Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/10/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Larry, What would you say about new Leicas and new Jaguars? :-) Cheers Jayanand On Fri, Oct 2, 2015 at 8:05 PM, Larry Zeitlin via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote: > Peter,? > Unless you have a of time and a fat wallet give a Jaguar XK 140 a pass. It > may be a nice showpiece but it makes a very bad users car. I owned one of > these, a bright red Jag convertible in the '50s. It may have been fast but > it was one of the worst engineered cars I ever drove. The engine featured > three SU carbs, one for each pair of cylinders, that were virtually > impossible to tune simultaneously. The spoked racing wheels had a tendency > to pop spokes on fast accelerations. Every time I tromped on the throttle > pedal I could hear the ping of a spoke popping. The knock off hubs, while > attractive, were almost impossible to remove. The steering wheel adjusted > to variety of positions, none of them comfortable. The engine intruded on > the footwell space requiring you to drive with one leg straight out, the > other bent to a crouching position. Eventually one of the brakes failed and > could not be repaired, even by the California Jag distributor. Thr=e > steering became so terminally loose that th > e car could hardly be driven in a straight line. It was a great babe > magnet but it was a car that I was afraid to drive. Eventually I traded the > Jag for an Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce at a used car dealership. The Alfa had > its own problems but was a joy to drive. Both the dealer and I were sure > that we had cheated the other. On the other hand, if you can pick up a 3.8 > liter Jag sedan,go for it. It is one of the best cars I ever owned. It's > safer to collect old Leicas than old cars. > Larry Z > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >