My car arrived yesterday evening. I am back in the game. I haven’t maintained a classic car since I gave up on my 1968 Lincoln back in 1995. My 1991 Jaguar is older today than my Lincoln was then, my Jag was almost new back then. I am looking forward to the mental and physical challenges of working on a car. I am looking forward to having something that drives entirely differently than any car on the market today. I am excited to finally own another of my longstanding favorites in the history of automobiles. This first post will capture the general information about the car I bought.
The XJ-S was produced from 1975 through 1996 in three generations. Mine is the last year of the second generation and nearly the last unit of that model year. My manufacture date is 2/91and the 92 MY began 3/91. My VIN is 417 less than the first VIN of the third generation. The visible differences between the generations were relatively minor and the trim changes from year-to-year were almost nonexistent. As a result, they all look very similar, but an enthusiast can immediately tell the generations apart.
The car is long and low with a hood that goes on forever. The roof line is less than 50 inches off the ground, quoted as low as 47.8” in some sources (mine currently measures at 49.25 inches). That makes it quite distinctive in comparison to modern vehicles (my ‘sporty’ VW roofline is nearly 58” and looks like an SUV sitting in the garage next to the long low Jag). The C-pillars are buttressed out onto the flat rear deck, a distinctive styling that people either love or hate. It looks like a combo notchback/fastback. It is also a heavy car at over two tons. This is a luxury grand touring car with an original MSRP starting at $53K in 1991 (equivalent to about $125K today).
Over the three generations, about 115,000 cars were produced for worldwide distribution of which just over half were coupes. The convertible wasn’t even available until 1989, so it outsold the coupes significantly in the last few years of production. Coupe production peaked in 1986 and then began falling rapidly. In 1991, only 1008 coupes were sold in the US. If market prices only depended on production numbers, these cars would be considered very rare and priced a lot higher. For a number of reasons, there are very few enthusiasts, so prices are very low compared to other classic cars.
The engine is a 5.3L V-12 that was rated at 263hp and 290lb-ft. The US compression ratio is 11.5:1 (it requires premium fuel). It is an overhead cam design, 2 valves per cylinder, with port fuel injection. The transmission is a General Motors TH400 three-speed automatic. The car has an independent rear suspension with a 2.88:1 limited slip differential.
In 1990 and 1991, Jaguar had a “Classic Collection” package. The package at a minimum included contrasting piping on the seats, a gold emblem on the hood, elm wood trim, and they replaced the V-12 emblem on the back with a Classic Collection badge. I haven’t located anything more definitive about this package, but my serial number indicates that mine had this package and all the details above match.
All XJ-S’s were perhaps nicely equipped for 1991, but not extravagant. The leather seats are manually adjusted merely for/aft and seat angle (kind of chintzy for an expensive car, but a relief when buying an old car). There is a power lumbar, though, on both seats. Both seats have seat heaters (bottom and backrest) that only work at interior temperatures less than 59 degrees. The seatbelts are ordinary retracting shoulder belts and there is a driver side airbag which allowed Jaguar to end the ‘87 thru ‘89 automatic seatbelt tracks above the doors. It does have a back seat, but it is completely useless. Power windows, power locks, tilt (no telescope) wheel, and automatic climate control are a few of the expected yet more routine features. There is a digital trip computer mounted in the dash that tracks time, distance, and fuel economy in a laughable 1980’s sort of way. Jaguar is famous for using real wood trim on the dash, doors, and center console. Wood is a stupid material to use in an automobile but certainly luxurious (more on that in later posts). The gauges include 160mph speedometer, tachometer (5800 redline), six-digit odometer, trip odometer, voltage, oil pressure, fuel level, and coolant temperature.
My exterior color is Brooklands Green (Code HFB) which is a nonmetallic finish. There have been a number of dark green colors, both metallic and non, that have been casually called British Racing Green. Brooklands is the name of a famous British racetrack. The interior on my car is called Doeskin (Code AEE). This is the classic British Racing Green/tan interior combination.
So far, everything on my car looks correct, although far from perfect. All of the stickers under the hood and on the doors appear to be original and in good condition. The owner’s manual was signed by the original owner noting “accepted delivery on 12/16/91. There is also a gold sticker with the original owner’s name embossed on the front of the paper manual. There is a card inside the leather cover that indicates the salesman was Jim Kempthorn of Kempthorn Motors (Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Jaguar, Volvo) in Canton Ohio which isn’t far from where I found the car. I think I have a true original low-mileage car (46,527 as it arrived in my garage), not that it makes it worth anything and not that my intention is to keep it that way. It does make me think about my path forward, but for now, there are things that need attention.
