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Here is a clear view on the heat shields
that were added to these late models,
after many complaints about heat penetrating into the car.
Craig sent these picture to show how, to his great surprise,
the underbottom proved to be almost rustfree.
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The rightmost photos (looking forward under the car) show the catalytic
converter that was added to comply to Japanese rules.
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The upper left corner of the dashboard (above, middle photo) has a red light for the exhaust temperature sensor, which is mandatory for Japanese cars. It works via a thermocouple in the catalytic converter. A sticker on the inside of the sun visor (in Japanese) explains its function; when lit it shows the text "exhaust temp" in English, which is clear enough. The photos on this row show the left-hand-drive engine bay. Note how the brake cylinder and the battery swapped positions if you compare with a RHD car. |
Craig describes the search for his car in the following article, published in the magazine of the Jaguar Car Club of Victoria, British Columbia. He found the car in Japan, and bought it via the nationwide auction system with which Japanese car dealers manage their stock. One of the auction houses handles 6 million cars per year! Read his description of how this process works:
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Note how the picture of the car on the front page of the magazine was "flattened"
to fit the framework of the magazine's lay out.
The article mentions the honest descriptions prepared for each car by inspection teams connected to these auction houses. The inspection report for Craig's car is shown to the right:
The pictures here below were taken in the mountains when he drove the car home
from Vancouver, BC after picking it up on the docks.
The drive of 1,000 km was done in a day and the car drove very well,
with surprising fuel economy averaging 13.7 L/100km.
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Many years later, in 2021, Craig repeated the trip to Vancouver to visit the annual show of the Jaguar Club of Victoria, and covered the trip in an article in the Classic Jaguar magazine of Oct/Nov 2021. This article was added to the page with English language magazine articles.
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As a bonus, Craig threw in these pictures of car L420YAC, the last DS420 to come off the production line. The pictures were taken in 1998 with the XK150 celebrations at Donington Park where the JDHT had this car on display. | |
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Photos contributed in 2008
