To the casual observer, it may seem nonsensical to start a Jaguar-related post with a picture of a Buick. But there is, in fact, a method to the madness.
See, this isn’t just a story about gas tanks. It’s a story about hard-to-find parts, wild goose chases, deleted craigslist posts, swap meets, cruise nights, junkyard creativity, and making the best of a bad situation. It also happens to include an elusive Can-Am, a ragtop Riviera, and a roughed-up Coronet with a bee on the rear quarter.
Confused? Don’t worry – it’ll all make sense after the jump.
When we last checked in on the Jag, it was running, driving, and leaking. Many of the smaller problems it was having (such as a cracked coolant overflow tank, a clogged and subsequently field-modified evap check valve, etc) have since been fixed. But its biggest problem still remains: the spaghetti-strainer gas tanks.
Since both the left and right tanks were poke-a-screwdriver-through-’em rusty, no chemical or coating was going to do them any good. This car’s only way to move forward would be a tank transplant.
But where to find one – much less two? In the past few months, exactly two Jaguars have appeared in the local junkyards. One, this ’83, had tanks that were just as bad as mine. The other, which was promised up and down to be a proper Series III car before I made the 2 hour drive, turned out to be a ’94 upon arrival. This project couldn’t be put on indefinite hold until the next junked Jag came along… so it was looking like used tanks were out.
What’s left, then? New tanks run around $300 a pop, plus shipping and all other applicable fees. That’s approximately 30% of the car’s value… plus, I’m simply too cheap to drop three Benjamins on a chunk of stamped sheetmetal.
Two less-traditional options remained. The first, and least ridiculous, was to find an appropriately sized fuel cell.
Turns out my idea of stuffing a fuel cell into the sparewell (while at the same time eliminating all the crazy dual-tank plumbing, and extending one of the fillers with a long hose) was far from an original concept. If others can do it, why not me?
New fuel cells cost about as much as a new Jag tank. Having determined that, the hunt was on for a used fuel cell (or the marine equivalent) of acceptable dimensions.
After a few days of watching craigslist, one finally appeared. The seller was about 60 miles from me, and was happy to let it go for $100. Success at last!
Or so I thought. After two failed attempts to retrieve the fuel cell, I was getting rather frustrated. It seemed the seller was a pretty popular guy, and routinely got called away on a moment’s notice. Broken appointments were quickly becoming the norm. But with no other viable options presenting themselves, I decided to keep trying.
My third attempt came this past Saturday. As always, the trip would have multiple objectives: to pick up the fuel cell, to stop by Grandma’s house and clean the gutters, and to put some miles on the LeSabre (which I had put a few hours and dollars into making roadworthy over the past several days).
Upon reaching the Cities, I shouldn’t have been too surprised to find that I’d been stood up once again. The slippery seller had managed to miss our meeting, and was unavailable by phone. So I moved on to the next item on the list: gutter cleaning.
Two hours and zero completed phone calls later, I finally decided to check the craigslist ad. The result was as I’d feared.
Yup, he’d deleted the ad. The seller would later claim he’d sold it to some guy who he thought was me. It didn’t really matter what the circumstances were, though – gone is gone.
I wouldn’t consider myself an optimist, but this was one case where I could “look on the bright side”. I was in Roseville, Minnesota, just two blocks from the State Fairgrounds, where the MSRA Back To The Fifties car show was in full swing.
Being so close to the grounds meant that, as always, Grandma’s living room sofa would be a front-row seat for all the action. So I decided to hang around, watch the cars, and do some fuel cell hunting once the swap meet began.
I should probably take a moment to give you a brief Buick update. Though it’s far from done, I had managed to get it tuned up, cleaned up, wearing decent tires, and sporting new shocks and exhaust over the past several days. These simple improvements had made it into an acceptable driver.
My grandmother, who’s 86 and still as active as ever, had never really taken much of an interest in cars. Perhaps that’s why I was so surprised when she expressed interest in going for a ride in the Buick during the big Saturday night cruise.
Though it was 19 years too new (and way too unfinished, IMHO) to officially partake in the festivities, there was nothing stopping me from getting it out amongst the traffic. And with 12 hours to burn before the swap meet began, I figured, why not?
So we hopped in and hit the streets. There were at least six police officers per mile on the cruise route, trying to prevent the stoplight launches, impromptu burnout boxes, and other exhibition stunts that used to be the norm in past years. Traffic was moving slowly and steadily at 35-40 miles per hour… the perfect situation to prevent embarrassment when driving a 3800-ish pound car with a 231 V6 (making all of 110hp) under the hood.
Of course, there was no shortage of interesting vehicles out cruising that evening.
And no matter how many years go by, or what vehicle I may happen to have at the time, it’s always fun to be driving amongst so many of them.
There’s always a crowd of spectators along the cruise route. For about two miles, they line up shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the street. Picnic blankets and beach chairs are the norm.
Though plenty of cars partake in the cruise, some of the most interesting stuff is often found on the sidelines. Such was the case with the seemingly unrestored Super Bee.
We swung back for another picture, but neither quite turned out.
It seemed we weren’t the only ones flaunting the “nothing newer than ’64” cutoff.
I know I’ve seen this ragtop Riv for sale before, somewhere. Glad to see it’s found a good home.
Though it didn’t want to stand still long enough to be photographed, this Can-Am was also making laps.
The cruise brought out all sorts of wild creations – even the ridiculous stuff, like this ’60-’61 on ’92-’00 Chevy crew cab dually mash-up…
…and this Caddy on a truck frame, sporting late-model Escalade rims and “zombie patrol” graphics on the doors.
So you’ve got a Cadillac sedan, a wrecked GM truck, and too much time on your hands. Why limit yourself to bodywork and a garden-variety LS swap? “If less is more, imagine how much more more would be!”
As darkness began to set in, Grandma decided she’d seen her fill. I brought her home, and went out to kill a bit more time on my own.
At one point I paused in the parking lot of this Arby’s for a few pictures, while the car was still clean and relatively shiny.
A few minutes later, I found myself making a U-turn in the parking lot of Har Mar Mall, right across the street. A rusty second-generation Nova rolled in as I headed for the exit. Someone in a late ’70s Camaro rumbled up behind me as I waited for the light to change.
As I sat there, taking in the sights as Blue Oyster Cult played on the radio, I couldn’t help but think of my parents growing up here in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I thought of my father, terrorizing these very same streets in his orange ’73 Nova RS, or perhaps the ’71 Satellite Sebring he’d had before it – or the ’62 Bel-Air that came before that.
Granted, what I was seeing, hearing, doing – all was a very condensed form of what one might have seen back in those days. Still, it was the closest thing I myself would ever get to experience.
But really, the details didn’t matter. Sitting here in this two-door boat, windows down, chrome shining, as my anemic V6 burbled deceptively through its newly-installed glasspack… everything about it just felt right.
A narrowly-averted confrontation with the law shortly thereafter (instigated by a burned-out brake light I didn’t know about, and avoided by the timely use of an alley he didn’t know about) made the similarities even more uncanny.
The Sunday swap meet began promptly at 6 AM the next morning. I was there, slightly refreshed after an evening on the sofa, and ready to (hopefully) find the long-awaited tank that would move Project XJ6 forward.
Will rain ruin my plans?
Will a proper fuel cell appear?
Will the trip end in victory, or defeat?
Will this story involve me pushing a car home?
Find out tomorrow when Part Two appears… same cat time, same cat channel!
Great pictures thanks for sharing! I love being in cruises like that in a small town, makes me feel like a part of American graffiti.
Good luck with the jag, but the Buick is looking great!
For a short time, I lived just a few miles away from the Fairgrounds (Larpenteur Ave and Dale area), and my brother now has a house in the same area, so I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Back to the 50’s weekend is car overload. There are just tooooooooo many cars around that they almost all blend into one.
“a 5000-lb. car with a 231 V6”
I hardly think so, more like 3800 or so at the curb, especially with the V6 and apparent dearth of options.
You’re right. I was supposed to look that up and replace the placeholder figure, but I forgot. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
My (not always trustworthy) weight list has it at 3487lbs. Add passengers and cargo, and your 3800lb guess sounds mighty close.
Re the V6. I spent 2 years in Michigan in the mid 80s (I’m from Canada) and up to then I never saw these small engine big cars. Maybe it was because we didn’t have to worry about CAFE, but I never saw a V6 powered B or C-body until I went to the US.
In Western Canada V8s were pretty much the default.
WRT the weight-If your source is the factory literature, they always list the absolute no-option, no gas, bare minimum. The AC would add close to 100 pounds, even a radio adds a few pounds. A friend way back when had a ’77 Impala Coupe no options that weighed in at over 3700 as verified by the city dump. This was on the trip out and we deducted our own body weights to arrive at that.
I know that 80-up B-bodies scraped off a few pounds with things like more aluminum parts, tape-drive window lifts etc, I’m quite confident that Buick weighs at least 3700 at the curb.
While 5000 is *a bit* off, having had an ’82 Malibu with the 229 V6 that made the same lively 110 HP, I feel your pain. The Malibu was even a few pounds ligher (3300 maybe?) but it was the opposite of fast with that engine.
Your Buick, on the other hand, has a heck of a lot more style than a rough Malibu sedan with a cheap Econo Paint respray. Nice-looking ride even if it’s not exactly a drag race terror!
“same cat time, same cat channel!”
I’m about thirty years too young to have heard that reference on TV. But it’s a nice touch! Look forward to hearing more about the Jaaaaag.
“confused you won’t be after this week’s episode of SOAP”
Love the old-fashioned Arby’s sign.
+1 – All of the Arby’s in this area have long since replaced that model sign.
+2 The only one in Omaha left the scene probably 20 years ago. Very surprised to see one still around.
I love seeing the old-school Giant Hat Arby’s signs as well. The one on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, NC still has one, or at least it did last I passed by in 2013. Pretty sure the building itself is much newer than the sign for that location.
There’s one in Orem Utah too. It’s the only one I’ve seen.
There was one in Worcester, MA until about ten years ago. The Arby’s is still there, but the old-style sign was removed and replaced by smaller, more modern signage.
Thanks for taking us along for the ride. I’m glad I spent time in the Midwest…many happy memories.
Hmm, if part 2 is forthcoming I can guess you’ve solved the problem already, but rather than a fuel cell have you considered a plastic tank in the trunk?
Something like a Ford Focus tank, there’s a Ford/Jag connection so it sort of makes sense.
Nice cruise pics. I’ve driven the VW to cruise night a couple of times, it was a bit nerve wracking to back into a spot between two very nice cars with my ratty ol bug.
Can you remind me again why the Jag was built with dual tanks?
Because England 😉
Better more even weight distribution?
Better more even weight distribution? Or maybe improved trunk space?
And if you replace two tanks with one tank, and connect one filler to it…you *do* have a plan to prevent someone pumping gas into the other filler????
Disconnected filler cap locked at all times + only driver will be me
So no matter which side of the car you pulled up to, the gas fill would be on the correct side? Of course GM had a more elegant solution to the same problem with its center rear-mount filler behind a flip-down license plate holder.
Then again if the tanks weren’t connected (were they? no idea) you’d have to lay the hose across your nice paintwork to get to tank #2 so maybe it’s not so convenient.
With this Jag’s two-tank setup, each tank was independent, and you had a switch on the dash.
Many people seem to have replumbed their Jags such that the two tank outlets go to a Y, which then feeds the pump – eliminates the complexity and makes the tanks auto-balancing.
eliminates the complexity and makes the tanks auto-balancing.
And dependant on the accuracy of 1 Smiths fuel gage system? Maybe the dual tanks are intended as a backup for the Smiths gauge?…’course, you would still be dependant on a Lucas solenoid to switch tanks.
I remember a Motor Trend XKE test of the early 70s “…the beautiful look and ill function of Smiths insturments. Calibrated with the precision of a Rolex watch, and the tach jumped 500rpm with each pulse of the turn signal”
I remember reading that the early 50’s Jag Mark VII sedans had tanks like that because some designer forgot to make space for them, so they had to stuff ’em up in the wheel wells. But this car was built a long time after that, so that excuse won’t fly.
Sounds very frustrating Keith. I would post “Want to Buy Series III gas tanks” on the most active internet forums for this model. You might get lucky with someone nearby. Assume you’ve already checked with the best used parts specialists for Jag if not you could find out who they are from same site. Might be one fairly close to you. I imagine shipping costs for a used tank aren’t cheap but maybe not too bad if you just get one? I don’t like the fuel cell idea the car would have zero resale value.
Sounds very frustrating Keith.
Ayup. Were I in that position, I would start wondering if all the time, travel and grief was worth more than the three Benjamins that an OEM tank would cost.
I have suffered that “death of a thousand cuts” on some non-automotive projects myself.
I would do same, in this order…
1. Give finding a used tank one last try, but this time with help from the Jag community
2. Spring for the OE tank, just one
3. Sell the car as-is and move on
4. Install a fuel cell
4. doesn’t make much sense because what you would save versus buying a new tank would be lost when you went to sell the car, if you could sell it at all. The car looks nice enough to fetch $3-4k when finished but if it’s too rough for that then the fuel cell idea could work.
As it sits the only thing we’ve learned from Project XJ6 is to make sure the fuel tank isn’t leaking on an old car that has been sitting.
1 – could work, but shipping used tanks is difficult / possibly illegal
2 – if I was to get a new tank, it would be one new tank
3 – no can do, I wouldn’t want to let the CC readership down!
4 – what I’ve been pursuing
There’s also a fifth option, which another commenter hit on above. But I won’t get into that until tomorrow.
If the fifth option is picking up on the idea of a plastic tank: check the dimensions of the Ford Ranger tanks. Our ’97 has a plastic tank.
Plan R for Robert: if you know someone who can mold a new plastic tank, take the old tanks out, use them to make the mold, then blow mold new tanks?
And if that works, keep the molds and advertise “Keith’s repro tanks for rusty Jags”
Steve
I like your LeSabre a lot. A throwback to simple large cars from the early ’60s. The classic Cragar wheels work especially well on a Buick considering how much they have in common with Buick wheels.
Nice write up on your “car day.”
I LOVE your Buick!!! Hope to get my ’85 on the road in good time.
Happy motoring!
That’s a nice car, but if you own the building in that photo then I am very jealous.
We did own the building…it belonged to my late father who ran a small manufacturing firm in another part. The building was an old brass mill in CT that dated back to the early 1800s. Unfortunately, Dad passed 5 years ago and soon thereafter the building was slated for demolition as the structure had deteriorated to the point where it was economically unsalvageble. I took this photo the day i moved the LeSabre out, she is currently in a new home awaiting her swan song. Roughly a week later, all that was left of the building was a memory.
Yours is shockingly similar to mine – looks great! If I keep mine around, I suspect it’ll end up looking even more like yours as time goes on.
Near-term plans: paint detailing/polishing, remove the 14″ wheels/tires from front, move 15″ wheels/tires on rear to front, mount some tall and fat rubber on my 15×8 Cragars for the back
Further-term plans, if it’s still here in a month or so: ’84+ nose/tail/bumper fill swap, find a matching set of vinyl top trim parts, add a triple gauge setup (water temp/oil pressure/volts)
Long-term plans, if I decide to hang onto it (next year, at best): drivetrain swap using some of what I’ve got laying around… ’73 Buick 455, TH400, 3.08/posi rear (from 9C1 Caprice), front spindles/hubs/etc to match 😀
I’d move up the timeframe on all those things, but I’ve got an ailing Jag and a fledgling radio station to tend to.
This was supposed to be a fix-n-sell vehicle, but I’m finding that it has more going for it than I first suspected. We’ll see… maybe I’ll end up keeping it after all.
I like your plans….the last RWD LeSabres with the simple vertical bar grille and the wide, flush tails were the best-looking of the bunch IMO.
If you do keep it and go full build, will it stay brown (very characteristic late 70’s/early 80’s which is both good and bad) or go for a different color choice?
I’m hoping to work with the paint that’s on it. It’s original, but very oxidized… will take a little more than just a buff and wax to get it shining again.
I’ve achieved some improvement using detailing clay and Meguiar’s #7; currently researching other techniques and products that might move things further along.
Thanks for the compliments!
I always wanted to put in a T/A 6.6 and keep the E4MC carb and TH200-R4. The 307 is a great workhorse motor and a legend in its own right (especially among folks here at CC), but isn’t very spirited due to its design and I’m not about to put a Chevy motor in either!
Only trick is finding the 6.6…in a pinch I guess a 403 Olds out of any Electra/88/98 would do 😉
The ‘computers’ in these cars were nothing but a glorified switch and a timer, which once understood, really is a performance benefit as the means to go about tuning the EEPROM in these cars is rather simple. Plus the added feedback controls help the fuel economy on long drives up steep hills here in CT where gas is a hair south of $4/gal…
I heard about the bumper fills, never seen one tho! To me, GM had it right with the 5MPH bumpers by this time; the LeSabre actually wears them the best of all the B-Body chassis, IMO.
For me, i need to replace the windshield as some Punk-ass kids broke in one night an hummed a brick into the pristine 1985 glass. (I was seething with anger). The bumper fillers are finally giving up the ghost despite being under a car cover for 7 years, and there is some paint blemishes in the original paint as this car was daily driven for 2 years. Other than that, this car is exactly as it was on 1/14/1985 when it left Flint, bound for Torrington, CT.
If I were you, I’d hold on to your car…the mechanicals will last far beyond most of whats on the road today. Plus, you got a comfy tow vehicle for when your Jag has a bad day 🙂
Cheers!
That whole cruise-in looks like a good time, for sure. And your Buick, for all its V6 faults still looks like it has a huge bang for the buck factor. Those Cragars can make damn near ANYTHING look cool!
Guess I could/should have mentioned that this is the same Buick seen at the end of this article from November of last year:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/junkyard/weekend-junkyard-outtake-electra-follow-up/
For $800 plus a tow, some time, and a few parts (mostly stuff I had on hand), I’ve been pretty happy with this one. Much happier than I expected when I towed it away, that’s for sure! 😉
I’ve successfully fibreglassed tanks that have been rusty. 7 years later, still not dripping.
Wow that Silverado in the first photo sure is dented and rusty.
I rather like your Buick- the dash board is pretty damn stylish, but that Riviera looks like a sweet place to be on summer evening!
Love the tail-end shot of the Cor-Van! I can commiserate with you in regards to getting your hopes up at a junk yard. Buying a parts car leads to pretty much the same thing. It could account for my accumulation of 3 Austin Americas in my back yard all suffering from the same fatal woes. I wonder if that would explain my premature hair loss all those years ago!?
Love the Can Am! I do like what you are doing with the Buick