by "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
Published 02/02/2016 at 10:09
by "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
Published 02/02/2016 at 10:09
No Tags
STARS: 6
The Jag XJS is one of those cars I can’t help liking. Deep in my heart of hearts I know it’s a bit ugly, and the buttresses are a bit much, but it’s a British luxury GT car with a leather couch inside and obscene amounts of hood with one of the longest, lowest profiles I can imagine and a bonkers V12 engine. Last night I went and met a chap from Craigslist who had a Jag XJS for sale with a Chevy 350 swapped into it. The interior was showroom quality, the exterior had a few dings and scratches but mechanically it was perfect. After the owner, who is used to his collection of classic Mercedes, forgot the car was carbeurated and flooded it, finally got the engine to start, the V8 burbled to life and the original (!) radio started heartily singing out the sounds of Aerosmith on the local classic rock station. Steven Tyler set the stage as I took this American-powered British mainstay out onto the road and
loved
it. The interior was supple, with soft leather seats that I sunk fifteen feet down into, and a spindly little steering wheel to guide this boat around. The ride was incredibly smooth, and even with the American V8 it was quiet and lacked vibration. The transmission did transmission things, and the brake lights would make a “burnt out bulb” indicator on the dash light up. And the price? $3900. Unfortunately there were four other interested parties so it will likely be gone by the time I’m able to unload my Miata and/or get my tax returns. Tonight I go to look at a red ‘77 (qualifies for Antique car plates in Kansas) with ugly chrome donk wheels but a nicer looking SBC in it. Hopefully the swagalicious wheels will prevent it from selling before I get the money, because I have a sudden intense desire for vintage luxury (powered by domestic carb’d grunt) in my life.
"dietryng" (dietryng)
02/02/2016 at 10:14, STARS: 0
not going to hold out for one with jag power? or are you looking for a driveable example?
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 10:16, STARS: 0
If he wants driving, Jag power is not where it is at...
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
02/02/2016 at 10:20, STARS: 3
Damn you. Here I was, deciding that maybe it was too much of a risk to buy one, and now you’ve gone and written this.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/02/2016 at 10:22, STARS: 0
There are ways to make a Jag V12 behave itself, but the required dark magic makes it fall less under “drivable example”, so I can’t really blame people for chickening out. I’m going to get one one of these days, go big-bore, trim everything to the bare minimum, and... eh, maybe go for six Webers. No vacuum maze, no EGR, no SUs, no Jetronic, no problems. Other than leaks of course.
"dietryng" (dietryng)
02/02/2016 at 10:29, STARS: 0
does it require praying to the “Prince of Darkness” LUCAS?
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/02/2016 at 10:31, STARS: 0
Only for the distributor. Setting up the Webers right does involve communing with the Twelve Spirits Of The Pots under a carb & choke and gas fume-induced hallucinatory haze. Otherwise the mix just isn’t right - “No trance, no chance”.
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 10:34, STARS: 0
I have a Lucas Jag V12 Distributor sitting at my house. I think I need to make something out of it. It is hideous though.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/02/2016 at 10:37, STARS: 1
Idea: electric motor to spin it, 12V power supply, LEDs, and hardwire the points. 12-point flashing lights with variable speed GO
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 10:39, STARS: 2
I like your style. Should I program it so that every 1000 rev it skips a few? Gotta keep it realistic.
"dietryng" (dietryng)
02/02/2016 at 10:53, STARS: 1
i was gonna say you could set that up as cool looking a chandelier. but itd probly just burn the whole house down......... realistically.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/02/2016 at 10:54, STARS: 0
Put an intermittent timer circuit inline with each output, rigged to a bright red LED. That way you can go 80% normal fire, 10% no fire, and 10% backfire.
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 11:06, STARS: 0
I think I am going to have to make this, wont be hard and I already have most of the parts needed. I have tons of spare LEDs from so many projects.
"dietryng" (dietryng)
02/02/2016 at 11:12, STARS: 0
it would look great next to sparky.
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 11:17, STARS: 0
Yes it would. Ill tag this on the list, gotta get the engine block table, and valve cover coat rack off the bench.
"dietryng" (dietryng)
02/02/2016 at 11:28, STARS: 0
just promise you wont lift the engine block by yourself. a back is a terrible thing to waste. theyll go nice next to the bench loveseat, the steering column lamp(with hubcap shade), hubcap clock.
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/02/2016 at 11:30, STARS: 0
I’ve already wrecked my back from other things. Lifting the block is a 2 man/1 Lurv job (dude is a tank).
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
02/02/2016 at 11:31, STARS: 0
Oooh 6 Webers :)
Velocity stacks sticking out of the bonnet?
"911e46z06" (911e46z06)
02/02/2016 at 11:35, STARS: 0
“I know it’s a bit ugly”
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/02/2016 at 11:56, STARS: 1
Might do with stacks into two rubber-gasketed galleries ribbed up out of the hood and fed by NACA ducts. That way one can have a swirl-out point for water and can stick in a filter. There’s some sports car I’m thinking of that had a single gallery and a row of Webers or Dellortos or similar (might have been a Ferrari). The GT40s (some of them) had a pan.
The setup below could use a single gallery, but the best Weber setups for a Jag 12 have two rows.
"472CID" (472CID)
02/02/2016 at 13:26, STARS: 0
Those wheels and tires look shocking like my Cherokees.
I think my biggest problem with the XJ-S is the headlights, I bet they’d look much sleaker with pop up lights.
"GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus" (genuinealexreid)
02/02/2016 at 14:26, STARS: 2
Buy one with a V12, you won’t regret it. I am absolutely in love with mine.
"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
02/02/2016 at 17:34, STARS: 1
Those single-lens headlights are so much better. How bad is the V12 for maintenence? All of the leaks and vacuum lines and spark plugs don’t seem like they’re worth it when it makes roughly the same power as a mediocre SBC.
"GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus" (genuinealexreid)
02/02/2016 at 18:00, STARS: 3
Haha I actually like the look of the quad headlights more. I haven’t had any maintenance issues yet. My car makes 262 horsepower, which yes, isn’t a hell of a lot when you consider it’s a 5.3 litre engine made in 1989, but my philosophy is that if you want a car with a SBC, you should buy a Chevy. The creamy smooth v12 just feels special. You could argue that you can tune an SBC to have a lot more horsepower, but you can also do the same with the V12, and the V12 is so much cooler.
"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993)
07/06/2017 at 00:36, STARS: 0
O man do I have a deal for you
"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi)
07/06/2017 at 00:47, STARS: 2
If you’re going to play tuner games, you want an earlier (pre-HE) one. The flat top heads are miles more free flowing then the HE ones (by design: the HE heads give massive amounts of swirl to the airflow for better fuel distribution in the chamber). 800+hp out of a flat-top is doable if you throw enough money at it.
And yes, WAY cooler. Anyone who thinks an SBC is a replacement for the V12 has never listened to the V12 rev out.
"PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
07/06/2017 at 07:06, STARS: 0
I was looking at XJS a few months back. Best I could tell is that you would have to know the queen intimately to find any performance upgrades for the v12.
Once you drive the v12 and park it, there is so much heat under the hood and no easy way for it to escape, it just sits there. You do this often enough, the wires in the engine bay become brittle and start to crack. Before you know it, you have tons of shorts in electric system. This is what they are famous for.
I have seen a few with chevy engine. I think that is a decent upgrade and hopefully all the wires were replaced as well.
One I was looking at was a convertible. Green with a beige top and beige or sand interior. Only problem was the owner left the convertible car... outside... in north east. Branches and snow piled up on top. Tore a hole in the top and water got inside. Rusted...Everything. Laminates peeled off. Carpets and seats all ruined. Dude still wanted over 4k for it.
I since got a C5 corvette. I don’t think it’s prettier than XJS, but at least I can easily wrench on it without having to know the queen.
Good luck