Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Changing the 12 spark plugs in my XJS, Act Two.

It's a tight fit.

This is my working space, It's kind of tight but I can't complain. I'm just glad to have my car in the garage. Those white drawers, the two roll aways, and my roll-about work table let me make the most of the space. I'm very happy to have my XJS warm and dry inside. That's where a collector car should live. Right now my '96 Mustang is sleeping right beside it. After the Tahoe trip I took the Mustang out of the rotation for a couple of weeks. The XJ6 has been my daily for a while, it's going into the garage soon. It's important to keep all the cars "exercised" so that problems that can evolve from disuse don't occur.

Nut, bolt, hose and wire soup!

I was careful to label each wire, hose, and plug lead with blue tape. There is a lot of them. This is important because the next step is to remove the "Gorgon's head." That's a good name for the 12 lead distributor cap. I'll bet many a mechanic has turned to stone when they first confront it!

The extra long pliers made it easy to remove the plug caps.

Avert your eyes! Luckily I had those long pliers to make removing the plug leads easier. Another Harbor Freight purchase.

First I vacuumed up all the big chunks.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, or something like that. I decided that it would be  good idea to vacuum out the motor valley. It wasn't that dirty, but I wouldn't want any dirt or stray particles falling into an open spark plug hole. A little shop vac comes in handy.

Having a full size air compressor comes in pretty handy also.

A full size air compressor can be helpful addition in any garage. I have some air powered tools but I rarely use them. I mostly use the air to inflate tires and clean things.

This compressed air gun is quite handy.

This is what I used to clean around the plug bases. Don't forget to wear eye protection!

After blowing the area with compressed air.

Typical plug seat area looks pretty good. Actually, the valley looked pretty clean without a build up of leaked oil. The wiring loom looked to be in good shape also. It looked as thought it might have been replaced recently, before my purchase. Still some of the wires are pretty crispy. Everything under the hood is exposed to a lot of heat. I wonder why Jaguar didn't incorporate some "baffled" louvers into the hood design. My old 280 ZX had a functional set, for the identical reason.

Kroil is supposed to be the nest penetrating fluid there is.

I thought that it would be a good idea to spray some penetrating fluid around the plug base, just in case they were a little stubborn.  Kroil is supposed to be the best, that can cost me 20.00.

There's a pool of penetrating oil around the base of the plug.

Two bolts support the back of the a/c compressor.

You might be amazed to know that there are a few spark plugs on the V12 that are easy to access. Well, after you remove the cruise control servo. These are the A 3 and 4 plugs and their corresponding B side counterparts. There are two plugs located directly under the a/c compressor. Some guys have good luck removing them without moving the compressor. They will modify a plug socket by shortening the skirt and drilling a bigger hole on the top to allow the top of the plug to stick in deeper. Then they turn it with an open end wrench.

There are two more bolts holding the front on.

I found it easier to block the compressor up to remove the two front spark plugs. There are four bolts holding the compressor to it's mount. First you'll have to loosen air pump mount to loosen the belt. Then you can slip it off the a/c pulley. I propped up the compressor with a couple of pieces of 2X4.

No, it's not the Titanic tilting down before it sinking below the waves.
It just feels that way.

Black and sooty, why am I not surprised?

I expected the plugs to be fouled and they were. I also am hoping that replacing them with new ones will cure my problems. Hope springs eternal.

This episode was an investment of four hours and forty five minutes.

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How did I ever grow to love-- a four door?

 Grace, Space, and Pace. On the Road at Depoe Bay Oregon.
photos of my actual XJ6.

I have been a car guy since I was a little kid. The Jaguar E-Type, then known as the XKE, and the Corvette Stingray were two of the significant cars introduced during my childhood. I learned about other European sports cars but I never had any real contact with them. My favorite cars were the two door variants of standard American Cars. Actually, my favorites were two door versions of the big luxury cars. Usually Cadillacs. Can you say, Coupe De Ville?

At this time, four door cars, especially posted sedans, were considered to be fuddy duddy old man cars. A young guy usually only drove these things when they were family hand me downs. Once they saved up enough money they would buy a more appropriate vehicle.

There was a good reason for this.

Four door sedans were the cheapest and least glamorous models offered. They had the most basic specifications and fewest options. The power train choices were usually the least powerful.

Coupes offered snazzy interiors, with bucket seats, consoles, and hard top body styles.

Coupes and two doors usually have  swoopier roof lines and cozier interiors. Perfect for a single person or young couple. They don't have to be practical and carry a bunch of kids and their baggage.

There were a few four doors that caught my eye, however.  My Dad had a '63 Continental sedan. This was a close coupled, somewhat sporty sedan that was actually a personal car. It also had what we then called "suicide doors." Now these are referred to as "coach doors." Very cool!

I got to drive my Dad's car quite a bit.
It was special. This not my Father's Lincoln, his was powder blue.

I had a few Coupe de Villes and a few hardtop Sedan de Villes. The sedans were bought because they were the best example and the best buy that I found at the time. Hardtop sedans are pretty darn cool though. Nothing like rolling through town with all four windows cranked down.

As the 1970's rolled around certain European manufacturers began producing high performance vehicles based upon their sedan models. While they were still producing small two seat roadsters and GT cars, those suffered a bit in real world practicality.

Jaguar debuted their iconic XJ6 model for 1968. It was the perfect combination of beauty, style, performance and luxury. And prestige, lots of it! BMW developed their 5 series and Mercedes lent a lot of cachet to their smaller sedans.

The first Eurosedan that really caught my eye was the BMW Bavaria,

The Audi Fox also was a sporty lower priced alternative.

But it was always the XJ6 that stayed in the back of my mind.

That driver's seat is extremely comfortable and supportive.

After I bought my XJS I realized that it was going to be a long range project. I started looking for a Jaguar that I could actually drive. After some on line research I decided that an X300 series XJ6 would be the best choice.

I found a car that was in good shape and had been owned by a mechanic. I picked it up in L.A. and drove it back home. The car ran great and it was a great bonding experience. Once I got it home I drove it everywhere, all the time. I drove it up to Oregon and Washington State on my Summer vacation. I decided that I would just drive the heck out of it and let the chips fall where they might.

The long wheelbase version has limo like back seats.

Luckily they never did.  I discovered that I had a beautiful car that was a pleasure to drive. It was so comfortable and such an incredible road car. Plenty of room for passengers and cargo,

But best of all It made a every trip a special event. It made me feel special just because I owned it.

The instrument panel has my favorite gauge layout.
My current odometer read is over 158,000 miles.

The X300 Jaguar XJ6 from 1995 to 1977 is considered the most reliable and trouble free older Jaguar, and it has started to enter collectible status.

I've found that this car delivers on so many levels.The performance is more than acceptable. The fuel economy is not bad either, at 25 mpg. I just like being in the car enjoying the interior ambiance while driving it. I don't find myself missing driving a coupe or convertible.

Jaguar really got it right.

Luckily, I found a car in very good shape cosmetically. A Jaguar has to be like a cherished heirloom. Preserved and treasured. Then it is something that really provokes a pride in ownership. I really like this car a lot. It's very possible that I could do without an XJS or even an XK. Or even that old Mark VII I have stashed in the side yard.