I have a 1986 Jaguar XJ-S. I dragged it out of a hedge in Seattle in late 2008, where it had sat for a good few years. Someone had attempted to “upgrade” the headlights (to modern H4 lights) and had burnt out most of the front electrics… and inevitably lost interest in the poor car.
It’s only got 65k miles on it.. and drivetrain-wise, it’s all original.. which means a 5.3 v12 mated to a GM TH400 transmission.
It didn’t take too much to get it running – a new ignition amplifier, new rotor arm, and a good fuel system flush. It did, however, take *months* to track down a persistent misfire (note: a v11 doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as a v12), and a good bit longer to get the electrics working well enough that the headlamps work.
Unfortunately, after all this work, it turns out that the transmission’s toast – it reverses just fine, but slips horribly in any forward gear now. I managed to put about 500 miles on it before this manifested itself, so I’m guessing one of the clutch packs has just had enough. This is a colossal shame, and is hugely unfair.. but I guess I can’t really complain… or can I?