Rusty But Trusty

Having featured this 1973 Mercedes 450 SLC a couple of weeks back as one of the few affordable GTs left from the pre-emissions/safety era, and dismissed the Jaguar XJS as too complex, the fact still remains that among V12 GTs that could give Ferrari and Lamborghini 2+2s a run for their money, this is the only affordable one left. So if you’re hung up on the feeling you can only get from driving a car with a ridiculous number of cylinders, particularly right now when oil is at $30/barrel, it’s worth another look at the XJS. The XJS had dual misfortunes, debuting in the shadow of the pleasantly plump Series 3 E-type, and in the 1970s when high oil prices (or the complete lack of oil) took out other great GTs like the Citroen SM. As such, it’s rare to find an early XJS, much less one in good condition. So let’s check out a real unicorn, this 1976 Jaguar XJS for sale for $3000 in Bremerton, WA, or on the dealer’s website for $5800.

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It’s well past time to return to a sometimes neglected series here at RustyButTrusty – the On The Street series, where classic cars in (regular?) use are featured. Let’s start with a very practical classic (sic), the 1964 Dodge Dart GT. This picture dates back to last fall, but this car was a regular customer at one of the commuter lots in the West Oakland BART station, so you know it was someone’s driver. Pale gold is a great 1960s color, and the best Darts of this generation are the early wide-eyed models. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell if this is the poverty slant six or the top end V8 – about an 80hp difference – but for a commuter car it doesn’t matter too much.

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