Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[47p2]

Mine is doing fine, not spent a penny on it apart from petrol road tax and cheap insurance
_________________
ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Rick]

Hi 47P2,

This year we joined the X308 clan too.

I spotted this 1998 on ebay with a buy-it-now that was, for the car, ridiculously cheap, ie comparable price-wise to say to an 8-10 year old Ford Focus.

Coupled with the fact that mainstream fully comp insurance is less than £200 pa, and that it'll be used as my second car on high days and holidays only so fuel costs aren't an issue, there didn't seem to be any reason not to. Being a one-owner (retired gent) low-mileage car, with FSH and in my favourite spec, also helped.

As a precaution I had the problematic original timing chain tensioners replaced (the factory items are plastic and can fall to pieces after time), along with new chains and guides. The other weak points, namely the water pump and thermostat, were also replaced while the front of the engine was in pieces. Fresh antifreeze and oil completed the work.

It's great to have a big cat once more. For a near-16yr old car it drives brilliantly, a reflection on the money-no-object approach that its former owner lavished upon the car.





Faults? the driver's seat bolster on one side needs repair - not uncommon - and the built-in factory sat nav screen is u/s.

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[kevin2306]

love that rick!
ive just been promoted to construction director, so i have everything crossed that a big cat is on my company car list

kev

[Rick]

[47p2]

That looks great Rick, what is the mileage on it? mine's at around 58500 miles. The fuel consumption on mine when I visit my daughter in the highlands (A82 not a good road for economy) is around 32mpg, so not as thirsty as the Range Rover, but driving around the doors it slumps to around 20-22mpg
_________________
ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Rick]

Hi 47P2,

It has 53,600 miles on it, one previous well-healed owner.

Pootling about, the instantaneous mpg readout suggests mid/late teens, about what I expected. I've not measured any distance readings, I filled it up in London and it was still showing between 1/2 and 3/4 when we got to here, so like yours on a run it's pretty good, especially as we weren't always cruising along at 55.



It'd be a thirsty old girl to run every day, but for occasional use it's not really an issue. Plus with so many being broken for parts, s/h parts are cheap as chips in the main. The previous owner spent a lot on it, until recently with Jaguar main dealers - £5.5k on a front suspension rebuild two years ago, for example...

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[47p2]

Brought the Jaguar out of hibernation yesterday, the last journey it did was last September and its been sitting on top of the ramp since then. Half a turn of the starter motor and it burst into life so this morning it went for its annual MOT and passed and is now ready to do another 1000 miles this year. Checked the OBC and it tells me its averaging 26mpg so not too bad considering it's a big heavy car. On a run up to my daughter's at Roy Bridge, via Glen Coe I've seen the fuel consumption reach the dizzy heights of 32mpg.

Repairs for the first year of ownership...Nil
_________________
ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Rick]

Good stuff, I've got a coolant leak somewhere on mine. I think it's coming from one or two rubber pipes that some genius decided to install beneath the supercharger, quite a common problem by all accounts. The joys

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[47p2]

The only repair I've had was a very small pinprick hole in the oil cooler under the front bumper. I removed the bar behind the front numberplate to allow access without having to dismantle any oily parts. I then cleaned away the crud from the pipe and applied some Q-Bond and the leak is gone. That is the total extent of repairs to date which makes this the least expensive car I have owned for a long time
_________________
ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[ukdave2002]

So gents, is it a classic? will folk be restoring them in 20 years time? they look to have all the ingredients of a classic imho ...could the X308 be the first classic that's potentially younger than the Forum

Dave

[47p2]

I think they're going to be around for a long time yet Dave. They do have their faults, but generally a good car and reliable enough to use without worrying that it will break. Prices have been coming down for a year or two are low at the moment so a good time to buy... Oh and not forgetting classic insurance so yes they could well qualify for the youngest forum classic
_________________
ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Rick]

[ukdave2002]

[Rick]

Well, the Jaguar is back on song and watertight again now.

I found a good independent Jaguar place not too far from here, so booked it in to have the coolant pipe(s) replaced as necessary. In all three pipes were either leaking or on their way out, and to get at them the s/c and a lot of gubbins in the "V" of the engine had to be removed, so a big job but one common on the s/c V8s after a few years.

They gave it an inspection while they were at it, and could only fault it on the wiper blade beginning to split at one end, so that's quite reassuring.

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[Rick]

The MOT was successfully negotiated today, the first it's had since I bought it. Hopefully it'll get a bit more use now that the weather's improving a bit.

All I need to do now is find a way of keeping the neighbour's &*^%$! cat from coming over and walking all over it with grubby paws

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop