Carole Simpson-Hadley

However, a white horse went into the same bar and asked for a drink. The landlord, who was still busy stirring the Horlicks (leave it!), said to the white horse "we've got a whiskey here named after you". "What", said the white horse, "Dobbin"? MOH points out that, in fact, he is the Welsh half of our partnership (as witness the daffodil-patterned socks); me, I'm plain Olde English with a penchant for all things Welsh........like leeks (other than the roof kind), Gilberns (look it up), rugby, dragons (get down, Claude), and pointy hats. Reference the Horlicks, perhaps we should change our preference to Ovaltine, although the frothy layer of Horlicks has a certain attraction. Aagh, have we narrowly avoided another &#33Removed&#33 or are we getting touchy. No pun intended. Oh, alright then. Yachi dda, two day returns to Barry's Island plez

Well said, Steve. MOH, like you, is constantly annoyed by such as TV presenters and the like who can't use the Queen's English, and as for text speak and Predictive Text............grrrrrr!!!!!!!! "I mean, like, I was totes amazeballs, you know, like OMG" doesn't really figure in the language for the likes of MOH and myself. Call us old f....s (no !Removed&#33 for us....see what we did there?!) if you like but we prefer to use the Queen's English as it was meant to be, and spherical objects to Silicon valley and larger spherical objects to silly-billy political correctness. Ah well, looks like another night in the Tower............pass the Jaguar World and the Horlicks.

Beg to differ on that one........Dave's (candle 1966) steel XK is a X100 XKR (based on the XK8)which debuted in R form in 2000. The aluminium XK X150 (which WAS designed by Ian Callum) debuted at the '05 Frankfurt Show. Thus Dave's XKR is one of the last X100 XKRs......and, Dave, long may you enjoy it. You will find you have the permanent Jaguar smile on your face, as do we with our XK X150...you have been warned! Happy growling

Well said, Ron. Don't know where this leaves Sunday's child who is bonny and blithe and good and ....OOPS here I go again!! I suppose we ought to keep abreast of the times.............WOA.....have I been removed again. So what if our hearse driver says the ECU is as DEAD as a dodo??!! Ah well, as Long John Silver said to Captain Pugwash "where's yer buccaneers, under yer buccan'at?" And don't get started on Seaman Staines and Master Bates, not to mention the Cabin Boy. To the Tower with her and don't spare the horses (but don't forget the black plumes). Nuff said, mind how you go

Aha, fancy me falling foul of the "naughty" key words system!! In case you are wondering the !Removed! word in the last post begins with g, ends in y, and has three letters. Mr Emery would have been very puzzled. Onwards and upwards

As always, Ron, food for thought. New members to the forum will think "what a strange lot" so will have to have a trawl through past threads to discover where we are coming from.!!! Interestingly, whilst looking through the catalogue mentioned by Steve (Cubist) for Modern Classics, we noticed that quite a number of entries are from the stock list of a certain Midlands purveyor of classic cars (including a XJ8) and some of them arrived there via the same saleroom. They have been at this particular showroom for upwards of 6 months and this"turnaround" seems to be a regular occurrence, indicator, maybe, that the market is not all it could be; or that cars were not bought wisely in the first place. On a slightly different topic, both MOH and I sympathise with regard to car parking issues. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on outlook) we both have blue badges and so are able to park either the XK or the S in the extra wide bays where there is no chance of door dinging. However, we never cease to be amazed with the incidents of !Removed! abandon (can we say that?!) in normal car parking spaces that we have spied from afar. Problem seems to be that there are more and more larger vehicles (SUVs etc) whilst the normal parking spaces are getting narrower. There is an interesting article in this month's edition of Jaguar World about a Daimler Sovereign (similar to the Jaguar 420) which had received an update and makeover from well-known Mk2 specialists Vicarage. It expressed surprise that quite a lot of Mk2s (with live rear axle and rear leaf springs) had received the Vicarage treatment but that the (for some) superior original S-type (with E-type style IRS) had not. The aforementioned Sovereign had, of course, said IRS. Having read that the grey matter started to whirr into action. Oh dear, here we go again. As always, happy growling, and whilst you enjoy your single malt, we shall enjoy another cup of PG. Yes, that's tea!! What a pair of boring old f...s we are, MOH and I!

Yes, we did have to give the matter some thought, but found the X308 strangely uninvolving. A supremely comfortable ride, and we did have good fun carrying out the fettling, but not the involvement (dare we say excitement) of the XK and, to a lesser extent, the S. We were pleased that the gent who purchased her is a definite Jaguar enthusiast who has owned several, so a good home has been found. We shall have to see what comes up next..........there are always a number of cars for sale at the Jag Spares day and we were quite tempted, initially, by a Mk2 last time.....until very close inspection revealed that the restoration work carried out thus far wasn't. maybe, the best! With regard to the James Hull Collection, we were originally under the impression that a condition of sale was that the collection should not be broken up, although we couldn't quite see how that would be enforceable. As it happens, the condition was that if JLR wanted the Jaguar/Daimler/Land-Rover items, then they had to buy the whole collection. Thus it is that a large amount of non-JLR items are coming up for sale. We saw the JLR vehicles whilst at JLR Classic and there are some absolute corkers in the collection. You could always inform the first lady that the catalogue doubles as a quiz to see how many models you can identify correctly, thereupon enabling entry into a Versace handbag competition. Then again....... A recent return visit (again!!) to Gaydon resulted in 4 hours (of the 9 spent there) being within the Jaguar Heritage Collection; there has been some re-arrangement and some good new presentation boards. It was very quiet and so a friendly custodian/guide invited us to try the TWR XJS racer, the Le-Mans car and some others.....sit in, that is, not go for a drive...dribble dribble. Bit of an event getting in the Le Mans racer, it has to be said......very elegant (NOT!). We think another visit to JLR Classic might be called for now that the production of the final D-types is about to start, although sadly we shan't be tempted as the piggy bank has run away and hidden having noticed our perusal of the relevant pages in Jaguar World! Happy growling, wherever you are

Yes, the upcoming sale hadn't escaped our attention and, we suppose, myself and MSO (My Significant Other) have an advantage in that we both think the same way so we sit side by side at the PC screen without furtive over-the-shoulder glances! We, also, shan't be attending although the Mk2 s are tempting............then again, the problem with Mk2s is that you don't look for how far the rust has gone, you have to look for the standard of restoration.......and, believe us, that varies wildly. Another sale at Brightwell's Bicester later in March piqued our interest...........a no-reserve sell off of items from the JLR Collection which was purchased from that dentist with a passion for car collecting. We viewed the collection at JLR Classic at Whitley/Ryton, where it is mostly stored on tiered racks, with some items stored outside. Sadly, for Jaguar/Daimler enthusiasts, none of the Jaguar/Daimler items are in the upcoming sale. There are over 200 lots however, ...........Austin A40 Sports, Allegro, Zodiac Estate, Marina Sun-Tor Motorhome anyone??!! As the sale is no-reserve, there could be some star bargains to be had by suitable enthusiasts (although all items are in need of varying stages of recommissioning) but we don't feel like branching out!! Take a look at the catalogue on Brightwell's site.......talk about blasts from the past! R2E was not too far of the mark when he commented about increasing v diluting our Jaguar experience. As a consequence, Ruby (our XJ8), having received some fine fettling, found her way across the Irish Sea and now resides in N.I. So we are back to Myfannwy (the XK which definitely stays in the Carcoon at the moment) and Daffers (the S who has acquitted herself quite well in the white stuff, as long as you keep your foot lightly on the loud pedal!). We are off to the Jaguar Parts Day at Stoneleigh later in March, so don't be surprised if we come back with another plaything, but it would have to be something special. Hmmmm. As always, happy growling and don't forget to put the Brightwell's post code in the satnav, just in case!!

Hello Lee My partner and I own two Jaguars - a '07 XK X150 and an identical S to the one which you are interested in : a '07 2.7 D V6 XS. Although we haven't/didn't switch from a Merc, we have no hesitations about our choice with the S. Points - the twin turbo "Lion" V6 has tremendous torque and is plenty quick enough; perhaps a comparison on one of the usual internet sites would give actual figures, in terms of accleration from rest/on the move etc. but you will find that the power unit is very responsive and you will usually run out of pluck way before the S runs out of steam! The gearbox, provided it is in good fettle, is very smooth and, of course, has the Sport override setting. No paddles on the S - manual override is by way of the J-gate. Fuel economy on runs usually pans out at around 40ish, although some may get a little more; round town not so good....low to mid 30s. It should be remembered that the "Lion" power unit takes quite a while to warm up in cold weather (aided by a Webasto type engine heater) so fuel economy on short runs can be affected. As we are sure other members of the Forum will point out, the diesel S has 2 EGR valves etc and a DPF........."DPF full" warnings can be quite common if the car has a history of pottering around locally. This was the case for us, but after a couple of months we switched to premium fuel.....Shell V-Power/BP Ultimate etc and the problem has been solved. We should say that using Premium fuel is pretty essential if you want to avoid the annoying DPF warnings. There are a lot of bushes on the suspension of the S....any undue wear can affect the handling, whilst, as Joe.dot.com (elsewhere on the Forum) will stress........sills,sills,sills!! The sills of the S are hidden behind plastic covers and all sorts of horrors can occur there. Although some of the points on another current thread concern the V8 S-type, many of them are relevant to the diesel as well. The later S, with mesh grille etc can still turn heads; we know which we should prefer. Good hunting!! (and happy growling)

Couldn't agree more........neither our S nor our XK nor our XJ8 have this technology. We do, however, have a slightly older technology whereby we look at signs, our brain tells us what is occurring, and we adjust accordingly. Sorry to sound cynical but this sounds worse than "SatNav said" whereby an errant motorist ends up in a ford or atop Snowdon via the Mountain railway! Evening all, mind how you go

Check the simple things first..........without wanting to sound too obvious, you were looking at changing a headlight bulb..............did you leave the lights on when you left the car, or maybe a door slightly ajar. Can't think that if you have had no warning signs, the battery would go completely flat just like that. Our experience shows that if the battery has gone completely flat, then a slave battery won't start your S, the battery will need to be charged first. Needless to say, don't have the slave car running when you jump start, and make sure the two cars aren't touching. Might be stating obvious, but often the simple things are the answer. Or as the meerkats would say "Seemples". Good luck

As always, Joe is spot on; we had a similar issue some time ago in our '07 S-type, BUT note that as the light cluster metal mounting frame is permanently live, should you inadvertently touch it on the frame of the car, fuse/s will blow. We had exactly the same symptoms as yourself and fuse 44 had blown due to an inadvertent brush of the frame against the car. Definite case of butter fingers (or Flora fingers if you are into low cholesterol!). Happy growling

Ron, that is no way to talk about your first lady!! Tsh tsh. Glad you amended that, Steve. Our Myfannwy (XK) was getting decidedly hot under the collar, Claude was rattling his cage, and, gosh, we thought maybe a Sunday mission was in the offing. Fear not Ron. Our suitably-adorned flat back can be on standby for the occasion, although we hope that it won't be needed for sometime yet. Actually, we understand the comment about the XF/XE styling...it always looks a bit "clumpy" on the rear quarters. We do, of course, prefer the slightly retro S and the delightful Ian Callum XK. We should also be quite partial to the Keith Helfet styled XJ220 but, sadly, the moneybox doesn't run to such a delight; not to mention the fact that either one of us would probably get stuck half in, or half out. The XJ220, that is. Behave. As always, happy growling

Hi Martin Do you still have the handbook folder? If so, there should be a plastic card with the code on (like a credit card). Otherwise, you will need to visit a Jag dealer armed with the V5 and another form of ID. They will be able to access the security code. The code does need to be re-entered each time the battery is disconnected. Good luck

Thank you Ron; yes, it is always good to come away armed with the shiney new ticket, even better when there are no advisories. There was some fettling to be done on the XJ8.......the various rear lights were intermittently all over the place, but that didn't take too much sorting; neither of the fobs worked properly but everything else was down to an in-depth valet session and a careful check of all the usual potential issues. Travelling in the 8 is a fine experience....very quiet, very smooth ride and generally extremely comfortable, and, we suppose, quick enough with the 3.2 V8. However, the S has the edge, being crisper handling, buckets of torque from the twin turbo 2.7D and altogether more involving from a driver's point of view. It's just nice to have around when we feel like a waft around the countryside, but isn't a daily driver. Definitely no leaper......that is just us, although we are still thoughtful about the black leapers when we are at work!!!!! Claude thinks hot rod flames along the side would be a good addition but we can see the conflict of interest! As always, happy growling

Now the, Ron, you have us thinking...............black anodised leapers, now there's a thought. Reference your amdram antics.......Ogmore is by the sea, so if you played a bit of a salty character (which seems likely) then Ogmore you must have surely been. Watch out for the breakwater, particularly if older age gives rise to leakage when getting excited behind the wheel of the S. Claude opened one eye and took a shufty at your latest posts; we thought trouble was afoot when his tail began that ominous low-rate flick but he has since settled down and gone back to his latest copy of "Hot Wheels". I'm not quite Welsh yet, although I am beginning to occasionally utter the odd "what's occurring", "where to are you", and "Alright MOH, how you doing, alright?". Maybe I've been watching too much Gavin & Stacey and could do with a visit to Barry's Island. Off you go to polish your waterfall grille........bore dda isn't it (weren't we, don't you)

Yep, the storage problem is always there. Our XK lives in a Carcoon within a large garage, so is, effectively, in a controlled environment. However she is put away, she comes out exactly the same. No condensation or moisture (even if she goes in damp, which is unlikely, she dries out courtesy of the filtered air circulation and venting system), no dust and no bugs etc. Unfortunately, the S and the XJ have to live outside at the moment. We are on the look out for property with a good-sized multi-car garage (or cathouse, as a certain contributor to the forum calls it.......we wonder if the alternative connotation of that term (stateside) is realised!). Alternatively, we often joke, a multi-car garage with a shed attached for us to live in, would be an alternative. The gentleman from whom we bought our S took delivery of a new F-Pace (can be seen in the background of my member pic). He was well struck, although he wishes he had gone for the larger engine to match the top of the range (sizewise) alloys which he ordered. F-Pace (or F-type) v Volvo..............hmmm!!!! Or even the latest E-Pace?? MOH (my significant other) once owned a Series 2 XJ6; he did enjoy it (from 1985 to 2003) but says that, as it was a '78 model, its BL era build quality was a bit dire (no, I'm not going to get into that discussion!). A good dry state 6 or 12, particularly the lovely Series 3, would be grand. MOH also once owned a '65 S-type (the original S-type shape) and that was his first trip into Jaguar land. Any thoughts of an E-type were more like Lala Land! Although he did once know a BL Executive who turned up with one of the very first V-12 E-types; at that time MOH ran a '72 Chrysler Charger 770 Coupe which handled like a barge and was no match for the E-type. We shall await the decision between the F-Pace etc and the C30.........good luck! As always, happy growling and here's one to make you drool some more......

Interesting reading, Wayne. Without wanting to get embroiled in the Lucas was/wasn't rubbish, Unions were wonderful/were rubbish and similar arguments, MOH does recall that on his many visits to the US in the '80s and '90s, the home produced offerings (sometimes rental, sometimes other) were pretty dire........for example, AMC Concorde straight 6 (wouldn't pull your hat off), Olds Cutlass V6 (similarly gutless and falling apart quite rapidly), various Chevy Blazers and a very unmemorable Chrysler Grand Voyager (oh very dear with that one!). Even a temporarily purchased (and almost new) Trans Am didn't cut it.....must have been watching too many Smokey & The Bandit movies. The mileage which you cover (or, rather, don't cover) in your XK8 is amazing. We thought we were on the low side with our XK X150....an '07 purchased in April 2016 which has, even now, only covered 9500 miles from new. Just on 1K miles since the last vehicle test which is due in 3 weeks. That's an average of just 860 miles per year. Quite understand your comment about it being way too hot to drive a convertible with the top down on the edge of the Mojave Desert in summer......a good recipe for heat stroke, not to mention cracked leather?! We haven't been tempted by the F-type with its various appendages; we prefer the clean lines of the original Ian Callum X150 which looks best with the 20" wheels as you will see in the attached pic. We also love our '07 S-type SE whilst our '98 XJ8 X308 (just 65K miles from new) is our "fettling" project....you could say that, like yourself, we have been bitten by the Jag bug. We did, at one stage, contemplate a XJS but values on those are in take-off and there are a lot of cars of debatable history and condition but silly price; they seem to be becoming considered as the next rising star following on from the E-type. That said, each to his own and, as said elsewhere, if its your car you will enjoy it. We both hope that you continue to enjoy the XK8 and get a great deal of pleasure from your fettling exercises. As always, happy growling!

Yay.......... Ruby, our newishly acquired '98 XJ8 X308 sailed through today's MOT with no advisories. Only done 2K miles since the last one, but this was the first in our ownership. We have done a bit of fettling over the past couple of months, so a good result. Note we use our local authority testing centre where they have nothing to gain by being over zealous as they don't undertake repair work; that said, they are very thorough and the tester we usually book is an ex-Jaguar technician, so he knows what he is looking for. Our '07 S had a clean bill of health (no advisories) just before Christmas; now for the '07 XK in 3 weeks time. Then a hat-trick! Next job is to attend to the driver's door check strap, which doesn't check. Usual problem is that the door end fitting of the strap (through quite thin metal) pulls through, necessitating removing the securing screws, fitting oversize washers to cover the hole, and re-fitting. Or a new strap. Means removing the door trim, so we shall set aside a decent time window for that! Ruby says "happy growling" but please don't fit a leaper on my bonnet

Well said, Jim. As MOH and I have said before, we fall firmly in the "as it left the factory" camp, most certainly with our XK. Our S left the factory with the mesh grille ('07 SE) and we are glad of that as we prefer it to the earlier type. Our XJ8 is similarly standard, with the exception of the addition now of a set of mudflaps (genuine Jaguar, of course!). As an aside, we like your period window frames, but wouldn't fancy lying on the cobbles to fettle the underneath of the Jaguar!! Happy growling

Good morning Wayne (or should it be "good middle of the night" where you are?!) That's a fine looking XK8, improved by the fact that you don't, unlike us, have to display a front licence (license) plate. Is that a second/third car or your daily driver? We think our XK X150 coupe would look better without the licence plate but don't think Officer Dibble aka Traffic Policeman would approve. MOH (my other half) recalls a couple of visits to Palm Springs some years ago.......has a particular recollection of wandering the streets (Liberace was still in residence at Casa del Liberace at the time) and spotting Mr Kirk Douglas enjoying a drive out in his Cord roadster......very nice (the Cord, that is!). He also recalls having a very interesting conversation with a proud Kenworth Conventional truck owner at Desert Center en route to Phoenix, at the time travelling in a rental AMC Concorde (remember those?!). Also discovered that going up into the hills via the cable car didn't reduce the UV effects of the sun.......result, some cracking shoulder blisters. Adjourn for snacks at Sambo's, which probably isn't there anymore! Enjoy the XK which we are sure doesn't go out in the rain, primarily because you don't get a lot! Our XK is likewise, even though we DO get a lot of the wet stuff. Thank goodness for Carcoon. Happy growling

Another issue which divides opinion; personally MOH and I prefer to have a full size on the basis that if you have a tear/complete blowout etc., a can of Slime or whatever is not going to cut it (no pun intended). Our S-type has a full size alloy, as does our XJ8. Naturally, the XK has a space saver as the front and rear tyres are different sizes, but at least we have a spare. The last time we had a flat was 2012, a debris induced rapid deflate on the M25 near Cobham, this in our pre-Jaguar days. Before that, the nearest we got was back in 2005 when some n'er do well pinched the spare from underneath my "jelly mould" Picasso. I felt very deflated at the time.......doh. We can both remember the days when a heater, a second windscreen wiper and such other things were optional extras, but never thought we should see the day when a spare wheel was an extra.......or not even available. Only thing nowadays is, of course, that you have to be lucky where you end up stationary with a flat, as there are an awful lot of locations where changing a wheel would be a definite risk, not aided by the Kamikaze attitude of many modern drivers. Pass the Ovaltine.........

Good morning Ron, looks like we have managed to go off topic again.........as if!! Well, indeed, we didn't heed the "Do not try this at home" warning basically because it wasn't there, whilst our Blue Peter & Magpie boxed set didn't once include a piece entitled "Here's one I fell off earlier". Never mind, we are well on the way to full recovery, being well administered to by Claude who looks very fetching in his nurses uniform borrowed from the wardrobe archive of "Carry on Nursing", although he does seem to cause havoc upturning the trollies in the corridor with his tail which flicks behind him. Cold NHS meals are not a problem however, as they are piping hot with one Claude administered sneeze. We are all set up with regard to the potential internment arrangements as we do, of course, have access to a free funeral (primarily because there will be nobody to send the bill to!). The plumes were at the ready but have now been re-consigned to the cupboard and MOH is about to resume the reccy of Shropshire & Kent S-type V8 locations.......or is he?? Yes, we well remember Unipart (is that where you got your unicycle from?) and MOH fondly remembers the local (Lincolnshire, at the time) Maestro Diesel delivery van which announced its departure from the depot with the wonderful (?) tones of the Perkins diesel clattering across the countryside, and could be heard some minutes before arriving, usually with the wrong parts and a cloud of black diesel smoke. Emissions, anyone??!! Meanwhile, we have decided to withdraw the litigation against your good self for failing to issue the H&S warning, as part way through completing the forms the free pen broke, whilst we were so distracted by the M&S "Buy one get one free" plume offer that we became distracted. Anyway, there is some responsibility on our part, as we forgot to wear our hi-viz, hard hat, plastic goggles and toe-tector boots, plus we hadn't checked the contractual details of our stairs construction (with Carillion) which holds get-out and fall-down clauses. Doh. Having confused sundry folk who might come by this thread......time to go and have a look under the XJ8 which is in for its MOT tomorrow. MOH says all looks well, whilst I would like to boast that I managed to fit the new wiper blade.which had defeated him, so yah booh sucks!!!!!!! As always, happy growling (would have put a suitable emoticon on now, but they appear to have gone on their holidays)

Now then Rooster and Paul......this is written from a hospital bed as we both tried Ron's trick with the unicycle/coffee etc etc so possibly we are not as athletic as we thought. With regard to the fobs.......although each model has a different synch process (we recently went through the protocol with our XJ8), the principles are the same. We should suggest that you visit each fob in turn, again remove the battery, and using iso-propyl alcohol cleaner, clean the backs of the button pads, plus lift out the circuit board and clean the contacts....you'll be amazed how much crud there is in there. Use cotton buds or similar to apply and remove the cleaner. Once complete and the fobs are re-assembled, take them both to the car and programme accordingly together in the car. A visit to one of the many jag technical sites should confirm the correct protocol for the X type. Good luck and, as always, happy growling

Hi Steve We had exactly the same problem on our '07 S-type SE, alternating with very dead and heavy brakes. Our local Jaguar Indie diagnosed servo failure (quite common on the model) and, for safety's sake, we had the servo AND master cylinder changed. Henceforth, all working fine. We should prefer to have the job done by a Jag Indie as some "average" garages may not be quite up to speed on the S-type braking system. Not a cheap job but did you have a warranty? Good luck, and despite the problem, happy growling