A new game... Post pics from your cel phone V.1.0

[BruceK]

Is it?

[MPlayle]

So, where were you running around to find that one?

[BruceK]

So, where were you running around to find that one?

Saw it on my run to Austin last Sunday. It's on a road we've traveled before going to COTA, north of Wimberley.

[BruceK]

Who knew the Europs could get a big Jag with a 5 speed manual?

[MiniDave]

I knew, but my remembrance is only with the 3.6 motor, not the 4.0. Getrag 5 speed. Not available in the US tho....

They also made a VERY limited number of XJS with the 5 speed manual for the US, I had a coupe for a demo for about 6K miles and I loved it as I had my E Type then too, and it just felt like a brand new version of that car, but modern of course. If only it wasn't $50K+! And that was in '92....

They even made a very few (50?) convertibles with the 5 speed and 4.0 6 cylinder, great combination. They never offered the stick with the V-12 here, tho.

[MPlayle]

I was at the same British car show where Bruce spotted the 5-speed Jag.  I had my new toy there.

[BruceK]

Nothing lasts forever. My 14 year-old Optima Red Top AGM battery in my Mini finally kicked the bucket a couple of days ago.

It was still performing fantastically and I had no plans to replace it. That battery lived in my daily-driven (at that time) R53 Cooper S for five years and then I transferred it for another nine years of use in my classic Mini.

Electrically it was doing great as it was pretty much constantly on a battery maintainer. I unhooked it to work on my fuse box and when I was reinstalling a battery clamp, the negative terminal just snapped off. 

Had that not happened I think it would've lasted another several years at least. I've heard the quality has gone down on Optima batteries, but they sure used to make good ones.

[cstudep]

Yeah I wouldn't waste your money on a new one. They once were great, when production moved from Colorado to Mexico the quality took a hit, but once Johnson Controls sold them off several years after that the quality took a huge hit.

Interstate are also not what they used to be and i believe most are no longer made in the US. I have been buying Deka batteries of late, they are supposedly pretty good, I have not owned one long enough to know yet but they are US made.

[94touring]

I wonder if you could tap and die that terminal?