2k: Luxury And Reliability: 1985 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas, Chevy V8
The Jaguar XJ series III was introduced in 1979 with a slight redesign from the previous generation penned by legendary design house Pininfarina. The XJ was available with a big inline-6 or a huge V12, but many owners have wisely chosen to replace the cool but unreliable Jag engines with a domestic V8. The Chevy 350 is more powerful than the V12, lighter than the I-6 and more fuel efficient than both. Find this 1985 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas for sale in Mustang, OK currently bidding on ebay for $1,775 reserve-not-met with a few hours to go.
The seller mistakenly calls this one a Jaguar XJS, but the XJS was a 2-door grand tourer and this car started life as a Jaguar XJ6 or XJ12. The classic Jaguar XJ was known for luxury, class, refinement and maintenance costs per hour greater than an Apache Helicopter Gunship.
This XJ was the recipient of a V8 swap from John’s Jaguar Chevy conversion, and the 5.7 liter V8 is a throttle-body-injection equipped crate engine attached to a 700r4 automatic transmission. The 350 should be good for something on the order of 300 horsepower (give or take) and propel the heavy Jag body around quite nicely.
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Another perfectly nice Jag ruined. What a waste.
I did this to my Series 2 XJ6, and it was quieter, smoother, cheaper to run and maintain but was still the same great cruiser. This will be a nice car for the money.