Hello, heros of Jaguar!!
So I have just bought myself a 99 S-Type 3.0 SE... and I am in LOVE with her! She is a tatty one, but easily brought back to former (skin deep) beauties with a small amount of effort. (Deeper beauties will require more effort)
I flutter with cars, she is my 12th in my juvenile 10 year driving career. But in the month or so of owning her, I no longer want to flutter!! Almost all boxes are ticked, in the driving experience. However, as the title suggests, I want to tinker and play and make her my own. If any of you lovely folks would like to offer advice, warnings, encouragement, or to impart your wisdom, I would be very grateful. I am new to this, have pretty limited knowledge and want to do as much as possible myself. Google and youtube are wonderful - but actual interaction is better.
List of things!!
O/S rear window mechanism is broken. Hot day, window stuck to seal, snappy pingy grindy noise. I took the interior door panel off and was greeted with that tiny access window. I have done a search of forums and it seems a door replacement would be the easiest option? Is this cost-effective too?
The whole heating system is haywire! You have full control over everything, other than the tempreture. This sucks as the s-types trademark screen mist needs max heat on full blast to clear. If you try to change the temperature the display jumps to random numbers. (89, 67, 114, 10, -30, 81 etc) Is this a known thing, or do I need to get the professionals on that one? Also, hot days suck too.
The revs bounce drastically for about 5 mins when starting cold. If you re-start the car within an hour of last driving, no issue. I have no clue on this one! If it's just a "character" thing, that's cool.
When approaching the 80mph mark, she starts to feel less stable on the road. Its hard to explain but it like the whole car strafes slightly for 1000ths of a second, as if buffeted by strong winds. I think its only noticeable as the driver, but it completely unnerves me. The amount of praise this car gets for its composure on the road, this has got to be a problem.
I want to lower her. These cars look fantastic when hunkered down against the road. Nothing drastic, 30mm or so. HAving looked online, lowering springs for the s-type are a league above the rest when it comes to price!! My next question is not meant to offend, or alienate myself. I imagine a few of you will want me banned for this but, can you put Rover 75 or Ford Mondeo springs on the S-type? Aren't they all based on each other?
Trim and grilles are also uber expensive. Are there any companies I should be going to for cheaper body trim, front mesh grill etc?
N/S rear tyre has inside edge wear. I think this may be a rear tracking issue?
There is more on the list, but that'll do for now!! Budget is my biggest limiting factor. However, given time, she is going to be a beautiful classic.
Hope to chat with a few of you going forward