To misquote Steven king -
"Christine, blood red, fat and faded, was thirty-six. Her promise lay all in her past. Greedy and big, she was Phil's obsession, a '75 Jaguar Coupe. Broken down but not finshed. There was a power in her - A frightening power that leaked like sump oil, staining and corrupting. A malign power that corroded the mind and turned ownership into Possession"
Surfing around the internet while bored at work (don't tell anyone..), I often end up on the Ovalchat banger racing website. Sometimes there's interesting stuff for sale and about two weeks ago a really poorly Coupe cropped up. It was dark red, had a vinyl roof and was described as reasonably solid and for sale.
I've had my share of Jags, and got my fingers burnt with a Mk2 not long ago but the itch was still there to own another. Quick negotions with my brother and we were off to Crewe the next day to go see the Jaguar.
It turned out to be a disaster. The car was sat outside with a massive crease in the roof either side where it had been lifted, the boot was staved in and even in the pouring rain, the bodywork didn't look that good. We made our excuses and left. This one was not to be.
Or was it?
I had a really grumpy mood on for the next couple of days and I couldn't get the fat red Jag out of my head. I mean, I've driven worse than that. I could fix it. It could really be something...
"Come on big guy, lets cruise"
The last thing I did before going to Le Mans a week ago was ring the guy again about the Coupe. I asked him if he could deliver it - he could. I asked him to be careful and he assured me he would. I went away on my holiday knowing that the day after I got back the Coupe would be mine.
Fast forward to Tuesday evening, and I'm sat outside a lock up garage with a wad of cash, and watching my brother walking like a pensioner after hurting his back. Both of us waiting for a low loader with an XJ6C on the back.
It arrived... and I'll let the pictures do the talking.
I've called her Christine, like in the book. Okay, so its not a Plymouth Fury, but she's red, in a bad way, got a busted windcreen, and is way past her best. I intend to put a 4.2 on Triple SU's, and a 4 speed manual/overdrive gearbox in there which should wake her up nicely.
First job on the list is to clear the junk out and strip the vinyl roof back to see just how bad things are.
Keep watching, 'cos things are going to get messy!
"Christine, blood red, fat and faded, was thirty-six. Her promise lay all in her past. Greedy and big, she was Phil's obsession, a '75 Jaguar Coupe. Broken down but not finshed. There was a power in her - A frightening power that leaked like sump oil, staining and corrupting. A malign power that corroded the mind and turned ownership into Possession"
Surfing around the internet while bored at work (don't tell anyone..), I often end up on the Ovalchat banger racing website. Sometimes there's interesting stuff for sale and about two weeks ago a really poorly Coupe cropped up. It was dark red, had a vinyl roof and was described as reasonably solid and for sale.
I've had my share of Jags, and got my fingers burnt with a Mk2 not long ago but the itch was still there to own another. Quick negotions with my brother and we were off to Crewe the next day to go see the Jaguar.
It turned out to be a disaster. The car was sat outside with a massive crease in the roof either side where it had been lifted, the boot was staved in and even in the pouring rain, the bodywork didn't look that good. We made our excuses and left. This one was not to be.
Or was it?
I had a really grumpy mood on for the next couple of days and I couldn't get the fat red Jag out of my head. I mean, I've driven worse than that. I could fix it. It could really be something...
"Come on big guy, lets cruise"
The last thing I did before going to Le Mans a week ago was ring the guy again about the Coupe. I asked him if he could deliver it - he could. I asked him to be careful and he assured me he would. I went away on my holiday knowing that the day after I got back the Coupe would be mine.
Fast forward to Tuesday evening, and I'm sat outside a lock up garage with a wad of cash, and watching my brother walking like a pensioner after hurting his back. Both of us waiting for a low loader with an XJ6C on the back.
It arrived... and I'll let the pictures do the talking.
I've called her Christine, like in the book. Okay, so its not a Plymouth Fury, but she's red, in a bad way, got a busted windcreen, and is way past her best. I intend to put a 4.2 on Triple SU's, and a 4 speed manual/overdrive gearbox in there which should wake her up nicely.
First job on the list is to clear the junk out and strip the vinyl roof back to see just how bad things are.
Keep watching, 'cos things are going to get messy!