Introducing my new-to-me daily driver...

[millster]

So I'm being a little cruel here and seeing who can guess what I've purchased to drive. I sold my 1986 Ranger after finally getting tired of dealing with its fueling problems. I've kept the 1995 Saab CSE and am working on restoring it to its full Swedish glory. In order to facilitate my work and have something to drive while I have major parts of the Saab torn down, I convinced my wife I needed a second car. I had been looking for months but not finding what I wanted. I feel it's only fair that I give her the credit for finding this car, pointing it out to me, selling me on it even though I had some doubts and leveraging the incredible amount of equity in her Matrix to secure the money for it and still keep us a one-payment family all while lowering our interest rate and lowering our overall payment. We'll actually have my new car and the Matrix payed off earlier than if we'd continued with the Matrix alone as it stood!

So, on to the new car.
1) It's blue
2) It's large
3) It's foreign
4) It's powered by a GM 5.7L TBI engine with a TH400-700R4 automatic gearbox.

And finally... a picture...

Any guesses?

Edit:
More Pics
https://plus.google.com/photos/10985278 ... 5908108449" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cptnsolo77]

Hmmm....Since it has a GM TBI it HAS to be early to mid 80s. I will take a wild guess and say a early 80s Jaguar XJ. I know jag used GM trannys before, but not sure if they used the engines too LOL

[journeyforce]

Is it a 1980's Jaguar XJ6 with the GM engine and transmission conversion? If it was converted right it is super reliable. It is really sad that to get reliability in a car that was super expensive in the era it was made(cost more then most GM cars) you have to put a engine and transmission in the car that came from a $2000 Chevy full size Blazer.

I had a 1978 MGB convertible that I removed the British Leyland junk(engine/trans) and used the from a late 1970's Corolla and the thing was instantly more reliable

Enjoy your Cheguar

I am looking for a 1975-1985 Mercedes Benz 240D or 300D. I want a classic diesel car

[millster]

Hmmm....Since it has a GM TBI it HAS to be early to mid 80s. I will take a wild guess and say a early 80s Jaguar XJ. I know jag used GM trannys before, but not sure if they used the engines too LOL

They did use GM transmissions; the TH400, actually. Only behind the V12, though. The straight 6's got the Borg Warners.

Ne'ertheless, you're both right. 1986 Jaguar Series III Vanden Plas with a GM drivetrain conversion.
My wife found it hiding out at a local dealership in pretty sorry mechanical condition (it had just sat WAY too long) so I got them to knock 50% off the asking price and drove it home. Some fuses, fuel system flush and a new fuel pump later, it's a car that I don't mind saying I wouldn't be afraid to drive cross-country in.

The conversion was clearly done professionally for the most part. By that, I mean the engine and trans were mounted up by a pro, it's got a proper aftermarket radiator, all of the necessities to make it clean and reliable. Some of the wiring looks like it was done by a monkey and the fuel plumbing is pretty embarrassing. It was clearly a project car that got abandoned when the owner lost interest. The paint is light metallic blue over factory black and was done fairly well, the leather has been stripped from the front seats in favor of tweed (a change I actually think suits the car well) and other than that, it's all pretty original. Still has the set of 5 original Kent wheels with the stainless-capped lug nuts.

She's a Leyland sweetheart, for sure. Random pieces randomly change location, fuses blow for no apparent reason (and good luck getting to some of them) but I looked at a couple of XJ40 (Ford era) models and they just lost their soul. There's something trapped in the ghosts of BL that makes these cars breath.

Sorry, I had to play the guessing game. It's not every day you see someone take one of these beasts on as a DD and most everyone around here knows I'm just the right kind of crazy to do it. Now that it's out, I'll get some photos up. I actually haven't had a chance to take many yet but it's supposed to be nice weather this weekend. Seems like as good a time as any.

[jake75]

Damn - all those gauges that actually tell you something. I miss that!

[jake75]

(removed) - all those gauges that actually tell you something. I miss that!

[removed] = d-a-m-n. Me thinks big brother has gone overboard!

[millster]

(removed) - all those gauges that actually tell you something. I miss that!

[removed] = d-a-m-n. Me thinks big brother has gone overboard!

Indeed! They're wonderful. The tach and speedo are both made by Smiths Britain so they are truly analogue. Both have the lovely bouncy needle that comes with the slight fluctuation from the senders. It makes them feel so... real. The annoying one for me right now is the oil pressure. 20PSI is definitely too little pressure for a tuned 350 which was making me think something was up with the engine. It turns out the gauge just doesn't like the GM sender. I hooked a mechanical gauge up and the engine is producing plenty of pressure. I guess it's not so bad since I need to build a new A/C amplifier circuit, power lock controller and interface between the trip computer (for rough fuel economy estimates) and the GM ECU, what's building a circuit between the oil gauge and the sender going to add?
As for "big brother", it's automated so it's rather indiscriminate. I agree though, there might be a few we can cut out of the list.

[journeyforce]

Before chalking up the low PSI to the incompatibility of the gauge and the GM sender, go through the testing procedures for the sending unit. GM is the worlds leader of making junk oil pressure sending units. That sound like a bad sending unit more then anything(the gauge just reads electrical signals that the sending unit puts out) In the 20 GM cars I have owned so far in my driving life that have had oil pressure gauges, all have developed issues. The one in my 1992 GMC s-15 Jimmy(aka the small S-10 based Jimmy) was not content to simply peg the gauge at 60psi at all times BUT instead caused it to pulse back from 40 to 60 psi causing it to make a god awful racket while driving the thing

[A Psycho Martyr]

sweeeeet.
can't wait to see this thing

[millster]

Before chalking up the low PSI to the incompatibility of the gauge and the GM sender, go through the testing procedures for the sending unit. GM is the worlds leader of making junk oil pressure sending units. That sound like a bad sending unit more then anything(the gauge just reads electrical signals that the sending unit puts out) In the 20 GM cars I have owned so far in my driving life that have had oil pressure gauges, all have developed issues. The one in my 1992 GMC s-15 Jimmy(aka the small S-10 based Jimmy) was not content to simply peg the gauge at 60psi at all times BUT instead caused it to pulse back from 40 to 60 psi causing it to make a god awful racket while driving the thing

Actually, that occurred to me today as it was loping away at low-idle... something doesn't seem right. I'll check the values off the sender, but I'd already bet you're right. I don't think the expected voltage from the Jag sender is any different from the GM sender.

sweeeeet.
can't wait to see this thing

Ask and ye shall receive! Just a few teasers because I was in a hurry today and didn't take the time to take decent photos but I wanted to get some up while it was freshly washed and shiny. The interior shots I took didn't turn out at all, so they're not posted.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10985278 ... 5908108449" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[A Psycho Martyr]

WHOA! dude that is awesome

completely jealous man.

The color alone is just great

[millster]

Thanks! It's a pretty spectacular car, for sure and I still can't quite believe I own it. As you can see, there are a few things needing to be done with it. The exhaust pipes were run poorly out the back so the tips I put on don't fit evenly, the plugs for the fuel tank drain holes are missing giving the appearance of a rust hole in the rear quarter sills and there is a lot of cosmetic work to be done under the bonnet and inside. Still, it's a darned sight better than the 1989 XJS I was looking at. It had been resprayed as well but was the factory single-stage black and just didn't look as good. My only major issue with the paint on the VDP is that I've no idea what the code is for it. I have a couple of little nicks in the paint and haven't a clue what to get to touch them up.
Again though, thanks! I'll be sure to share my progress as things go one (and get some better photos of it). I'm rather ashamed of the pictures as they stand... I could and should have done a much better job. But, I wanted to have some to share and I guess they serve that purpose.

[A Psycho Martyr]

Again dude, just awesome.lol
Had to say it.
<-----jealous for realz

[journeyforce]

Love the color and the wheels on the old Jags. Does it have dual gas tanks or a single one? Whats the mileage on the car?

[millster]

Again dude, just awesome.lol
Had to say it.
<-----jealous for realz

Thanks, seriously. But mate, let me tell you if I disclosed the particulars of the deal and what's going on with the resto, I could make that a lot worse. This was/is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me and I'm not taking it for granted.

Love the color and the wheels on the old Jags. Does it have dual gas tanks or a single one? Whats the mileage on the car?

Yeah, I love the color, too. This isn't the original on this car. It was originally bog black on the outside and kind of a coppery-gold on the inside metal bits. I refer the blue. Jag's black just never had much lustre even though it was spread on 10 layers deep. You're one of the few who likes the Kent ("pepperpot") wheels. I like them as long as they're clean but once they get mucky they look too much like plastic wheel covers. I'd prefer a set of the polished alloys from a Series II, but the Kents are definitely as timeless. Just a (removed) to get new centre caps for if one breaks (I've already had to replace one).
It has both tanks in place still but they've been plumbed together. I can tell they tied the actual feed and return lines together with distribution blocks but I can't quite make sense of how the senders are working. It seems like they're tied together and averaged somehow but I haven't found the point they connect yet. Thankfully the end result is that the gauge reads lower than the actual level of the tank. The right-hand is coming out in a couple of weeks to be re-lined. The gaskets were bad on both filler caps and the right tank was left empty out in the weather for too long. It's got a pretty good layer of surface corrosion.
The car itself has 133,000 miles or thereabout. It has an issue with the sender on the transmission which causes the odometer to turn as you crank the engine. Surely this has read to some false mileage, but I'm not sure how much. The engine, well that's anyone's guess. The AC compressor was new in 2008 (as near as I can tell, this is when the engine was changed as well) and most of the parts that go along with the GM engine look to have few miles on them. Based on the condition and the compression readings, I'd say it's somewhere south of 100,000 miles but that's anyone's guess.

[millster]

Fun little Jag story for my fellow gearheads.
It's no secret that the SBC 350 has quite a bit of torque. When the idle runs high (I think I have a vacuum leak in the climate control system), that torque is readily available.

We got a few inches of very wet snow followed by very dense fog and freezing temperatures. This leads to slick streets, of course. The interesting thing is I disproved the old adage "always wear clean briefs and never drive a Jag in the snow". Mine handles like a cat. With the new tires on it, it handles better than any car I've every owned (with notable exception to the Vibe with snow tires). However, heavy torque, slick streets, massive front brakes and center-mounted smaller rear brakes with an LSD make for an interesting experience. I was stopped near a slick intersection well back from a 2WD Ranger that was quite stuck. Comically, when I had stopped and knew I was stopped, my car began drifting toward the curb. Not just drifting, but picking up speed.

If you've not guessed by now, the engine was overpowering the pressure I was applying to the rear brakes and sliding the locked front wheels along against their will. Mashing the pedal to the floor stopped it moving and shifting into neutral at all further stops made it much more compliant. Obviously, I'll be working on that idle issue this weekend but still I think that's the first time I've seen that one. I'm sure the rear brakes need bled or repaired. I know the disks need replaced after the brake pedal stuck and overheated and warped the rotors. I'm just not sure how happy I am to need to drop/disassemble the whole rear-end just to replace the rotors.

[star_deceiver]

An old tip the old man taught me years ago: When driving a high torque, rear drive vehicle with an automatic, shift into neutral when approaching a light as (as you've seen) you can easily overpower the rear brakes.

[millster]

An old tip the old man taught me years ago: When driving a high torque, rear drive vehicle with an automatic, shift into neutral when approaching a light as (as you've seen) you can easily overpower the rear brakes.

Yeah, ironically my Dad taught me the same thing. The funny part is by the time I was learning to drive, the only auto cars we had were FWD and it was fairly irrelevant so I never really thought much of it. Make the fact that my previous high-torque vehicles have all been manuals and it just makes it worse.
Now if I can just get the idle issue resolved on the Jag so it doesn't rev its bollocks off when I drop it into neutral and then slam back into gear, it'll be perfectly well mannered.