・3.6 litre Straight Six

・LPG Dual Fuel Conversion

・Digital dash

The development of project XJ40 started way back in 1973, but it wasn't until 13 years later that the XJ series was released. So why the long gestation period? You can blame the fuel crisis in 1973 and then a lack of funding. It was in October 1986, at the British International Motor Show, that Jaguar first introduced the XJ6 model which turned out to be the saviour of Jaguar. In the early years of the XJ, the engine options were 2.9 or 3.6 and buyers could spec it as an XJ6 or the much plusher Sovereign model, like the one we have here today. 

After the launch, the XJ40 was released to order in 1987. The new platform had significantly different styling, with more squared off and angular lines over the previous model. In the beginning, the Daimler still used the classic front end look of the twin round headlights and a single wide sweeping wiper. The interior received some modernisation with a switch to a digital instrument cluster, but still retained the analogue speedometer and rev counter.   

This 1988 Daimler Sovereign 3.6 was purchased by the owner in 2005. The owner has since sadly passed away and now the car is being sold by the family. The family commented that it was a well loved car by the owner, who loved to service and work on the car. Unfortunately there are not many receipts to show what parts have been purchased and fitted to the car, so the family aren’t sure of what has been done to the Daimler.

One thing that was done approximately seven years ago is the installation of an LPG conversion system. The appealing price of LPG prompted this, and at £0.49p per litre, who would argue. Prices are slightly higher nowadays, but it still makes running a 3.6 litre quite reasonable. This was done by a LPG specialist, but unfortunately no paperwork has been found to see who the work was carried out by. Since buying the car in 2005, the Daimler has covered just 21,297 miles in that time. Looking back through the MOT history there has never been any advisories to raise any concern, just the odd bit of mechanicing has sorted out any small issues.          

The V5 is present and shows 5 previous keepers.  

The MOT certificate expired on 29th November 2020, and so this would need to be remembered when collecting the car at the end of the auction. The Daimler is also registered as SORN. 

The Daimler has retained the green leather folder which holds the original service book showing a total of 10 service stamps. There are a few other booklets, but the owner's manual is not there, (this may appear but until then we should assume it’s missing). 2 sets of keys are present. 

There are just a few receipts from Jaguar specialists Norman motors Ltd and Berkshire Jag Components, dating back to 2005, which show parts bought for the Daimler. There are also 9 previous MOT certificates to finish off the history file. 

Open up the door of the Jaguar and you step right back to 1988. The electric leather seats are nicely worn in, with no real signs of wear, just some age related creases as you would expect, and on the electric side of things both front seats work as they should. The rear seat looks like it’s had no real use and is in excellent condition and the armrest and storage compartment open and close as they should. It's all about the attention to detail in the Sovereign, and fitted in the headrest of the front seats are some courtesy lights for the back seat passengers, which are working correctly. There are two roller blinds fitted to the rear screen and these extend and retract perfectly.     

Sitting in the driver’s seat, the burr walnut dash trim does show some signs of wear to it, with some slight cracking to the lacquer finish and what looks to be fading from the sun. There is a split just below the glove box in the lower section of the dashboard, quite a common place for this to happen. The digital dashboard has a reading of 62,038, which tally’s up with the MOT history. There are no engine warning lights showing. There is some slight wear to the leather finish of the steering wheel, but this is just described as age related. To the left of the steering wheel on the dashboard is the electronic wizardry for the LPG dual fuel conversion that has LED lights and switch. On the right are the cruise control settings and fuel mpg controls. Moving to the center console, the Daimler has been fitted with a Sony CD head unit that is connected to the working electric aerial. The windows all operate correctly and as far as we could tell everything else works just as it should. 

The carpets are all in very good condition with no real signs of wear. The door cards are all in a tidy condition with just a couple of age related scuffs. To the rear seats the Burr Walnut finish has gone the same way as the dashboard in places and has cracks to the finish and is slightly faded. The electric sunroof slides back and forth with ease. It does have the headlining panel missing and the rest of the headlining has started to sag around the edges and back of the car. 

In the large boot of the Daimler the carpet is clean and in nice condition. The spare wheel is present. This is different to the wheels on the car, but there are three other matching wheels included with the sale with the jack and some other tools included in a tool box by the side of the 60 litre Stako LPG Gas tank. 

The 1988 Sovereign is finished in the lovely Crimson. It does have some areas that have been touched up with a spray can, there is some lacquer peel to the bonnet and there are the odd few blisters of rust here and there, all of which are just age related scars.

Starting at the front of the Daimler, and the lower valance is in nice condition, with no areas of rust and is relatively chip free. Moving up, the bumper is bright and clean and the indicators are free from chips. The classic four headlamp setup is in tidy condition, with no chips to the lamps, and the grille is again bright and clean with a period AA badge attached. The bonnet aligns with the front of the car and also the wing rails, nice and straight. There is some lacquer peel to the bonnet and also a dent to the nose where it looks like someone has pressed on it. The bonnet struts have lost the pressure in the gas struts and so this will no longer stay up.  

Around to the sides, and the door panel gaps align uniform and straight. The chromework around the windows is all nice and clean. The small triangle panel on the rear door is starting to rust a little on the passenger side and is missing on the drivers side. There are areas along the sides of the car which have been touched up with a spray can and also areas that have started to show signs of rust. These are mainly to the front and rear arches. The top of the rear quarter around the fuel cap and also the panel along the bottom of the rear screen does show some rust. 

Onto the rear of the Sovereign and again the boot aligns nice and straight. The lights have no cracks or splits. The bumper chrome is nice and clean, but it does have a small dent next to the square cover. Just In case you are wondering, this is the fill point for the LPG Gas. Either side of the number plate are the Jaguar and Sovereign badges. These do have some water ingress that's found its way in.    

The wheels on the Car do have some areas of corrosion on them. These could be quite easily refurbished, but they are generally in good condition. They have four matching tyres that all have plenty of miles of tread left on them. As mentioned, there are three more wheels to match the spare, which are included. There are tyres fitted to them but these will need to be replaced. 

The Daimler Sovereign is fitted with Jaguar’s AJ6 3.6 litre straight six engine which produces 221 bhp and 240 lb-ft torque, and coupled to a 4-speed automatic gearbox. But let’s not forget about the LPG Dual Fuel conversion, which is definitely a plus point for the Sovereign.  

The 24 valve 3.6 litre sparks into life at the flick of the key and sounds fantastic, with no unwanted noises coming from the engine when revved. There is some oil around the sump area, although where the car was parked in the garage, there were no signs of it leaking onto the floor. The gas regulator is located towards the front of the passenger side in the engine compartment and has stamped on it Romano Autogas. To make way for the gas regulator the airbox has been removed and a cotton air filter has been used.

The family have the vehicle registered as SORN and so it has not been driven by anyone other than the owner who sadly passed away. They can only assume the car drives as it should as it was running correctly when it was last used. 

A 1988 Daimler, top of the range Sovereign, with a nice 3.6 litre straight six engine and a Dual Fuel LPG Conversion, complete with a large 60 litre gas tank. Covering just 21,297 in the last 16 years. Yes, there are the odd bits of body work to attend to, but generally a lot of car for the money. 

Quite easily a car that could be used on a daily basis with the added bonus of better fuel economy and cheaper fuel. Roll around in a bit of luxury with an MPG that will put a smile on your face!