Jaguar Repair: Blown Headgaskets, blown head gasket, 1987 jaguar xjs

Question

1987 Jaguar XJS 12 I was advised that my 1987 Jaguar XJS 12 has a blown head gasket and one mechanic in San Leandro, Ca. who works only on jaguars, has quoted this job as costing $4,500 to $5,000. Is he accurate in his estimate in what it costs to surface heads and replace necessary gaskets?

is this perhaps a job that can be done by a good journeyman mechanic?

or, if worse comes to worse, do you think I could sell this online with the blown head gasket, and for around how much? its got about 68,000 miles on it, and its in mint condition. only one previous owner.

thanks for your time and consideration.

Answer
Hi Frank,
The high $ quote is probably accurate because the cylinders are called "Wet Cylinders" meaning that each cylinder is a separate item and held down only by the head. When the head is removed all of the cylinders are loose and if one of them moves just a small amount, trash that is normally in the bottom of the block can get under the sealing surface of cylinder to block and will make it necessary to remove the cylinders and clean the block to reset the cylinders. The amount of interference of the top of each cylinder is critical so if one is low you will not get a seal when the head is installed. This is not a job for a new mechanic. I was factory trained on the V-12 and have worked in several different Jag dealerships over the years and only seen a few get away with just replacing a head gasket and resurfacing the head on a V-12. Most of the time it was necessary to go all the way. Thus the high quote.

I could not guess if it would sell in that condition or for how much. When a V-12 goes down it is a prim target for a 350 Chevy conversion. John's Cars in TX makes a kit to make the conversion. It makes it into a very nice car that is affordable to service and drive.

Howard