Current Daily Driver

1997 Jaguar XK8, 4.0 V-8, 5-speed automatic

The sale of Cheshire Cat made possible the purchase of this Jaguar.  With CatVert completed, I have a vintage Cougar convertible to drive in the summer and decided it made sense to get something I could drive on clear, dry days during the winter. The XK8 is a phenomenal car that is just a blast to drive. The level of luxury in this car is enough to spoil anyone, yet prices on the early models can be comparable to other used cars of similar vintage. These early Jags do have their foibles but, if bought right, can be a bargain.

This particular car is a special-order color - aquamarine.  It came from New York, went to a second owner in Connecticut, and is now in Massachusetts. It is optioned with the cold weather package, which added $2,000 to the 1997 sticker price of $69,000.

Features include memory seating, mirror, and steering wheel settings plus full power seats (both), auto-dimming rearview mirror, Connolly leather upholstery, traction control, stability control, automatic roof, and all the usual power accessories. The interior of the XK8 is an incredibly warm and hushed place to be, even in traffic. There is no wind noise, unusual for a convertible in the price range that most of us occupy. Every control moves with either no sound or a minimum of sound and feels like silk.

The view over the hood is reminiscent of a C4 Corvette, which has a clear power-to-weight ratio advantage.  The Jaguar, however, leaves the Corvette a distant also-ran for pure panache.

Anyone interested in buying one of these cars needs to determine if it is subject to a  known problem with the cam chain tensioners. 

If those have not been replaced, expect to pay anywhere from $1400 - $2000 to have them replaced, depending on location.  A failed cam chain tensioner can give no warning at all, but usually is preceded by a rattling sound at start-up.  Once the failure occurs, an engine rebuild or replacement is the only fix for the resulting damage.  That cost can run $10,000 or more.  The replacement tensioners now on the market are not considered susceptible to the same failure as the original, so this should only have to be done once, unless the car accumulates significant mileage.  Any 1997-2000 XK8 that has 50K miles or more should be accompanied by proof that the tensioners were replaced or it should be assummed that they have not and need to be replaced at the earliest opportunity.

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This was my first "real" car, a 1965 Pontiac Tempest convertible. It was a gorgeous car that I bought used in the spring of 1970. Unfortunately, it fell victim to a drunk driver on December 26, 1970 and was a total loss.

Note the 1969 Torino (left) and 1962 Thunderbird (right) in the background.

This 1965 Caspian Blue Mustang was my second car, purchased for $400.00 in January 1971 to replace the Tempest.  It was powered by the 200 CID I6 coupled to a 3-spd. manual transmission. It took me through my first couple of years in the Navy, but I can no longer remember when I sold it or to whom. It was a great little car, though, and the reason that I have resumed owning vintage Mustangs today. 

The early 70's were still soaked in the excitement of the muscle car era of the 60's and this Torino GT coupe allowed me to catch the wave before it ended.  It had a 390 Interceptor engine coupled to a C6 automatic and positraction rear-end. I sold it down in Florida during the dark days of the '73-'74 oil embargo, where it quickly fell into a general state of disrepair, sadly neglected by the new owner.

This 1967 Austin-Healey Sprite was my first project car and it never got finished.  I bought it in 1975, right after I got out of the Navy, but school and work left no time to work on it.  I eventually sold it to a girl I knew, but the steering gear broke as I was driving it to her house sending me off a curve and head-on into a stone wall and tree with the steering wheel spinning uselessly in my hands.

Fast forward a few years and untold numbers of cars (at least 1 more 1965 Mustang convertible, a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix, a 1968 Camaro, the 1968 Cougar mentioned earlier, a 1965 Impala SS, a 1976 MG Midget, and various assorted and sundry mainstream cars such as a 1979 Pinto).  I've moved to California, met and married my wife (see right), and am starting my new career in high tech.

This picture was taken on the Pacific Coast Highway when we drove it from Los Angeles to San Francisco in the 1976 MG Midget. Thus, the wind-blown look you see here.

This 1968 MGBGT had either been restored by this time or was in gorgeous original condition. It's now 1981 and my knees are in dire need of surgery due to aggravations to the original injuries suffered in the crash with the drunk driver in 1970. Following the surgery, a low-slung sports car wasn't manageable and this MG gave way to a Toyota pickup.

Fast forward again to 1990 and we are back in New England. We've got two children now, but finances are good enough to permit a toy car to join the family. It turns out to be a 1976 MGB, beautifully restored by DC's Auto Restoration in Uxbridge, MA. This is to be the last of the British sports cars in my life, as I am about to rediscover my muscle car roots.

Time passes again... The MGB has given way to a 1988 Corvette roadster, then a 1994 Corvette roadster.  Both 'Vettes were a lot of fun, but they were never meant for the back country roads I like to explore. The MG was great at that but lacked the power of the American V8.  Time for another change.  In the meantime, we've started educating the little ones in the fine art of appreciating and caring for toy cars.

 It's a shame that GM let the F-bodies go out of production. Of the venerable pony cars of the '60s and '70s, only the Mustang remains.