Living With a Jaguar XJS V12: The Aircon Heatwave Test

Can you actually use an old luxury grand tourer as a normal summer cruiser, or will you bake alive? Today i'm measuring the real world performance of the AC in my 1989 Jaguar XJS V12. There is a heatwave in the UK this week - forecast to reach 36 degrees C, possibly higher. In the spirit of 'living with a' - can the AC cope? is it useless? Is it really good? Using a digital thermocouple probe in the vent, I measure exact outlet temperatures from a cold start all the way through a full cabin heatsoak to get objective data. My system has been converted from R12 to R134a refrigerant, and has a more modern style of r134a compressor fitted, made by Sanden, as part of a kit from Fenair. However, the rest of the Delanire Mark III climate control architecture remains exactly as it was designed in the 1980s—fully optimized for a gas that is no longer available. If you want to see how I modified this exact setup, check out the manual overrides video here:    • Jaguar XJS: Manual Overrides for the Clima...   The full Jaguar XJS V12 Ownership playlist is here:    • living with a Jaguar XJS V12: A Messy and ...   Please consider subscribing for more real-world XJS & modern classic content! #JaguarXJS #XJSV12 #ClassicCarAircon #ModernClassic #DIYMechanic #R134aConversion #SandenCompressor #DelanireMk3 #UKHeatwave #LivingWithAnXJS