Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Yeah...also the lack of manual offerings through the site, although understandable.

Also, you never answered my question regarding the effectiveness of the possum intake.

I must have missed that. It is pretty awesome 15hp+, comes with a K&N sticker.
 
This question probably is best for Spectre, but I'll ask here.


https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2010/08/19/SC197424-2sm.jpg

Was there ever a V12 version of the Jag XJS convertible with that rear end? All I'm finding on eBay and other auto traders is the 4.0 V6 version.
I've got to say that that rear end is my favorite of essentially all the Jaaaggggs. But I feel like as a Jaaagggggg, its got to have more than a V6.
 
This question probably is best for Spectre, but I'll ask here.

Was there ever a V12 version of the Jag XJS convertible with that rear end? All I'm finding on eBay and other auto traders is the 4.0 V6 version.
I've got to say that that rear end is my favorite of essentially all the Jaaaggggs. But I feel like as a Jaaagggggg, its got to have more than a V6.

Yes, but rare. And a lot of those have an annoying spoiler tacked onto the trunk lid. Like this one: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1899102372.html
 
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And it's not the first Daimler I've seen either. Saw another one about a month ago in traffic. This was in the local mall's parking lot. That interior looked incredible
 
And now I go out into the driveway to cuss at the 3 stupid fucking screws that will no doubt be impossible to remove to replace the Focus' blower motor.

I've already given up on the first 3 (NYLON!) screws and just torn the fabric kick panel off and thrown it away.
 
Spoilers can be removed. If you are going to get an XJS you'll want a '94 or newer (vastly better interior). The L6 is bullet proof. Unless you happen to find one of the rare V12s with the Ford engine electrics there are a couple issues related to the distributor on the Italian system.
 
I have a question about gasoline...

Last month two of the Chevron stations in town were turned into Shell. The only Shell stations in town. However, I have never seen a Shell tanker anywhere in the region...
So am I really filling up with Shell gasoline, or is it just the old Chevron crap?
 
How is one gas better than the other? The additives each adds to distinguish themselves from the other stations are as harmless as they are useless. All gas comes from the same pipelines. If the station has issues with water in the tank then it won't change.
 
It's the same story with engine oil - Castrol, Mobil, Valvoline...all the same but we have our preferences. I believe that my car runs better with Shell gas, from what I've observed in the past 2 years.
 
When an oil company puts n gallons of 87 octane gasoline in one end of the pipe, they're immediately entitled to take the n gallons of 87 octane gasoline that comes out the other end, no matter who put it in. So the gasoline itself from any given brand is more or less chemically identical because there are standards for that shit. What differentiates brands is additives. Sometimes they're added at the staging plant. Sometimes they're added once it's loaded in the truck (and mixed by the act of driving the truck). Sometimes they're poured into the tanks at the station. Sometimes they just aren't added at all. And it's rarely consistent day-to-day what additives, in what amounts and if they were added at all.

What appears to be "good brands" of gasoline is actually a complicated mental phenomenon responding to the effects, real and perceived, of a million variables that vary day to day and station to station, including contaminant levels in the trucks and storage tanks (including the age of the equipment), atmospheric temperature and pressure, additive levels, etc. etc. etc. etc.

The sign on the station (and therefore the particular brand of additives used) is, technically speaking, the least of your concern.



But yes, any old plain-jane gasoline distributor can feed your shell-branded stations, which likely add the additives on-site (if at all).
 
This question probably is best for Spectre, but I'll ask here.


https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2010/08/19/SC197424-2sm.jpg

Was there ever a V12 version of the Jag XJS convertible with that rear end? All I'm finding on eBay and other auto traders is the 4.0 V6 version.
I've got to say that that rear end is my favorite of essentially all the Jaaaggggs. But I feel like as a Jaaagggggg, its got to have more than a V6.

All the XJS convertibles from 1991-1996 looked like that, with the Geoff Lawson facelift. As others have commented, it had an I6 (91-96), not a V6, with either the 5.3 (91-92) or 6.0L V12 (93-95) as the other engine option.

Also, Wikipedia is incorrect/inaccurate on the matter of how many were imported. There were many more than 12 V12 convertibles imported; however, what they're talking about in that citation is the number of V12 convertible manual cars, I think. I have seen twenty six V12 convertible facelift XJS cars side by side all at once, so I know for a fact the WP number is wrong. However, the V12 did sell in fewer numbers than the I6 version did.

Yes, but rare. And a lot of those have an annoying spoiler tacked onto the trunk lid. Like this one: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1899102372.html

The spoiler was a factory option. It's nonfunctional, but inspired by the actually functional TWR bits.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1852174169.html <-V12 convertible.



Spoilers can be removed. If you are going to get an XJS you'll want a '94 or newer (vastly better interior). The L6 is bullet proof. Unless you happen to find one of the rare V12s with the Ford engine electrics there are a couple issues related to the distributor on the Italian system.

94-96s have the same interior as all the other 91-96 cars. Also, the 6.0's have the revised Ford electrics (at least, they don't seem to blow the distributors off) and apparently the last couple of those out the door had the EDIS system (as there's one in Dallas with that on it) which eliminates it entirely.

I've on'y ever seen one of those. it was on the highway, and there was just a sort of normal family inside.

Daimler Super Eights are sold as Jaguar Super V8s everywhere else in the world. :D

It's the same story with engine oil - Castrol, Mobil, Valvoline...all the same but we have our preferences. I believe that my car runs better with Shell gas, from what I've observed in the past 2 years.

This is not true. All oil is not the same and it can be quantified using something called Typical Inspection Data.

When an oil company puts n gallons of 87 octane gasoline in one end of the pipe, they're immediately entitled to take the n gallons of 87 octane gasoline that comes out the other end, no matter who put it in. So the gasoline itself from any given brand is more or less chemically identical because there are standards for that shit. What differentiates brands is additives. Sometimes they're added at the staging plant. Sometimes they're added once it's loaded in the truck (and mixed by the act of driving the truck). Sometimes they're poured into the tanks at the station. Sometimes they just aren't added at all. And it's rarely consistent day-to-day what additives, in what amounts and if they were added at all.

What appears to be "good brands" of gasoline is actually a complicated mental phenomenon responding to the effects, real and perceived, of a million variables that vary day to day and station to station, including contaminant levels in the trucks and storage tanks (including the age of the equipment), atmospheric temperature and pressure, additive levels, etc. etc. etc. etc.

The sign on the station (and therefore the particular brand of additives used) is, technically speaking, the least of your concern.

But yes, any old plain-jane gasoline distributor can feed your shell-branded stations, which likely add the additives on-site (if at all).

Around here, most companies insert the additive package when the tanker is filling up. It's rare to find improper or missing additive at the big name stations. Also, not all additive packages are the same, and they certainly have a quantifiable difference in how the gasoline performs in your engine.

A good example is Techron - something exclusive to Chevron and now Texaco; it is markedly different than most other additives, to the point where the Detroit automakers famously send tankers down to the Chevron plants in (IIRC) Kentucky to get the fuel to get better results on the EPA tests. Shell's nitrogen enriched additives are another case where they differ, though we're still waiting to see the long term effects of that package.
 
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Hence my preference for Shell gasoline.
 
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