This post is about 4 months overdue but, better late than never.

So a little history here. My Grandfather was always a car guy, he loved them. He passed away when he was 88, about 10 years ago now, but even at that age he could start from the beginning and list in order which cars he owned, where he bought them and then what he ended up trading them in on. He had everything from Buicks, Lincolns and Cadillacs to Nissan Z's and Audi's.

He had always loved Jaguars though and always wanted a Jag coupe. Unfortunately he was too tall to fit in them comfortably. He finally bought a Jaguar XJ8 thinking that would scratch the itch for a Jag but it didn't. He still wanted a coupe. In 1997 Jaguar came out with the new XK8 and he could finally fit! He bought it as soon as he saw it. He loved this car. He was so proud of it and so eager to talk to you all about it if you asked. And with good reason. I think to this day, it's one of prettiest cars ever made.

After he passed I bought the car from his estate and drove it as my daily driver. He only put about 19k miles on it in 6 years so it was in fantastic shape. I planned on keeping it forever. Unfortunately a few years later the mortgage industry hit bottom and I was forced to sell what I could to keep my head above water. Sadly, Granddad's Jag had to go. I sold it to a family in Canada and told them when they picked it, "if you ever sell this please give me a call!" Knowing good and well that I'd never see the car again.

Until about 7 years later. I got an email from the family stating that they wanted to sell the car and wanted to offer me the first chance. I instantly jumped at it. Over the next few months we negotiated a price, I tried to get as much information on the vehicles condition as I could and I arranged shipping from Montreal to Tampa.

Delivery day finally came and a complete mix of emotions came out. I was so excited to have the car back...until I saw it. These people had only put about 20k miles on the car but I swear they deliberately tried to damage it. The hood and roof had massive scratches in it, the interior has rips, tears and cracks and there isn't an exterior body panel that doesn't have a ding, dent or scratch in it. Even the trunk is missing the floor. Yeah, the floor! There's nothing there!

I didn't expect the car to be perfect but I didn't expect what I got either. After a few weeks of sheer disappointment I began to accept the condition of the car and decided that this project would be a lot of work but a lot of fun. At the end of the day the car is back where it belongs. I can finish it and be as proud of it as my Grandfather was when he owned it.

Here are a few pics, I'll post the progress and I go along.

Here's my Grandfather when he first got the car:


Here it is now:






All tucked away for now:

 

Love stories like this. I agree, I always thought that coupe body style was classic. Nice to hear the car found its way back to you. Looking forward to updates!

 

I like stories like this, I had one my self in Topaz Gold.

I kept it for 10 years until I traded it for a 07 XKR.

 

Despite the sad part about the condition of the car, it is still a beautiful story of reunion.