Something different

[Escape]

After being somewhat underwhelmed by my first short drive in an Evora, and unable to get a longer drive at the moment, I decided to try something different.
I found an older TVR 280S in need of some work for a very tempting price. Unfortunately the seller could not let me drive it, because of other cars in the way. By the time I got back for the promised test drive, somebody had already bought it...

So on with the search, and something different crossed my path. I was given the keys and permission to drive it as much as I want:

 

[Barrykearley]

You are dead to me.

[Escape]

2 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

You are dead to me.

Will you have me buried in a chicken shed then? 😁

[Barrykearley]

Don’t do it chap.... buy something decent like a robin reliant.

[C8RKH]

That's a decent looking Rang Rover there @Escape and the really good news is that they put a blue skip behind it for when you take off those useless, horrible, step bars etc.

[Dan E]

I had a Boxster when a mate of mine left me in charge of it for six months when he was working in Poland. I drove it twice and used my Mondeo Estate on every other occasion 

[Escape]

That is indeed a very nice Range Rover, a mate's toy. We replaced the standard 3.5 with a 4.6 V8 with a custom management system. The bars are not steps, but treesliders and very useful for protecting the bodywork when navigating narrow forest tracks, deep ruts or rocky passages. The car did 3 tours in Russia (Ladoga Trophy, hence the window sticker), 2 times as a support car and once tackling the special stages with me as codriver. Best holiday ever, despite getting soaked in swamp on a daily basis. 😎

[eeyoreish]

I’ll assume that the P38 RR is broken 🙄

[Escape]

Err, yes, I hate to admit... My own P38 workhorse is parked further in the back. This one had the gearbox fail on the way back from Sweden. After almost 250k miles the oilpump doesn't build enough pressure to engage the torque converter, it will get a well deserved rebuild. The BMW-engined L322 on the trailer has a lot less miles, but engine problems (as usual, those diseasels are nothing but trouble).

[eeyoreish]

I had a P38 (one of the last) but I’m over it now 😥

[Escape]

I think the Classic is a better looking car, especially the 3-door. But I do like driving a P38, much more so than later models that feel too detached. I'm on my 4th one now and busy rebuilding specifically for offroad and traveling (or so I've been claiming for about 2 years...).

[eeyoreish]

I know what you mean, I absolutely loved mine but it tested me constantly. 
 

Everything to a flat battery caused by the automatic barrier at work interfering with the central locking, through 2 head gaskets and finally a new engine when the liners finally dropped ☹️
 

So why do I still fancy another one???! 🙄

[Barrykearley]

For all the same reasons folks buy Esprits 😂

[eeyoreish]

And Jags. I’m a slow learner it turns out...

[Escape]

9 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

For all the same reasons folks buy Esprits 😂

You're absolutely right! Both my Esprits and Range Rovers have given me many many miles of great motoring for relatively few, easy and cheap repairs/maintenance. And a great community for all the technical help and friendly banter one can wish. Made some great friends over the years as well. I can't think of many alternatives that would give me the same experience.

Filip

[Barrykearley]

Just remember though @Escape the reason folks buy porsches 💦🍆💦

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

My mum bought a green 1989 Vogue V8 in the mid 1990s. She was an estate manager for a stately home so it was ideal in that country setting. I enjoyed driving it too. My god it was thirsty though. Extremely handsome car and never bettered by its successors from a design point of view.

I also did a sports car track day which included a then new Boxster 2.7 which looked like this one. It was a bit soft dynamically for my taste and not that fast.

[eeyoreish]

I'd love a Classic RR in my dream garage. The problem is, unless you spend big money, even the nice looking ones are rusty it seems. My P38 was a 4.6 but converted to LPG so at least I got the equivalent of 30mpg from it which made it 'usable'.

Anyway, that's enough talk about RRs, I'm starting to tremble a bit...

[Escape]

I guess it's time I fessed up.

First off, it's not a Boxster, it's a 996 convertible with tiptronic.

Secondly, you can all rest assured, I'm not straying from the straight and narrow, I really don't like it. 🙂
It's a customer's car I had in because it overheated. Found out the water pump had a broken shaft! and the cap was not holding pressure. We tested the coolant and found no traces of CO2, so hopefully the block survived the overheating.
I did drive it a couple of times, to burp the cooling system and get it up to temperature for further checks etc. It has a nice, torquey engine that allows a good pace, but that's about it. Sitting next to each other, it really has nothing on the Esprit! It all feels too artificially look-at-me expensive/fast, instead of just being focused on driving. Very disappointed by the rattles (mostly from the leaking hood, but still) and lack of ride comfort, certainly not an improvement over the 10 year older Esprit. And of course warning beeps and a needlessly complex alarm system. The tiptronic was surprisingly good if left alone, but annoyed me when shifting manually.

Picked up again yesterday, all's well that ends well. 🙂

Filip

[Escape]

I was browsing the ads yesterday evening (nothing on the telly, had already put in my time in the garden and in the workshop, what else is a man to do?) and came across an auction with 21min left for something that has been on my list for a long time. In fact, I had gone to see a similar car last Saturday and had liked it a lot, but was in serious doubt because of a few issues that turned up during the testdrive. The highest bid was ridiculously low, not even half of the bottom estimate. So I quickly made an account and put in a bid. Only to be informed the reserve was not met. I didn't want to go too crazy for a car I hadn't seen, so managed to restrain myself as the clock counted down. Not without effort I might add.  No other bids, auction closed and lot not sold as reserve not met.

10 seconds later my phone rings... A mate who wants to buy a holiday home and wanted me to help him finance it. Why not I thought, it's not like I'm buying cars, I let the St Tropez get away (see other thread) and now this, so a deal was quickly struck. When I turned my attention back to the screen, I noticed I had an email from the auction site. Not unexpectedly, they were offering me the car, even though my offer didn't meet the reserve. Hell yeah! 🙂

So now I'm the proud owner of 'Suzanna', a 1986 Jaguar XJ-SC V12. I've always wanted a Jaaag. And a V12. And a convertible for the summer. And all that at a price I'm guaranteed to get back. She even just passed MOT in January. Collection still needs to be arranged, hopefully this weekend so I can go out and enjoy the sun.

Something different, but still English. So much more class than the f(l)at beetle. 😎

 

[jep]

My brother has a V12 1985 XJ-S. Lovely induction roar and silent tail pipes. A beautiful driving machine, without doubt. 

Personally, I am not a Jag V12 fan. Amazing in the Le Mans cars with 700+bhp but the road cars are mostly sub-300 and use a lot of fuel. The later TWR inspired XJS are not a good drive. V12 can eat money, so I hope you have a good one. 

I went for the classic straight 6 in my 73 XJ - it has cost a small fortune also but I drive it hard and decided to rebuild it so it gave a genuine 240bhp, which from the factory I am told they never did. Mine is called Benson - the old smoker. We did near 19mpg on a tour to Naples, 3339 miles in 18 days. 120+mph on the 'bahns. Heaven. 

Enjoy Suzanna - I hope she is a winner and the lower BHP XJS are more satisfying than the R versions. The dials are worth the admission price alone. Kent alloys and lose the chrome 'lips' would set it up perfectly. 

Justin 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

My dad bought a silver 1984 V12 HE coupe in the early 1990s. He also had a matching silver 1972 E-Type V12 coupe, which he had bought in 1988, as well as a blue 1964 S-Type saloon 3.8 manual.

He was supposed to use the S-Type for our wedding car, but it wouldn’t start on the Big Day, so he pressed the XJ-S into service. The bride was not best pleased when she had to squeeze herself and her expensive wedding dress into the tiny +2 back seats for the journey to the Reception.

It wasn’t the only problem encountered with the planning of our wedding day. Firstly the originally booked Reception venue was completely destroyed by a land slide and then the wedding cake didn’t turn up until about 6 hours after it was supposed to.

[exeterjeep]

My father had sequence of XJ's from 1973 up to a X type which was his last. I never liked them much, I thought that the inside of my SD1 V8 was better and more modern - but it did rust though.

A computer operator at Rolls Royce where I worked  that I knew (back in 1990 ish) bought a V12 XJ S and he sold it not long after when he worked out how many spark plugs it needed.. 

[jep]

Love the SD1 - interior very clever with 'sliding' instrument pod for LHD or RHD. Air vent covers the steering column access for LHD/RHD. 

I prefer XJ for driving though - sweeter handling from stock and S1 interior is special, later cars not so pleasing. 

Justin

 

[Escape]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I know the 6-in-line is probably the better drivers car, especially as it can be had with a manual. But I wanted to go silly and get a V12. Not afraid of the work so should be OK. I did consider looking for one on your side of the channel, then I saw how expensive and hard to find a set of Euro headlights are and abandonned the idea. I did now of a RHD 6-pot manual for sale locally, but with the mods steel needed to register it here it would have been just as expensive as the V12 and not as well preserved, so hard to justify. Suzanna is Euro spec, so with the full power engine, slimmer bumpers and the standard headlights which I prefer to the round US ones. The one I drove on Satruday was US spec. I did like it, very smooth and even the 3-speed auto didn't bother me. So should be good fun for the summer. Not planning on keeping her long term, more of an itch to scratch until something else comes along. I really loved my old Stag, if the XJ-SC comes as close as it should, we'll get along fine and I'll be in no hurry to sell.

Justin, I like the 2-tone alloys but agree on the chrome lips. But I'd be afraid to take those off, always a chance of damaging the paintwork or unwelcome discoveries. I'd have to be sure I could take them off without distorting, so I could put them back if needed. I should try and find the Jag equivalent of TLF for all those handy tips and tricks.

An SD1 is still on the list as well. 😉 As is a TVR. And another mate is trying to convince me to join him in buying an Alpine A310. Why not? Live is to short not to enjoy it while you can. 😎

Filip