“The problem with the original XJ wasn’t leaking oil. It Lucas electrics.”
Haha! The Prince of Darkness. My MGA was afflicted with them as were just about every Brit car of that period. the MG was 12 volt, + ground (Lucas referred to it as “positive earth.”) Two six volt batteries wired in series, located in a compartment behind the seats, open to the road below.
I’m beginning to miss that little oddball car... Sniff.
Lucas electronics. The reason the British drink warm beer is that they have Lucas refrigerators.
The Rover 3500 sedan had the battery in the trunk. The trunk carpet would get inevitably get wet when you had to add water to the battery. It had a small reserve tank so that when you ran out of gas due to faulty instruments, you could pull a mechanical lever and have enough gas to get to a station (remember to pull the lever out when filling the tank so the reserve would fill, as well). Twin carbs, aluminum engine and body.
The XJ, on the other hand, had dual tanks (filler cap on each side) which didn’t interconnect, again, so you didn’t have to rely on the gas gauge). Unfortunately, the choice of tank was controlled by an electrical (see the problem) toggle switch on the dash.
Driving Asian cars isn’t nearly as exciting.