In August, 2000 the water pump and belts were replaced just in time for the San Diego Jaguar Club's Concours d'Elegance. My Jaguar was fortunate enough to finish second in the D-3 [Driven 3] Class. Score was 9.735 with expected deductions coming from my "wrong" size Pirelli P4000 tyres and my "wrong" 15" steering wheel. Both provide driving pleasure for me. My thanks to the judges for being so apologetic for doing their job.

Feburary 2001 and the Dextron Valdez no longer leaks p/s fluid. People in the free world can now go to the store and buy Dextron for their cars! The p/s rack was rebuilt by Tracy at Jaguar Specialists along with new rack mounts , tie rod ends, front brake pads and stainless steel teflon coated front brake hoses. Steering and stopping were never better. May brought a spin on oil filter adaptor from Dan Mooney in Austin, TX as well as a pair of beautiful K & N chrome air filters for my Stombergs. Trip to Borrego Springs in 110 F saw no overheating.

December 2001 revealed no new flaws in the Jag with a quick trip to Palm Springs and back. Gas milage was a poor 16 but, fun factors were in the high 90's. Ran cool all the way there and back without so much as a hiccup. After sitting while we were gone on vacation over Thanksgiving and early December to the east coast, a battery recharge was the only "top-up" required.2002 has been a wonderful year with trips to Palm Springs, Lake Arrowhead, Borrego Springs, and Temecula. All non-eventful and very satisfying for Jaguar driving. Everything works as it should. May of 2002 finds a new heat shield for the brake and clutch bottles. And a new Mallory Unilite distributor. Birthday presents. August 11, 2002 finds us at Spanish Landing in San Diego for the Concours d'Elegance. My battery died while in line to park the car on the field of dreams. Thanks to my buddy Lou who twice juiced my car. Competition was tough but, I squeeked by with a 3rd place. Lights lit ... turn signals blinked ... horn honked. All on a dead battery. The cup fits in with other trophys. 9.6050 and tougher judges.

October,2002 and we are off through the mountains and down into Palm Desert to visit with friends who have just had an XKR delivered. What a car. The XKE seems much larger. Our wire wheels were no match for the really big chrome 18 inch wheels on the R. But, you can see the family lines in the fenders, flank, airintake and exhaust. The trip was uneventful and exhilerating. Lots of smiles and waves and thumbs up.

Plans to sell the Jag seem to fall through at the last minute. My last "buyer" from Reno seems to have lost all of his money at the crap tables. Too bad for both of us. The car is still for sale at $17,500. Newest addition was a battery from Costco. Last one lingered on for seven years. No major trips in the Jag until after the Thanksgiving.

Long hot ride to Scottsdale with a quick turnaround and back to San Diego. Left on Thursday and back on Monday. Car ran cool and the desert was about 100 F. No problems. 17 mpg for the trip. Car cruised at 80 mph for long distances. Put the car up for sale on EBay with a low reserve price. It was sold after 36 bids to a local car collector. We are both happy with the sale and the car was picked up on June 27, 2003. This site will be maintained for other areas of car interest and who knows what the future will bring in terms of automotive delights....Like our new Infiniti G35 below.