's '2R012089' for my 1992 XJ6 |
The engine number is stamped, old-style, on the front R/H side of the head (mine is 9EPCNA157234) |
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As usual, the driver's seat is the worst part of the whole car, not having correctly maintained during its 22 years of life. Carpets are wrong and will be replaced |
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The passenger's and the rear seats are nearly perfect, a bit soiled but apparently very rarely used. The gear lever gaiter is wrong as well |
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140,400 kms (88,000 miles) on the odometer, not much for a 22-years old classic saloon |
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 If you own a XJ40, you need to join the XJ40 Forum. It's lively, enthusiastic, full of knowledgeable XJ40 connoisseurs..... |
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Cleaning up |
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The engine bay, as found....complete, original, a bit dirty |
Cleaned up now, looking much better and still very original |
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Once removed for repainting, the discolored (matt whitish-grey) apron under the windscreen showed some dirt.... |
...now it has been cleaned, sanded, repainted |
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Looking for spares |
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I need a pair of decent rear light, these have deteriorated exactly as the rear red plastics did in my 1988 Porsche Carrera 4 |
A pair of red rear lights from a scrapped 1990 Daimler provided a nice upgrade. The chrome surrounds are real classy |
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Strangely, the tool kit tray was rusty in an otherwise very 'dry' trunk, so it has to be sanded and repainted |
I found a complete tool kit on eBay, in excellent condition, even those frail plastic hinges are intact (a rare find!) The only glitch is that the spark plugs wrench and the screwdriver are badly oxidized, but I can live with that |
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The rear bumper was damaged and we fixed it |
Also the gaiter was (temporarily) fixed |
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This chip in the headlamp surround was small but annoying |
I've found a much better one (thanks Naki...) |
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I want to get a pair of fog lights to use the central switch... |
...they must be fitted here, I guess |
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New carpets are needed, a specialist are making a set of new ones that will do until I find a set of NOS original ones |
When I acquired AY903PY, it had a nasty wheel/tires combination (steel rims, ugly trims, incorrect tire size, etc) so I bought a nearly perfect set of metric 'teardrops'. Too bad that Avon asks a boatload of money for a set of new 225/60 390 tires (Michelin and Dunlop have turned their backs to XJ40 owners...) because the style of these wheels is impeccable |
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There are a few 'scrappers' around here as well. This sad-looking XJ6 apparently has a 'AEM' interior, but the one part that I would need most, the driver's seat, is only marginally better than mine |
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The old battery was very tired and its compartment didn't look much better |
A new battery and some cosmetic refurbishment around it made a difference |
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The electric fan motor cap looked a bit rusty... |
...but it was easy to refurbish while I had the grille vane removed to fit the JDC badge |
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Fascinating interior lighting, at its best with this Magnolia/AEM interior |
The JDC badge has always been one of the best-looking in the classic-cars
world |
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First Results (15 August 2014) |
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After so much work, you deserve a good strong Martini. Cheers! |
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| Further progress (2 September 2014) | |
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Naki kindly sent me a set of 'Dimples' and I had them sanded and powder-coated. They look fine and I could at last fit a set of Pirelli P6000 in the right size for the Italian homologation, 225/55VR16. Red badges will be replaced with blue ones ASAP, of course |
I removed the huge 'leaper' fitted by a previous owner. It simply didn't look right; the smaller spring-loaded leaper is much better even if the XJ40 looks pretty nice with its hood 'clean' |
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Naki's eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Black-Cherry-Jaguar?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 |
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AY903PY begins to look quite tidy, though there are still several areas that I must work on |
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Water again at each sharp turn on the right. Marco Gordini removed the carpets (partly soaked) to check the drain tubes of the AC system. As rightfully predicted by several members of the XJ Forum, that annoying leak of clear water on both foot wells was due to the blockage of those tubes |
There is some light surface rust on the floor, but the situation is better than it looks in this picture. New tubes were fitted and the sloshing noise has disappeared. I dried carpets etc with a blower, then I hope that today there will be a really warm sunshine to let the XJ bake in the sun for some hours and dry up |
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Felix Meister guida la Jaguar XJ-R
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