Jaguar XJ6 S3 4.2 Convertible Manual

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One of the defining moments in Jaguar’s history occurred when Sir John Egan took on the role of Chairman in 1980. Aware of some of the shoddy practices that had slipped in during the production of the Series 2 cars in the late 70s and the knock-on effect it was having on Jaguar’s reputation, he instigated a major reform of work practices within the organisation.

As a result, the revamped and much improved XJ6 once again became one of the finest saloons on the market and some 133,000 were sold before it was replaced by the rather boxy and frumpy XJ40 in 1986.

It could be ordered as a saloon or coupe, those insisting on open-air Jaguar motoring having to make do with the two-seater XJS as there were no four-seat options available within the range.

This led to a number of companies offering good quality conversions of the XJ saloon, one of the more popular coming from the Welsh-based company Banham, who also specialised in similar conversions on the Aston-Martin, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari 400.

They used a rigid pop-out roof section over the front seats and a folding rear hood, keeping the side members above the doors and a ‘T’ bar in place to retain rigidity. Easy to use and giving a super sense of airiness when folded, they were popular for a period during the 1980s.

This well presented example started life as a 3.4-litre automatic saloon. At some time in its life, it received a soft-top conversion which we understand to have been carried out by Banham, although there is no documentary evidence of this and bidders are requested to come to their own conclusions regarding the origin of its conversion.

Its owner also decided to upgrade the power-plant to the more powerful 4.2-litre unit, mated to a manual gearbox, transforming the way it went in the process. It was in this configuration that it came into the vendor’s hands in 2007, the car having been well cared for by him ever since.

He sees no reason why the 114,300 miles showing on the odometer isn’t correct, the car having covered just a few thousand miles each year during his ownership. The history file includes job-cards from his coach-business outlining its service record since purchase and it comes with a handbook, workshop manual, seven old MOTs and the original service book which has eight service stamps from the 1980s.

Fitted with a quality Kenwood stereo and two new front tyres, it is MOTd until March 2016. The vendor advises us that it goes really well with terrific performance, although it hops out of reverse (and occasionally first) gear, which has never fussed him unduly.

Rare and extremely comfortable, this beautifully converted XJ6 always causes a stir wherever it goes.