We have seen a big increase in Lister XJS work coming our way, and have become something of a specialist. These excellent XJS variants usually have the Lister 7 litre V12 which is potentially capable of over 450 bhp normally aspirated, or over 550 bhp with superchargers. They have stunning torque and yet are very drivable – but be careful on wet roads, there is no traction control!

The cruise control systems on the pre-1991/part facelift XJSs are somewhat unreliable, yet when in good order work very well. They can be identified by having a 5″ diameter rubber bellows device connected to the throttle pedestal via a rod, and sitting on the top of the engine on a bracket bolted to the back of the AC compressor.

We frequently see the underside of XJSs damaged – sometimes severely – as a result of incorrect jacking. Unlike most modern cars, the XJS sills are not designed to take the weight of a car on a jack, and special jacking points are provided which are part of strengthened areas. Most owners are aware of this and use a jack correctly. But some garages are unaware, and use the sill seams like they would on a modern car. This causes the sill the bend alarmingly, and can be expensive to repair. Our advice is to make sure that the technician working on your car is aware of the jacking points. These are, incidentally, just forward of the rear wheel, and just behind the fronts. They are identifiable by having a small steel ‘bobbin’ which should be used to engage with the normal roadside jack.

This is a little-known problem which is common on little-used cars, and which reduces maximum braking effort to a substantial degree.

I’m sorry to say that what you thought was Steve McQueens’ XKSS is in fact a hacked-down hillman minx, bits from something French & some rather dodgy fibreglass.

TWR is back – and the first project for the former British racing team is a restomod Jaguar XJS, created with help from designers Magnus Walker and Khyzyl Saleem.

Image: City A.M

Tyres lose grip as they age, regardless of use and tread depth. We do see many classic Jaguars come to us with 15 or 20 year-old tyres, or sometimes with the original 1980’s tyres. While they may still pass the MoT on tread depth, they will certainly have reduced grip. I have experienced this many times when conducting road tests, and I find the car losing back-end grip when I wouldn’t expect it. This is of course very dangerous, since one needs maximum grip in an emergency, yet one would not notice the issue when driving leisurely.

Tyre manufacturers have a vested interest in selling tyres as frequently as possible, but nevertheless their recommendations make sense. A decent article here: https://www.uniroyal-tyres.com/car/service-knowledge/the-importance-of-tyre-age-as-well-as-tread-depth/

The age of the tyre can be easily found by looking for the age code on the sidewall (sometimes on the inside). This is 4 digits, preceded by the letters “DoT” and some miscellaneous numbers/letters.

As is the case with many classic cars, some parts are getting hard to find these days. Accordingly, KWE has established a strong working relationship with Simply Performance (https://www.simplyperformance.com/) who amongst many developments and products of their own, have become pre-eminent in the UK for Jaguar used parts. Simply are totally reliable, helpful and have enormous stocks. We use them a lot, and can recommend them whole-heartedly.

Checkout their website for all their products and services, or give them a call: +44 (0)1306 711 134

A very rare Lister Le Mans with twin superchargers is with us for assessment and restoration. Many will be familiar with the car, especially when it had the registration DAV1BOY in the ’90’s. Indeed, Theresa and I spotted it on the ferry to Le Mans via Caen in about 1999 and asked the owner what colour it was since it looked so fabulous. (It’s Lister Le Mans blue, by the way).

KWE is the approved installer for Electrogenic (https://www.electrogenic.co.uk/) Jaguar EV conversion kits. These are well-proven, professionally designed kits comprising electric motor, battery pack, control gear, charger etc. Electrogenic is the UK leader for such conversions, and have appointed KWE as their chosen installer for all Jaguar classic cars. Equally, KWE has been dabbling in EV conversion for some while, but has chosen to go with the best, bolt-in solutions from Electrogenic, having seen their design philosophy and driven their results!