Daimler Double Six/Jaguar XJ12 Series 3: A V12 Luxury Masterpiece for Sensible Money | Full Review 

Thank you. The XJ virus is very real, and once you own one, it’s very hard to imagine owning anything else. I will be featuring a lot more Jaguars on the channel very soon. I hope you continue to enjoy your Double Six.

Agreed Sir Lyons had a way with his pen. Some of his styling ques lived on in other Jaguar models. Sadly, I don’t see those lines in todays sedans. You have the last of the best .👌

@@calsurflance5598 Unfortunately, this is how it is, the current models have no charisma. Thank you for the compliment.

@@fuelupclassic I would be very happy about that. Thank you very much, every trip is a pleasure.

Wow, I have a similar story and I'm a similar age. The only difference is I now have a Silver Spirit which I absolutely love, but I would welcome another V12 into the fold.

That is a great story! Sometimes the satisfaction of bringing one of these great cars back to life becomes far more important than the financials. I hope you enjoyed every mile in your XJ. Thank you for your kind words about the channel and I hope you enjoy the content.

They're wonderful things :)

A wonderful collection :)

same

Spot on. Agreed.

Hi from Sydney, Australia. Mark, there is nothing quite like a giant 60's designed Jaguar, if Sir William Lyons & his small but faithful band of British Boffins designed it, it was bound to be terrific, beyond par with ANYTHING else. I'm a 66 yr old Doctor now, as a 6 yr old kid my mum bought a new 1961 Jag mk10 we collected it from the Jaguar plant in Coventry and it was shipped back to Mosman, Sydney. Whilst it was readied to drive away in, Norman Dewis held my hand and walked me around the factory, it was fantastic. The mk10's were all in one area on giant wheel-able dolly's being HAND BUILT not on a conveyor like mk2's, E types & Daimler 250 v8 sedans. my mum replaced it with a 1971 model 420G. As a 19yr old I bought a LHD 1965 mk10 4,2 litre Jag only affordable as it was left hand drive & just before all cars in Australia had to be RHD or off the road in july 1st 1975. It had a mere 52,000kilometres on it, like new, I pushed that to 250,000k's, before which I had bought a long wheelbase late series 1 xj6. Only 700 odd of the 4.2ltr RHD Jag versions of this longer body were ever made, I owned it 32 years. Only sold it as I had the opportunity to buy a 1owner Aussie delivered 1967 version of a mk10 (where BMC ownership of Jaguar shares had caused a re-naming to 420G) a 420G as it was also 1 owner it had in 2012 a mere 52000miles on the clock. Let me say that although I own a variety f other cars , NOTHING drives like a big '60's Jaguar, forget a MK2 as they are a '50's car and nowhere near as serene to drive, you need the longer wheelbase and the IRS, it really does make those cars. Consider this, a high output race spec version of the 4.2litre Jag engine with the bronze head has almost the same power as a basic v12 Jag engine. Also out of the 2600 odd series 1 LWB XJ body shells few were "dealer floor plan cars" near all were special order vehicles. If you are looking for something really special look for one of these, as all were from the days of Lyons himself running Jaguar and these were ALL no compromise cars and near all hand built. I rate the mk10 higher, as when new they could be had with Koni gas shocks from the factory which vastly bettered the handling dynamics plus if you picked the bronze head higher compression ratio version, you near knocked out any aluminium touching steel issues creating head gasket failures.

Thank you

Couldn't agree more! Thank you for watching.

Very true! I really enjoyed my 4.2 series 3 but now I have experienced the v12, I was really impressed.

Thank you 🙂.

Thank you! Plenty more Jaguar content on the way

I fully understand! After driving the Daimler, I really wanted to take it home, as it was that good. I have self-imposed a strict one car in one car out policy to stop the obsession spiralling out of control.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it and thank you for watching.

They certainly have a charm all of their own. I understand your dads decision to move to Mercedes though!

Hopefully you will not have to wait too much longer.

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the video. They certainly do look fantastic! The biggest problem is when they aren’t used regularly problems develop and they can be expensive to fix. It’s really only been in the last few years with values rising that the XJ models in particular have been worth restoring but even then it can cost a fortune.

Nardi steering wheels are perfect to compliment the interior. It's the same steering wheel used in Rolls Royce Silver Spur/Spirit cars. It's considered an upgrade over the OEM leather wrapped one that came in both makes.

Jaguar have always been a little 'economical' with the truth when it came to their claimed top speed. Nonetheless i'd shake anyones hand who was willing to give it a go.

@@fuelupclassic I agree that 135-140 mph is plenty. That is about what the Benz 6.9 could do, and the benz was much more expensive. And Jaguar was not the only optimistic company with respect to top speed. I think most German sporty cars claimed excessive top speeds.

Glad you enjoyed it. A four speed auto would have transformed the car and I imagine improve fuel economy too. I hope to get a later XJ40 and X300 V12 models on the channel for a comparison in the near future.

Was yours not reliable? I've always found with any of my old Jaguars as long as you look after them properly, they're generally very good.

Fuel consumption on my low mileage DD6 is fine - 16 to 21 mpg on a good run, often driving quite fast. It's nonsense that they're excessively thirsty. Single digits only applies on short, local journeys. Read the contemporary road tests, in normal driving these cars achieve 16-18 mpg, which is comparable to other high performance cars.

They are great cars! I can’t say my XJ6 was very reliable at first, but it had been stored for a number of years before I bought it, so problems cropped up as I started using it. The big expenses were a cylinder head rebuild and having the rear brakes completely overhauled. I wasn’t confident working on it in myself in those early days, but eventually taught myself (because I couldn’t afford to pay anyone) to fix things as I lived with it. I’d have another one in a heartbeat and it’s the car I miss the most.

@@fuelupclassic Thanks for the reply 👍 and yeah that does make sense they say the worse thing for them is not to be used , but I'm sure you already know that tbh ✌️

I don't mind the old 3-speed automatic but I would love to have a go in one that has had a 5-speed manual conversion. I'm told it transforms the driving experience.

Tired bushes are a common issue on these and the difference between a tired example and one that has been completely re-bushed throughout with OEM parts (as this one has) is night and day. I however have always found all the examples of XJ and XJS we have in the family (currently on number 15) to have incredibly light, overly assisted steering, but never sloppy. It suits the nature of the car very well in my opinion and they are an effortless drive. Road holding and grip levels are very good and the ride remains one of the best available. However, a sports car with incredible steering feel it is not, and nor would I want it to be. Behind the wheel of a well-sorted example is still a fantastic place to be, and of course they offer a certain charm and character like no other.

These cars really do have a very light servo steering. However, in my D6 I feel that the steering ratio is very low as well which makes cornering a bit adventurous. I read that there is a Jaguar quick ratio steering rack (probably from the XJS): Anybody got experience with that?

Love it!

All part of the charm ;)

This is also a low mileage, impeccably maintained Japanese import car and in my experience over a mixture of driving conditions a combined figure of 15mpg is about right. 20 (ish) mpg is achievable on long steady runs.

​@@fuelupclassic Thanks for the clarification. I was reading a 1982 road test of the V12 Jag/Daimlers, and they said a key point is that the fuel gauge only shows the fuel in one tank at a time. So the gauge appears to be dropping rapidly, but is only showing one of the two 10-gallon tanks, toggled from a switch on the dashboard, as you know. This is why a lot of people think the cars are excessively thirsty, when actually they're not. As you suggest, journey length is key. Around town, and short journeys, you're lucky to get into double figures. But once you've covered say 30+ miles, the trip computer starts showing remarkably improved fuel consumption. I did Bournemouth to Reading & back in one day, and was staggered to find my average consumption had been 22mpg! And I didn't hold back on speed either. Cruising at 60mph seems to produce similar fuel consumption to cruising at 80mph, for example. Overall, stunningly beautiful cars, and the Jap imports are insanely good value, and in timewarp condition. Mine drives like a 3-year old car. The MoT garage couldn't believe it, saying the underneath has zero corrosion, and is "mint"!

That's probably because the driver's side fuel tank was full and the other side empty.

Why?

Not that one, it's a Japanese import. Always half a dozen for sale in UK, from specialised importers, UK ones tend to be though.