My $3,500 Jaguar - The 'Mad Jag'

[Blmpkn]

Europeans selling their vehicles here is a poor attempt at getting back at us for realizing they suck and creating our own superior country

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Europeans selling their vehicles here is a poor attempt at getting back at us for realizing they suck and creating our own superior country

They say the same stuff about our stuff...

 

[Blmpkn]

They say the same stuff about our stuff...

If "Karen" was a country. She'd be the UK.

They're just jealous we don't get taxed to death and can do way more fun crap.

 

[ryan]

If "Karen" was a country. She'd be the UK.

They're just jealous we don't get taxed to death and can do way more fun crap.

their malaise era was even worse than ours

 

[ryan]

Wow - that's the first manual transmission Range Rover that I've seen. I drove a 5 speed Discovery years ago, but even that was rare. Very cool find!

That's how they get you, makes you think it'll be reliable because it's a manual.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I've been casually eyeing the mid to late 2000s mercedes sedans

Nice! My buddy has one as a beater, drives full throttle over speed bumps and dips, you hardly feel em. They are bomb proof. My mom has one too, again I cant believe the neglect and abuse those cars can take. These are C 300 or whatever series had the pair of big and little raised round headlights.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Id repower it. Wonder if a viper V-10 would fit? Or just put the whole body on a 93 series F-150 chassis. Heck make it a diesel!, or go with a electric powertrain.

Engine swapping the v8 jags is common. I think its the 5.0 or 4.6 Ford that most easily drops in. Pretty sure its the 5.0.

 

[Jim Oaks]

 

[Ranger850]

Nice! My buddy has one as a beater, drives full throttle over speed bumps and dips, you hardly feel em. They are bomb proof. My mom has one too, again I cant believe the neglect and abuse those cars can take. These are C 300 or whatever series had the pair of big and little raised round headlights.

Just remember, Jag, BMW, and Mercedes, are only special over here. Across the pond, they are as common as Chevy Caprice's and Ford Crown Vics are here.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Some Updates:

Carpet:

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I cleaned the carpet and then sprayed it with black Dupli-Color vinyl & fabric paint. Here's some pics of it during the process. I unbolted the seats but didn't completely remove them because I didn't want to risk damaging the electrical plugs underneath them. I covered the seats and the center console with trash bags to protect them from overspray. It actually came out looking really good. I need to post some completed pics of it. It looks better in person than it does in photos. It definitely looks like a new car with the black carpet. I need to add some black carpet floor mats. The nice thing about the black is that it makes it so much easier to find floor mats. It's pretty difficult to find floor mats to match the original carpet color.

I also painted the plastic trim pieces that make contact with the carpet with some black Krylon Fusion paint.

Rear Console Outlets:

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I removed the rear outlets (cigarette jacks) and replaced them with USB 3.0 quick charge ports. This makes it way easier for passengers to charge their devices.

Ash Tray:

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I removed the ashtray and ashtray holder. I replaced the outlet with another USB 3.0 quick charger. I also added (4) toggle switches where the ashtray use to sit. The outlet and switches are hidden when the lid is closed.

Underdash Tray:

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There's a cover under the passenger side of the dash that looks pretty rough and droops down. I wanted to mount a few things under there, so I cut a wood panel to fit and then mounted some outlets, a fuse box, and another electronic box to it.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Lighting:

I replaced all of the interior lighting with Sylvania LED bulbs. There's 15 of them. I could have bought my girlfriend a nice piece of jewelry with what I paid in LED bulbs.

The side marker lights weren't working. When I removed them I found that the light sockets were rusty. Weird considering the car is rust free.

I couldn't find any new replacement Jaguar XJ8 parts to fix it.

Doing some research I found that Audi and VW used the same light socket Part# 1H0949111 and harness connector Part# D067B.

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The front marker light housings were damaged from age and the heat of the bulbs.

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I replaced one with a NOS one, and the other one I found on ebay.

I replaced the bulbs with LED bulbs so they won't succumb to anymore damage from the bulb heat.

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I even cleaned up the light covers for the license plate light and replaced them with LED bulbs.

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[Jim Oaks]

A strange thing happened today...

I was working on the interior of the car all day and decide to start it. It cranked but wouldn't fire. WTF! This car is frustrating me.

I scanned the codes to see it there was anything new. Just the same three codes. Cleared the codes. Every time I clear the codes they come back right away.

I decided to put the battery charger on thinking it was probably getting low from cranking and not starting. I noticed the negative (-) terminal on the battery had a little gray corrosion on it, so I pulled the cable and cleaned it and the battery post with sandpaper. Then hooked the battery charger up and charged the battery.

I hooked the battery cables back up before I quit for the night so I'd be able to open the trunk in the morning. After hooking it up I decided to see if the car would start. The car started up and ran without giving me a check engine light, or 'Restricted Performance' message. I little run for a little while thinking that the codes would re-appear.

Weird.

Could it be that the bad connection / bad ground for the fuel pump was the battery connection itself?

We'll see.

 

[ford4wd08]

A strange thing happened today...

I was working on the interior of the car all day and decide to start it. It cranked but wouldn't fire. WTF! This car is frustrating me.

I scanned the codes to see it there was anything new. Just the same three codes. Cleared the codes. Every time I clear the codes they come back right away.

I decided to put the battery charger on thinking it was probably getting low from cranking and not starting. I noticed the negative (-) terminal on the battery had a little gray corrosion on it, so I pulled the cable and cleaned it and the battery post with sandpaper. Then hooked the battery charger up and charged the battery.

I hooked the battery cables back up before I quit for the night so I'd be able to open the trunk in the morning. After hooking it up I decided to see if the car would start. The car started up and ran without giving me a check engine light, or 'Restricted Performance' message. I little run for a little while thinking that the codes would re-appear.

Weird.

Could it be that the bad connection / bad ground for the fuel pump was the battery connection itself?

We'll see.

I hope for your sake it was a simple corroded ground.

I've seen cars do crazy things when batteries get low. All these electronics needs a good battery or good connections to run them.

 

[Jim Oaks]

This car has a pretty big battery in it. I need to check the date and see how old it is.

 

[rumblecloud]

@JimOaks: Just curious...

Did your GF know the depth of your insanity when she agreed to hang out with you?

Like..."Hey hon, I'm gonna vacuum out the interior a little...."