Jaguar Repair: 1967 Jaguar 420 stuck valve

Question
Howard,
I have a 1967 Jaguar 420 in my garage, which is a "project" car, but I am enjoying the challenge.
I have gotten it running, and just had a local English/German restoration mechanic run a compression test on it. Five of the cylinders read 160-170 psi, and one read ZERO. He removed the intake and exhaust valve covers, and felt he noticed a slight hesitation in the intake valve of the bad cylinder, when cranking the engine.
I bought it for $1,000, and have another $1,000 in transporting from Maine, and miner parts. My mechanic inspected the underside of the car, and felt it was worth holding on to it.
He believes the cost to repair the stuck valve will run about $1,000.
My question to you is whether it makes sense to continue, and also if there is perhaps a quick way to try to free up the stuck valve?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts,  Bill

Answer
Hi Bill,

If you bought the car for a $1,000. I can't see where you can possibly loose no matter what is wrong. As for a stuck valve it is possible, if the car has been setting for a long time the stem of a valve can get rusted and thus stick when it tried to operate. However, a sticking valve on a 6 cylinder jag is very likely to then get bent by most likely the other valve or the piston. And the following is a test for what happened.

Here is what you should do if you want to take on the project. All you need is a standard set of mechanics tools (most all the bolts and nuts are USA.) And I will walk you through the process. You do not need to be highly skilled mechanic to fix the car.  

First, be sure you get a clear title. Then remove the cam covers. It would be good to order a cam alignment tool from Moss Motors or Engel Imports (not expensive) but that is not 100% necessary.

Also get a large socket the size of the front crank bolt in the center. I don't remember the size but it is close to 1-5/16 inch socket. This is so you can hand rotate the crank small amounts.

Blow out the spark plug wells in the head and remove all the spark plugs. This area MUST be kept very clean !!!!

You can use the starter for this first test. Remove the SMALL wires off of either side of the ignition coil. This disables the ignition. Bump the starter until you have "Both" cam lobes of the bad cylinder pointing away from their respective lifter. Now check the valve clearance of the intake and the exhaust valves on that bad cylinder and let me know what the clearance is with a mechanics feeler gauge. (not expensive if you don't have one) I can then tell you what your next move is. It depends on what the clearance is to make the next move.

Howard