My 1986 Jaguar XJ6 is rolling proper now. The tires that were on the car when I purchased it were nearly of legal drinking age. That’s probably not a great idea to keep them on there. Our new friends at Vredestein volunteered a set of their Sprint Classic tires and the result is a perfect match of modern rubber tech with a vintage look on the right car. Wrapping the tires around a set of gold and chrome BBS wheels certainly helps the package. In short, the Jag now looks pretty bad-ass.
The tires are 215/70VR15. I’m in love with the amount of sidewall packing in under those fenders. Especially in the rear, where the tires tuck in perfectly. The nose could stand to be dropped down an inch, but I’m not stressing on that just yet. There are other things on the to-do list. Right off the bat though, the car feels great. There was a vibration that rose up through the steering wheel with the old dry tires, and that is effectively gone now. The ride remains supple and it’s everything you want in an old Jaguar.
Now, with respect to that to-do list I just mentioned, I’d like to:
- Figure out why it runs a bit rich. Going to start with the O2 sensor and work back from there.
- Get a bit of tint on the glass to help push this car properly towards Guy Ritchie-spec gangster mobile. Not limo tint or anything, just darken it up a bit.
- I need to do my research on this gearbox. It shifts too aggressively or quickly into top gear, so I pretty much drive it around with the selector in 2. Then as needed I bump it into D, when I need 3rd gear.
- There’s a tear on the front passenger seat I want to get repaired. The quote to do so is high, but I would like it done at some point.
- I need to install the Continental head unit I purchased from ECS Tuning.
- I’d like to test the cooling system to see if it is truly up to task. Today the lower, aftermarket temp gauge started to climb just past 180 while I was out driving. That’s not cause for alarm, but it’s also curious. The in-car gauge seems to read ok. Still, as the weather warms up I’d really like to stay ahead of any potential cooling issues.
And that’s it for now. The Jag rolls right, looks good, is super comfortable, and is just a few fixes away from being perfect… to me.
[Images copyright 2021 Hooniverse/Jeff Glucker]
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