1986 Jaguar XJS review from North America

Distributor advance frozen.

ECU was blown up by a shop using a high-rate battery charger.

Throttle position sensor worn out.

Radiator clogged.

Fan clutch worn out.

I wanted to do a restoration on a complex sports car... and I certainly got what I wanted with this one!

I was fortunate enough to discover Kirby Palm's "Experience in a Book" on the web which helped guide progress. The car was purchased on eBay from a dealership for $6000. The car ran, but not well. As it happens, virtually every one of these cars has a frozen advance mechanism, this one included. In order to make the car as reliable as a 20+ year old Jaguar can be made, I went through the entire fuel injection control system and replaced or rebuilt much of it. This was necessitated by the paint shop that killed my ECU with a quick charger. Fortunately, one can still obtain most parts from Jag outfits on the web.

I had a persistent erratic idle and acceleration problem that I ultimately traced to the throttle position sensor, which I rebuilt according to the discussion in Palm's book.

The cooling systems on these cars tend to get ignored and this has killed many of them. I replaced the radiator, fan clutch, thermostats and much of the rubber hose on the system and the car responded by running with temperatures at or below the "N" even in summer.

The restoration is complete for now. This car is wonderful to drive. It is very fast and very smooth. This car was touted as the fastest car in the world with an automatic transmission (a GM 400 at that!) at 157mph. I know this car will do 130 and then some. It is very stable at high speed and the brakes are adequate. The handling improved dramatically when I got rid of the Pirelli P4's and replaced them with H-rated Michelin's.

I agree with previous commentators who long for a fourth or fifth gear - I would even settle for an overdrive! The car is clearly limited in performance and fuel economy as a result of being shackled to the GM400.

This car is ideal for an enthusiast; it requires attention but is relatively easy to work on with the exception of replacing the spark plugs and wires... a hateful job!

Although the ~ 15mpg fuel consumption keeps me from driving the car more than about once a week, it s a delight to drive.