dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Good to see this is still about! The dechromed look was one very much associated with Arden back when the XJ40 was new. With 330bhp, it was one of the fastest saloons of the '80s.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Oct 19, 2016 22:09:41 GMT
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I am a bit late to this - but good luck with the Golf, I like the colour of it.
Just agreeing that the X300 has a good overall reputation, its predecessor the XJ40 was pants.
I don't agree with this - most of the weak areas of the XJ40 are shared by the X300 and a great many of the body parts and mechanical components are interchangeable between the XJ40 and x300 - though the part numbers can sometimes differ. The late XJ40 is very similar underneath to the X300.
Both the XJ40 and X300 are very robust cars mechanically; both can suffer considerable problems with rust.
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Last Edit: Oct 19, 2016 22:19:52 GMT by dbdb
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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What a great car!
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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May 22, 2016 20:38:13 GMT
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A week in, I still can't get the smile off my face. This is what it's all about. I recently scratched my Jag itch after wanting one since I was a kid. After a sad change of circumstances (being widowed) last year, I decided that life is just too damn short, so after a lot of research and looking I treated myself to this: I know it isn't the coolest one, and it's a straight 6, not a V. But oh my, Keithyboy you say it perfectly - "I still can't get the smile off my face." The XJ40 is one of my favourite Jaguars - so is definitely one of the coolest to me! The straight six in them is one of the best engines Jaguar ever made - indeed it is one of the strongest engines in any car.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Still completely down.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Feb 18, 2016 23:33:59 GMT
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A lovely old thing!
My dad had a 2.8 Ghia in the same crystal green, but with brown velour back in 81/82. His would have been the same age as this one. I have fond memories of it. he replaced it with an E28 BMW 5 series. That was faster, but performance apart, I preferred the Granada.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Feb 13, 2016 11:29:16 GMT
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To my eyes, the Rover P6 3500 is one of those cars that almost always looks better standard, or close to standard.
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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Feb 13, 2016 11:25:16 GMT
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The Granada was a superb car - my dad had a crystal green 2.8 Ghia with brown velour in the early 1980s. I'm a big fan of the Jaguar XJ Series I and II - but also of the XJ40:
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Feb 13, 2016 11:11:47 GMT
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Feb 13, 2016 10:52:37 GMT
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I voted for the 15" Cookie cutters - they're a fantastic looking wheel. I like the Porsche Teledials - but for me they are a wheel which looks much better on the 928 and don't really suit the 944.
The Cookie cutters are wheels of great individuality - another reason to fit them since they are much more unusual looking than of Azevs or BBS Cross spokes.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Jan 12, 2016 22:40:31 GMT
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Astonishing condition - it really shows its tiny mileage.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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I have owned my Jag for donkey's years; I have never been bored with it and have never wanted to change it. I'm lucky that one of my favourite cars is so cheap, really.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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I saw this fella on an Ebay ad for an XJ6:
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Dec 29, 2015 23:53:39 GMT
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Superb stuff! You couldn't wish for a better owner for this rare car.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Personally, I think it probably is Retro. Any car whose 'styling language' differs substantially from anything available new through age is retro in my eyes.
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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Nov 19, 2015 11:48:29 GMT
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The reason the 911 has lasted so well is that there is nothing quite like it; they bridge the gap between full-on sports/supercar and the luxury cruiser with big performance. They're nothing like so compromised as a small Ferrari, but are sportier than an XJ-S/big Mercedes coupe, or the Bitter above.
The 911, at least in my lifetime (I am in my forties) has always been a very expensive car. It would be a rare buyer indeed who would consider them against a Capri or Datsun 240Z. Either were less than half the price and considered to be nowhere near as capable. Both of these cars had a big following then and now, but they were positioned in a different place in the market.
Looking at a 1979 Autocar, the cheapest 911 was £16,109 - and would generally be a lot more than this when optioned-up to a 'sensible' level of equipment.
To put that into the context of the UK market in '79, a Cortina 2.0GL was only £4,831 and a BMW 316 was £5,100 (the 323i was a fairly rare beast!).
Other, more mass-market sports cars of the time:
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV - £6,526 BMW 323i - £7,550 Datsun 280ZX - £8,682 Fiat X1/9 - £5,323 Ford RS2000 - £4,762 Ford Capri 3.0S - £5,574 Lancia Beta 2000 Coupe - £6,789 Opel Manta Berlinetta - £5,661 MG BGT - £5,533 Morgan Plus 8 - £8,191 Reliant Scimitar GTE - £9,343 SAAB 99 Turbo - £7,750 Toyota Celica 2000GT - £5,768 Triumph TR7 - £5,533 TVR 3000M - £7,995 TVR Taimar - £8,984 VW Scirocco GLi - £6,304
I don't think any of the cars above would have been considered a 911 rival.
Even at 911 money (the range rane from the 911SC at £16,109 to the Turbo at £27,950) there was no direct competitior, since the other cars were so different.
At similar money to the 911 were:
BMW 635csi - £18,740, but more of a GT car
de Tomaso Pantera GTS - £21,285. A thunderous supercar; wonderful, but would you take it to the shops so succesfully?
Ferrari 308GT4 - £17,543 - shares the practicality of 4 seats and in some ways closest to the 911 in concept, but still not concieved as your day-to-day car. The running costs were frightening if you did!
Ferrari 308 GTB - £18,379 - A 2 seater, but again practical for a Ferrari. Drainingly expensive to run as your only car.
Maserati Merak SS £18,096 - As above!!
Jaguar XJ-S - £19,187 - A tremendously fast car for the time, but very much a GT car.
Mercedes Benz 450SL - £17,820 - exceedingly stylish, but its handling and performance made it very much a cruiser, albeit a wonderful one.
Above these in price were the true supercars: Aston Martin V8 at £28,749 (Vantage £30,878); Maserati Khamsin £28,031; Ferrari 512BB £33,031 - which was the price of a 4 bedroomed detached house in most of the country then.
Moving forward in time, a 911 owner may have considered the Audi quattro. Early UK cars were LHD only; the 1981 price for the quattro was £15,037 - by then the 911SC was priced at £16,732.
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Last Edit: Nov 19, 2015 11:57:43 GMT by dbdb
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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Oct 20, 2015 10:11:00 GMT
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When you are choosing the body shop, have a good long look at cars they have repaired there. Look at the quality of their work - at the paint match, the degree of orange peel (or rather lack of it - and also look at the paint from an oblique angle to see if you can spot waves in the paint. Resprayed paint is often wavy like this if the car has not been prepared and sprayed just-so. Basically, can you see their repairs.
Some back street garages are excellent - but some are rubbish. Likewise, some of the glitzy places can be poor too. The good glitzy places are likely to be expensive. You could however be lucky and find a good value back street garage that does excellent work. Even if a place comes recommended to you, still check its work carefully. People can have significantly different notions of what constitutes a good job - you may not agree with them!
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Sept 25, 2015 10:13:32 GMT
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Magnificent.
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dbdb
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Posts: 821
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Sept 25, 2015 10:10:47 GMT
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This really is in very good condition for its age. Thankfully, it has been bought by someone who values it.
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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Sept 21, 2015 10:10:45 GMT
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The oldest XJ40s are currently 29 - so not too long off. 1986 XJ40s are rare, but there are still plenty of 1987 and 1988 XJ40s about.
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