Reciprocating Mass

I just watched Season 6, Episode 2 of Top Gear where James May buys an XJS for one of their challenges.

In spite of the problems he had with it (which were supposedly cured by £370 of engine work) I still want one.

A close second place for me would be a Volvo 1800 but those would seem to be much harder to find.

Ok. I'll support your decision to look for an 1800. I have NEVER seen one in person, but from what I know they are pretty neat.

$18,000

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=32342212&listingRecNum=1&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId%3D20044%26stkTyp%3DU%26kwm%3DANY%26rd%3D100000%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-kw%26zc%3D46237%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-0-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26kw%3D1800%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26alMkId%3D20044%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=39737848&listingRecNum=2&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId%3D20044%26stkTyp%3DU%26kwm%3DANY%26rd%3D100000%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-kw%26zc%3D46237%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-0-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26kw%3D1800%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26alMkId%3D20044%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2010 11:18AM by El Jeffe.

If you have read up on the greatness of Lucas Electronics and still think you are man enough for the task, so be it. And then there is all of the fun and interesting parts that you can't find anywhere. In fact, you shouldn't spend your time trying to find old XJs online. You should spend that time getting to know your local Jaguar mechanic, because you'll putting his kid in braces/through college.

Cloudscout, start with looking at buyers guides; http://www.jagracing.co.uk/GENERAL/XJS%20buying%20guide.htm

http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/cars-jaguarxjsconvertible-buyersguide.asp

http://nwarner.worldonline.co.uk/jagbuy.htm

There's enough information in there to put off anybody but the most die hard Jag fan (with a sheer unlimited amount of cash, time or both).

I would definitely follow Bill's suggestion and go for a small block Chevy engine and transmission conversion.

I'm trying to think of any other vehicles that might satisfy my irrationality.

You already have the Miata, but have you considered the mother of them all, the Alfa Spider?

As unreliable as the Jag, but much simpler and possibly cheaper to fix.

Okay, I've decided I will wait until at least next year. I already had plans for modifications to the Miata and it seems like the best course of action is to wait until I finish those modifications (new intake, supercharger, new wheels, new suspension and some cosmetic changes) before I tackle an aged Jag.

I suppose the Volvos just rotted apart. I thought about one a decade ago when they were only 5 or 6k but my mechanic said "sometimes you need a real engine." He was Swedish.

Re: the landmaster, yes, i remember it parked on Cahuenga. I loved seeing it.

yeah, the landmaster! used to ride my bike by it all the time... there were some other "logan's run" (the tv series... how geeky am I?) cars there, too. was sad to see that the prop shop had gone away last time I was in LA.

ddt

:(

Paul Newman, just ridiculously cool:

http://jalopnik.com/5540957/the-ford+powered-volvo-wagon-paul-newman-built

oh, like "paul newman" didn't already == "ridiculously cool"

now we need to see steve mcqueen's forumla 1-powered chevy caprice.

ddt

How many megafonzies would that rate?

Yesterday I scored this 1992 200TE with only 160K kms on it. I'm so incredibly happy with this car, it's impossible for me not to grin when I'm driving it.





Maintained with a toothbrush by an old man who was basically pushed into selling it by his son. I promised I'd take good care of it, or he wouldn't let go of it ;-)

My wife and I would have loved to find something like that s we both have an affection for wagons, instead she fell in love with a CPO R350. I traded in my very "well loved" 2001 Bravada and am now driving her hand-me down MDX. The R350 is very technically competent but has the soul of a minivan. The Honda/Acura Nav and all electronics really shame the Mercedes stuff in terms of ease-of-use too, she has had to call me several time to walk her through backing out of a menu or something whereas in her Acura everything was really much more straightforward...

German electronics don't stand out for their user friendliness, neither Italian electronics (when they work). I still haven't figured out the trip computer in the Alfa and frankly, I can't be bothered.

That's the biggest advantage of cars from the late 80s and early 90s; no electronics. At least, no abundance of electronics that only can go wrong at some point in a not so distant future. Who, with a right mind, would put a regular desktop or server computer through the stuff they have to go to when they're in a car? Minus 20 C, then 4 weeks of 95% humidity and a month later plus 40C in the sun. That's not even counting the miles and miles of bad road making even solid state disks lose their parts at some point.

Yet, people are still surprised when one of these €1500 black boxes crap out and the only remedy to get the car going again is to outright replace them. It's a real pity, but IMHO cars sold these days will not make it past 8-10 years. They're done after that time.

The R series, I had to look it up on Wikipedia as I had completely forgotten about it. I remember seeing one or two in the past few years, but Mercedes is not able to sell them over here. They are trying again though.

traction control?
limited slip differential?
My M-B did NOT have either, and scared the crap out of us on slick roads too many times.

You're right Bill. The reason I got this car is because I have fond memories of this particular type. When I started working, the local Apple Centre had a white 250TD with huge Apple logos on the side. I got to take it home every couple of weeks. But I clearly remember the day that I spun around on an icy road one morning, I was lucky it was very quiet on that road.

Smart Panzer.

Heh, funny.

Fiat introduced a very innovative engine yesterday; a 2 cylinder turbo of 900 cc delivering the performance of a 1.4 litre while using much less fuel; http://green.autoblog.com/2010/07/09/fiat-debuts-two-cylinder-85-hp-twinair-engine-in-fiat-500/

Volkswagen has had a 1.4 litre engine for a while now that performs as a 2 litre and I heard rumors that Mercedes Benz is experimenting with 1.4 litre engines in the S-Class, although I cannot see them selling a single car with that engine.