Guest article: A story of finding, restoring and owning a beautiful Jaguar X308 in Thailand 🇹🇭

This article is a premiere in several ways: Most of all, it is the first guest article about a Jaguar X308 in Thailand. It is also the first article on x308.net in English language. Last not least, this story is about the most extensive restoration that has ever been published on this site. The story was contributed by Nuntadej Sutthideshanai who I got in touch with via Facebook during our summer vacation with my wife’s family in Bangkok. Nuntadej manages an architect and interior design firm in Bangkok and is also a passionate car enthusiast. (Here is the link to his Facebook profile if you want to get in touch.)

With this introduction, I hand over the word to Nuntadej:

The Jaguar X308 and its extreme rarity in Thailand 🇹🇭

Thai economy was booming to its peak during 80s – early 90s. Luxury imported cars were very common back then. Jaguar x300 or even Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit can be found driving around Bangkok. Suddenly in 1997, the same year x308 was launched, we had one of the greatest economic crises in Thailand’s history, as the world called it “Tom Yum Kung Crisis”. Thai Baht was heavily depreciated. Imported goods became too expensive overnight. The newly launched Jaguar XJ8 x308 was priced 40% higher than its predecessor, x300. It was also much more expensive than its rival, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW as they were assembled in Thailand while Jaguars were wholly imported. It was until early 2000s that the economy began to recover and x308 was replaced by the new x350. The result is the x308 is the rarest XJ models in Thailand making it one of the most sought-after Jaguar cars in the market. Only around 20 X308 were imported by authorized dealers. I think around another 10 cars were imported by gray market dealers. 

The story of my X308 📝

As a kid growing up during 90s, the Jaguar XJ220 was my dream car! As the matter of fact, it was the most stunning thing I had seen in my life when I saw it on TV then. Since then, Jaguar has always been my dream car.

In 2017 my friend sent me a picture of this x308, an XJ8 3.2 LWB, with its owner’s contact. It looks like it had been unmoved for a long time. Though the car did not look like it was in good condition, everything was still very original. I came to meet the owner. He was a jewelry store owner. The car had not been driven for 7 years since the owner got his new x350 XJR. He more or less forgot about his beauty and just parked it there, untouched.

I told him how I plan to restore the car to its glory day, as best as I can. He must have seen some passion in me. He sold me the car. It was a good deal. This was going to be my first restoration project!

The restoration… ⚒️ And why it needed to be kept secret first 🤫

After making the deal, I went back to pick up the car the next day with a slide truck because the poor x308 couldn’t run or even start. We had to push the car to the street to get it on the slide truck. It was a scene in the middle of old-town Bangkok, and people started gathering around watching.

The car was very heavy to push and steer as the tires were flat. Soon, a few people who I didn’t know before started helping us push the car. It was a very exciting moment that I will never forget.

Restoring a classic car is a great deal in Thailand, especially a British car, which is not very popular here. It costs a fortune, as cars are 2-3 times more expensive than in the UK. Parts are also much more expensive due to shipping costs and import duty. My parents were not into cars, and I didn’t want to start a controversy because the project was going to cost me a fortune and take a long time. So, I decided to keep this project secret and would reveal the car when it is fully completed.

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„I had a strong intention to bring the car back to its glory and make it as new as on the day it left the factory.“

Nuntadej Sutthideshanai

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When we got the car to the garage, we started by checking the fuel system, and it turned out that 7 years of not driving and old fuel in the tank caused damage to the whole fuel system. We had to replace everything from the fuel tank, fuel pump, to every fuel hose, and so on. I managed to order fuel parts and other important parts to get the car started first. We waited for imported parts…

This is a picture collection of just some of the parts we had to wait for:

When the parts arrived, we put them in and saw what the next problems were. The process went on and on like this, which is why it took a long time. We did not have spares for trial; almost everything had to be imported!

I will not go into every detail of the restoration, but we ended up changing almost everything we could: The cooling system is all new. The suspension is all new. The chain tensioners and thermostat housing, which are common issues for this vehicle, were a „must“. Surprisingly, the transmission is still in perfect condition. It’s the only thing we did not touch, just changed the fluid, that’s all.

The tricky part of this project was the electrical system. This car had a lot of problems, every electrical problem I must say. Besides its common electrical issues, which are known for x308, it looks like the previous owner had messed up with some wiring. Fortunately, I found a garage in Bangkok that is specialized in the electrical system of these cars. They managed all problems very well, though it took quite some time. The ECM had been restored, and many electrical modules and sensors were replaced. The electrical issues were solved!

The last part is cosmetic. I managed to repaint the whole car at a specialized classic car paint garage. I replaced many chrome parts, which were super hard to find NOS.

The interior of the car was in bad shape. The leather was damaged, and many plastic parts were broken. Luckily, I found original NOS leather seat covers in the same color as mine from eBay at a very reasonable price. This made the car look very brand new.

Now the car runs great. Many members of the international x308 owners Facebook group helped me with the interior parts when they knew about this project. Mostly members from the UK started helping me find rare interior parts, some were used parts in excellent condition, and sent them to Bangkok. Also, big Thanks to the Jaguar Daimler Club Thailand, whose many members are very kind and helpful with the restoration.

Here are some more photographs of what my X308 looks like after the restoration:

Owning and driving a Jaguar X308 in Bangkok 😎

The car was completed in early 2019. I finally brought the car home in perfect condition and revealed the story of all the restoration which took over a year. Everyone at home was happy!

Since the completion, I have been driving this car for over 6 years now, and it is well taken care of. I found the Jaguar X308 to be a very reliable car. Over 6 years of driving this car, there were almost no problems at all. The engine and suspension run very smoothly. It is always a pleasure to drive this car.

Working as an interior designer in Bangkok, I have the privilege of driving my Jaguar to many nice venues and have taken some nice photos. Beautiful as it is, the Jaguar is always unique and outstanding on Bangkok roads.

When I park it on the streets, there are usually people taking photos. It has even been rented to be featured in a TV commercial! And in 2023, the car was exhibited at Collectible Fest, The Mall Department Store, together with other rare cars.

My summary of the whole story is simple: Owning this car has been my pride and joy!

Summary (…this is Michael taking over again)

Dear Khun Nuntadej, I would like to close by saying I am very impressed about your project, about your determination to quality and perfection, and about the result – your wonderful XJ8. I already stated in the introduction that I have probably never witnessed an X308-restoration as deep and profound as yours. Chapeau! 👍

I would like to close with a big THANK YOU for contribution this guest article to our site. I have no doubt that all readers will be very interested to read about your experiences. 🙏 Thank you! 😊