The Jaguar Cronicles-Series 1

I bought this car for 600 hundred bucks. Rear of the engine was held up by a dog leash and the tranni was in the trunk. Interior was rotted out. 90% of the electical was just a memory and the wiper motor was rusted solid. Master cylinder leaked but that did not mater becuase there were no front brake pads. Oh yes, left fuel tank drain plug riped off when I tried to drain it due to much rust around the bottom. Figured I got a good deal. I purchased a '81 XJ12 for the posi unit. Interior was in good shape so I installed it in the '69. Fit well. Just had to modify a couple of things. About a grand later I was happly motoring around the countryside.

The stock speedometer was working fine but I found a new European model on e-bay. It read in km so the top number was 200 (looked better than the 160 reading on the US model). I picked up a nice 5 inch tach and Nardi steering wheel to add a litle more style to the drivers side.

I picked up a used Chevy 350 with a turbo 350 trans. I purchased some mounts and after figuring out why half the electrical was not working I put everything together and had a smooth running car. Only problem was the "good used motor" I had purchased ran about 10 pounds of oil pressure after it warmed up. I kept it in the car for about a year before picking up a strong Chevy 400. I slid in a lopy cam, added a Pete Jackson gear drive, big intake and Holley 650. Small stall converter in the tranny. Motor turns on at 2500 and pulls to 6000. I sure surprise a lot of folks when I jump on it at 55 mph. Not much can keep up with me when that 3800 pounds gets rolling.

There was something really appealing about the original chocolate brown paint so I decided to keep it. The inside however was a nightmare. No headliner, smelly rotten floor mats and water damaged door panels. The guy I bought the car from must have stripped out a few other Jags and a collection of miss. interior filled the back seat. I purchased an '81 XJ6L for the posi and the interior looked dirty and after some clean up, I found it quite serviceable, so out it came. I had to do a little modification but was able to install it all in the '69. The tan interior went perfect with the exterior brown paint. I modified a fiberglass hood scoop, constructed a front air dam and added the bullet mirrors. Now it was beginning to look really good. Gold pinstriping down the side set it all off. Driving down the freeway draws cell phone cameras out of passing car windows.