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There are various flavors of Jag MkII's (MKI, auto/manual, 2.4, 3.4, 3.8, 240, 340 and Daimler) as well as a close cousin, the S-type. Nigel Thorley's book "Jaguar MkI and MkII, The Complete Companion" is an excellent text and will tell you more than you want to know about the history, purchase and restoration of these cars. In the US, get a Hemmings motor news at a magazine shop, there you can get a feel for the prices of the various models and the parts situation (SICP and Welch are good). Overall, Jaguar parts are very available, if somewhat expensive. Much of the MkII technology was maintained and improved up thru the 1987 Series III XJ6's. "If you're going to restore a Jag Mk II, there would be no point in restoring anything but a 3.8 Manual w/Overdrive. The restoration cost difference between the 2.4 and 3.8 would be minimal, but the 3.8 will have double the market value later. Not that we do this sort of thing for the money, but if it gets stolen etc, the insurance payout will at least spring for a nice car." (Thomas Cohen thos@suite.sw.oz.au) "The fact is, beautiful as the MK II is, the car is (by today's standards) rather clumsy to drive, and not all that comfortable in general. Due to its complexity, the MK II is a pig to restore, both bodily and mechanically." (Roger S Peng rsp00@cd.amdahl.com) After studying the literature for awhile, you will discover that the MkII to get is a later 3.8L with a 4 speed + OD tranny. This one will cost you the most, but it will also give you the best performance and have the highest resale. If you are looking for one to just drive, the 3.4L's are acceptable while the 2.4L's are considered underpowered, espcially by American standards. Daimlers typically go for much less. They have neat little hemi 2.5L V8 engines, but they are as slow as the 2.4's and Daimler V8 engine parts are much less common than Jaguar engine parts. S-types also tends to come cheaper than equivalent MkII`s. However, in my opinion, the S-type was subject to some rather dubious styling modifications (longer tail, modified front), though it does have the sweet E-type independent rear suspension. The S-type dashboard is more sophisticated and it has the E-type drivetrain w/ the inboard brakes in the rear. Performance-wise, a Jaguar MkII simply is not going to make any modern sports car look bad. 0 to 60mph times were a respectable 8.3 seconds and... "the 3.8 MOD would do about 125mph stock. The XJ12 was tested to 145mph or so by CAR magazine. And it handled _much_ better. Despite their reputation, the Mk IIs were no great shakes in the handling department. The S-type was much better because it had the IRS from the E-type. In a straight line though, there were few cars of the day that would keep up with one." (Thomas Cohen thos@suite.sw.oz.au) Finally, to give you a base line on prices, a really good MkII will cost you roughly 2.5 times Scott Fisher's MGB constant (Note: the SF MGB constant is $5K (US), which is both the price of a restored MGB and the amount one eventually ends up sinking into an unrestored MGB to get it up to snuff). From what I've seen, you can get an OK MkII for about $7-$8K, a good MkII for $10K and a great one for $15K. For $3K, chances are what you'll end up with is one that's quite useful for holding the driveway down and that's about the extent of it's abilities. These prices aren't bad when compared with the price of a new econobox appliance-car. On the other hand, MkII's are heavy cars, they aren't convertibles and you have to consider whether you want to expose it to the rain and snow/salt. It would be very worth while to go for a spin in some one elses car in good condition to get a feel of if this is the car for you. On to: Patiently look for one Back to Saloon Lovers |
                           
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