Dream cars

I've always wanted an old Packard. this Super 8 from 1938, would be nice,

Brad Little said:

I've always wanted an old Packard. this Super 8 from 1938, would be nice,

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'54 Packard Panther:

Guildedagain said:

When not piloting that dream car, does this seem safe?

For your ears, and other bits of your anatomy?

And seagulls?

LOL

Flat water only please.

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This seat probably gets a little warm after a long high-speed run:

Not that dreamy, but necessary in these here parts....

"

Packard Motors gets ready to build its new ‘old’ cars to order"​

Packards are coming back

Not necessarily my dream car but one of my favorite cars. 2001 Jaguar XK8 Coupe

New to me as of Friday. In the shop for preventative new metal chain tensioners and upgraded water pump.

Been sitting 10 years, will replace all the hoses when it gets back to me.
Needs a serious scrubbing and polish. The picture of the convertible below is how the paint will look....if the sun ever shines again in Central NY

beecee said:

2001 Jaguar XK8 Coupe

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Nice! Normally aspirated or supercharged?

Plain Jane normally aspirated.

Less than 50,000 on it. Seller was told by some inexperienced shop it had a blown head gasket. It was actually one of the hoses that run under the intake. Not as big a job as you'd imagine.

I'm letting a shop in Rochester handle the replacement of the timing chain upper and lower tensioners....you need to remove the water pump so they're going to replace that while it's off. I could see bits of plastic in the expansion tank from the original impeller.

Ford did some amazing things for Jaguar but the plastic tensioners and impellers....along with Nikasil linings, (Porsche used it too), dinged their reliability rep. Which is good. Good for me!!

My 01 was $78,000 per the window sticker. I've had two, this is my third and I've never spent more than 8% of the MSRP. Ha...and they are great almost mechanically bulletproof with some PM and care. My 97 was stolen never to be seen again and the 2000 died a year after I sold it to some kid who drove drunk into a field and ripped the entire rear sub frame, tranny and oil pan from the car.

Can't blame Jaguar for that!!

Brad Little said:

I've always wanted an old Packard. this Super 8 from 1938, would be nice,

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Reminds me of FDR!

I liked the look of that model Jag too. I just figured the cost of maintenance and finding a place that could DO the maintenance would be more than the fun of the cart would be worth.

I would think the things you would need to check or replace on a " It's been sitting 10 years " Jag would be intimidating.

JohnW63 said:

I liked the look of that model Jag too. I just figured the cost of maintenance and finding a place that could DO the maintenance would be more than the fun of the cart would be worth.

I would think the things you would need to check or replace on a " It's been sitting 10 years " Jag would be intimidating.

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Well......it's just that thinking that makes these the bargains they are.

But yes, flush all the fluids, new belts, tires, install later year factory upgrades...tensioners, water pump. I'm doing all of the hoses...cheap insurance. The brakes, tranny and all electric...no longer Lucas...were fine. Florida car that came to NY in 2013 and was never driven! Undercarriage is clean, no body rot. This car is worth recommisioning. They made 1,700 of these in 2001. Less than half went to the U.S. as the coupes were more popular in Europe.

Yes you need to go in with your eyes open and know the issues to look for. And I did have trouble finding a tech/shop I liked since my former go to import shop....for thirty years...no longer does older English cars. Even most Jaguar dealers don't work on pre 2013 cars anymore. But I got lucky with a great group in Rochester, NY...only an hour or so away.

And....There are two things in their favor

Jaguarforums.com. The Lets Talk Guild of car forums. Incredibly helpful folks. Tons of info and tips. They have their version of a combo GAD/fixit for some very affordable upgraded custom parts. You can download Technical Service Bulletins, shop manual pdfs, etc.

Ford. Yup....the interchange for parts is something. A certain Jaguar part is identical to a Ford or Mazda part. Typially at a fraction of the cost. Same part number. Ford had close ties with Mazda for years...and Volvo but your best bet for interchange is Ford or Mazda.....same goes for the dolts who would ever buy a Rover....now THOSE are scary!!!

These cars have real wool carpets...Wilton of course, Connolly leather seating and more burled walnut than the Yale Club smoking lounge.....(I just made that last part up).


Not my car, but the same color hides.

I still think BMW had the best straight 6 ever developed but I'm a sucker for the 95-97 Jag XJ6 sedan and the XK8.

The Jag/Ford interface is most unholy, for me.

Guildedagain said:

The Jag/Ford interface is most unholy, for meA former colleague who was a car enthusiast and rebuilt some classic muscle cars, connected with some fellow enthusiasts on

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A former colleague who was a car enthusiast and rebuilt some classic muscle cars, connected with some fellow enthusiasts while in Germany for a wedding. He said the Germans mostly thought that Jaguar's quality control improved greatly under Ford.

Brad Little said:

He said the Germans mostly thought that Jaguar's quality control improved greatly under Ford.

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Baby steps.

Joe Lucas was also often jokingly referred to as the Prince of Darkness, due to the poor reliability of the Lucas electrical systems fitted to so many British cars and motorbikes!

"Well......it's just that thinking that makes these the bargains they are."

Yep. If you have the sources to find parts and do as much as you can in your own garage, and you know the car and what are the points to check for, you can have an awesome car for less than most could.

Speaking of the car forums... without the TriumphExp forum, I would have never gotten the GT6 together. Very active and mostly helpful members. If there is one for Jags, that must be a great resource.

I put so many great miles on a GT-6, the poor man's Jag...

Guildedagain said:

I put so many great miles on a GT-6, the poor man's Jag...

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I have an MG BGT. 1970 with the sunken grill. I call it the poor man's Aston Martin.

Not mine but identical.