1983 Jaguar XJS 74K Miles Rare Antelope Coupe 5.3L V12 Automatic - UK SPEC RHD!

Genuine UK Specification (Right Hand Drive)

1983 Jaguar XJS

VINSAJJNAEW3BC113037

I originally purchased this car in 2008 from the owner in Crewe, Cheshire, England while assigned to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an American Exchange Officer. I have the "Keeper History" of this car showing it was originally purchased by Mrs. D. Lucas in Bristol on Aug 27th, 1983, and she owned it until 1989 when she traded it in for another Jag. Mr. C. Morley of Bristol purchased the vehicle on Oct 4th, 1989, and owned it a few years when it was passed to Mr. J. Battersby of Morecambe, Lancashire, who later moved to Crewe with the vehicle where I purchased it with 64,000 miles in September 2008. I drove it all over the UK to Cambridge, London, and even to Bristol. I had to travel to US bases such as RAF Mildehhall and RAF Lakenheath, and drove this car. It has been to the US Pentagon and to the UK Ministry of Defense Headquarters - one of the few cars to do so, if not the only one!

I have always loved the beauty of the XJS, and the flying buttress ends that hold up the rear windshield. So, when one became available in good condition, I jumped on it.As a child these cars were supercars, with their V-12 engine producing 300 horsepower. Because this is the UK spec and does not have the American Emissions requirements, this car also gets 25 miles to the gallon!Because this car was imported into the United States after it was 25 years old, it was/is exempt from EPA emissions—all of the paperwork verifying it's import and emission exemptions will be included in this sale.This Jagwas first registered in Virginia while I was assigned to the Pentagon, and then in 2011 it was registered in Nebraska.It has been here in Nebraska ever since.

Shipping Details:

I shipped the car from London on December 8, 2008 using the services ofE.M. Harms GmbBH & Co. They placed the car with 69,407 miles ontotheir ship "Independence II" (which incidentallyis still in operation) and the Jag arrived in the US on the Jan 10th, 2009. Ipicked it up at the Port of Baltimore (Dundalk Marine Terminal) on Jan 16, 2009.E.M. Harms lists the weight of the vehicle as 3,306.90 lbs or 1,500.00 Kg. In the eBay VIN field, the VIN is listed as 11111111111111111 because eBay programming does not recognize VINs from outside of the US for vehicles that were never originally intended to be driven here. The accurate VIN on the car and on the registration is at the top of this description.

About the Car:

This car includes the ALL ORIGINAL 12-Cylinder Jaguar High Efficiency engine. Since this car also has a GM TURBO 400 Transmission (rebuilt at 70,000 miles at a cost of $4,500), some folks have changed out the V-12 with a Chevy 350 which is smaller. This Jag DOES NOT have that downgrade modification!!This V-12 is a beast and fills the engine bay completely. Although the 350 is easier to work on and that's why some people make the modification, it is absolutely less smooth...there is nothing as smooth as a V-12!

The engine left the factory on March 24th, 1983 - as stamped on the engine. I can only assume that this car was completed shortly thereafter. The color on this car is original - Antelope. This color was never available in the US, so this car is a bit of a rarity. The seats and interior have been professionally re-upholstered and the leather is in very nice shape, identical to the original leather.

NOTE: In the United Kingdom, all vehicles keep their tag number from when the car is originally titled. It is possible to change the tag in the UK and some people do this to fool onlookers. Their tag numbers are issued based on the first letter which denotes when the car was originally purchased. This car originally had the license plate number "A350 SFB" (A = 1983). Sometime when Mr. Morley owned the vehicle, he switched the number plate to "EXI 4077" (E = 1987). So when I purchased the car, it wore the EXI 4077 license plate.

However, since this does not matter here in the US, and the Jag had received anti-theft etching with the original number plate on all the glass and tail/head lights, I purchased a personalized Virginia plate when I originally registered the car in the US. This plate had the original UK Registration number "A350 SFB". I had to have a new "American" licenseplate holder installed - leaving the original UK plate holder available for use. I purchased (from theUK) Genuine Original plates for the car with the original number. That's why the Jag displays both its US tag and its original UK tag. I re-purchased Nebraska plates with the same original UK tag number.

The Bad News:

Currently this car is not running. I took it to a local mechanic who has worked on this car since we brought it here asking for a tune-up. They took it and after performing the service they were dumbfound since the car was running "rich”. They kept it and worked on it for a few weeks when they called me and gave up. They did not charge for the tune-up, and suggested I tow the car to local sports-car "experts”, which I did.

Obviously we live in Nebraska. While this area is beautiful and the people are great, the fact that we live in a low population state means that there are few people who can properly work on this car. This includes the sports car experts who were able to diagnose the problem as a "fuel injection wire loom" problem, and were going to charge me $6,000 to obtain one and install it. They told me the part could only be obtained by a man in California who makes them by-hand at a cost of $4,500! Sure.I looked the part up on eBay - it costs $450.

As you can imagine I do not want to give these people my money, so I feel the time has come to pass the car onto another owner who can more appropriately look after her. This is especially true since the harsh Nebraska weather has begun to take its' toll on the car and there is now rust on it that will have to be tended to (see photos).

The engine is still good - these sports car experts performed a compression test which turned out well. This paperwork will be included, as will all the original paperwork I have. In addition to the transmission, I had a new exhaust installed on the car in the UK at about 67K miles. I am also including TONS of extra rare parts in this sale on which I have spent about $5,000 (see list below).

I have done a lot to this car including upgrading the air intakes which allegedly increased the horsepower by 11 horses. It has been a labor of love which I hope to pass onto another who will equally take care of the car, a reason I am offering it as an auction starting at $800.

Car Specifics

§Automatic Transmission: GM TURBO 400 Trans rebuilt at 70,000 miles

§New Exhaust installed at exactly 67,000 miles

§New Alternator and assembly installed at 73,000 miles

§New Cooper Tires installed at 68,000 miles

§ Air Conditioning Compressor rebuilt at 68,000 miles

§ 5.3 Liter Jaguar V12—Jaguar's "newer" High Efficiency (H.E.) Model

§ Essentially 2 Straight 6 Engines put together producing 300 Hp

§ Upgraded air intake with K & N Air Filters--increases Hp by 11

§ Power Brakes

§ Power Windows

§Power Door Locks

§ All Leather interior

§ Premium Momo Italian Steering Wheel

This Sale Also Includes

1. New Wood Veneer for dash and doors - (Special Order)

2. New Genuine Jaguar XJS Spoiler appropriate to the car

3. New Premium Bespoke Hood Liner Replacement Kit (Special Order)

4. Original Service Record Manual with UK Dealer Stamps

5. Original Owner's Manual

6. Original Ministry of Transportation (MOT) Inspection Certificates

7. Upgraded 8-Speaker Stereo

a. Premium Alpine Bass-Tube under driver seat

b. Premium Alpine CD Head-Unit w/removable faceplate (Model CDA-9886) + Original Instruction manual

8. ALL ORIGINAL PAPERWORK including:

a. UK Tax Discs

b. UK and American Service Records

c. Original Import Records

9. Original XJS Master Brake Cylinder (purchased because it was available, not because it was needed)

10. 2 Vented Rotors ($180)

11. 4 sets of Brakes (~ $100)

12. Original Oil Cap

13. 2 Spare Radiator Caps

14. Text Books:

a. Hayes' You and Your XJS - Repairing, Modifying and Maintaining

b. Hayes' Workshop Manual - XJS, XJ12 and Sovereign

c. Jaguar XJS Restoration and Maintenance (by Jim Patten)

d. Jaguar XJS Engine Performance

e. XJS - the Full Story of Jaguar's Grand Tourer

15. Spare Genuine Jaguar XJS Headlight Frames

16. Spare Original Jaguar Reverse Light Covers

17. Original Air Intakes

18. Spare complete Lighter Assembly

19. Original 2 Ashtrays

20. Spare Fuses

21. 5 Oil Filters

22. Spare Original Jaguar Seat Belts (originally equipped w/only front belts)

23. 6 boxes (2 sets) of Spark Plugs

24. Spare Dash Bulb

25. Original Jaguar Tool Kit

26. Full Size Matching Mag Spare

27. New Window Gasket for Front & Rear Windshields