1995 Jaguar XJ6 4.0 SWB Part 3: A Bath and a Battery for our Big Cat

In our previous report, we had our 1995 Jaguar XJ6 4.0-liter short wheelbase (SWB) luxury sedan, which we bought for only P50,000, towed by an Auto Transporter flatbed tow truck from its “resting spot” behind the MMM Building along the East Service Road in Parañaque to the workshop of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works in Marulas, Valenzuela City. Once we got the car safely parked at the JSK compound, we inflated the flat tires, walked around the car, and excitedly assessed what we just acquired. We felt like a couple of kids who just got new toys to play with.

We justified our purchase of this modern-classic British icon, known internally as the X300, with an article from the April 2018 issue of Jaguar World. In their “XJ Special” issue, where they wrote, “The days of cheap Jaguar XJs are long gone. The (1994-1997) X300 and (1998-2003) X308 are up-and-coming classics. Now is the time to buy one.” We know that we are taking a big chance on attempting to restore this abandoned Jaguar but we are thrilled with the prospect of being its custodian for the time being. We didn’t find the proverbial “Cobra in a barn” but we can only guess that the excitement’s almost the same.

At the Carwash, Yeah!  

JSK proprietor Johnson Tan suggested a “game plan” for our latest Power Wheels Magazine project car to fit our meager budget. First on the agenda was to give our dirty Big Cat a big bath, and to wash away more than three years of neglect, we decided to use a power washer and a strong detergent. We were so excited about our project car that we jumped at the chance of giving its first carwash ourselves.

After rinsing the soap off, we were NOT satisfied with our XJ6’s first wash because we could still see some water marks left by acid rain on the paint, as well as some remnant three-year-old grime especially on the lower sills. Since there was still sunlight, and we’ve got nothing better to do on a lazy Saturday afternoon, we decide to soap the car one more time. Maestro, from the top, please…

Getting Some Good News

If you were able to read Part 2 of this project car series, we reported that the Leaper hood ornament, which we found mounted the wrong way when we first inspected the car on December 17, 2020, was missing. Apparently, somebody who has access to the gated backyard of the MMM Building took the hood ornament as a memento or souvenir. Luckily, after we informed the owner of the property, they were able to “find” the missing hood ornament and they immediately returned it to us. One of our car-loving friends, Norbie Sison, said that we saved P20,000 just by getting the Leaper back. Thank God for small favors!

In our previous write-up, we also reported that we found the broken pieces of the front grille lodged in the front of the engine bay. We removed the entire front grille assembly from the car and unscrewed the remaining right hand radiator vane block from the chrome grille surround. We cleaned everything, glued back all the broken pieces, reinforced the weak parts with some metal, and then screwed the repaired left and right hand vane blocks back into the grille surround. After we were sure that the reattached pieces were strong enough, we bolted the front grille assembly back into our Jag.

And More Electrifyingly Good News

We called our friend at Amaron car batteries, Brian Kaw, to ask for a discount on a new battery since the Jaguar came with an old Amaron Pro unit. Instead of getting a discount, we were pleasantly surprised when Brian told us that their company was willing to provide us with a FREE brand-new INCOE MF-N100L maintenance-free car battery for our project Jaguar. We learned that aside from Amaron car batteries, Brian’s company distributes the INCOE, Hitachi and Control Plus car battery brands, and thus far, we’ve been satisfied with the performance of these batteries in our other project cars. A free car battery is always a blessing that we’re more than happy to receive!

While we were at the trunk, we sorted through some of the stuff there, including a large plastic container that held mostly car care products (chrome polish, silicon spray, and a couple of waxes ), a small bottle of brake fluid, a bottle of automatic transmission fluid, and a jug of engine oil. We can conclude that the previous owner really tried to properly maintain this Jaguar when we was still alive. Underneath the cover, we found the full size-spare tire but there was no jack nor tools in the trunk. We noted that we need to find the panel that covers the battery to complete the trunk.

While we could see more areas to repair as we tinker around our project car, we are consoled by the fact that our 1995 Jaguar XJS 4.0 SWB now looks more complete, more elegant and more stately just by giving it a much-needed bath and reinstalling the repaired front grille and the Leaper hood ornament. Will we be able to have the engine running after sorting out the engine wiring and hoses, which were chewed by rats? Find out more in the next installment. Keep it tuned right here!