XJ6 w/ a Small-Block

"Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney" (braddelaparker) 12/10/2014 at 11:58 • Filed to: None

3

10

This one looks particularly clean. I want to buy this and drive it every day forever. Courtesy of our friends at Daily Turismo.

1973 Jaguar XJ, Chevy 350 swap - DailyTurismo.com

RallyWrench > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 12:03

2

Sweet! I just posted this one in another thread yesterday, also a '73 with a SBC.

https://slo.craigslist.org/cto/4798416594…

CalzoneGolem > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 12:21

2

INB4 Ramblin' losing his mind over the SBC instead of a Rover v8 (because that makes sense)

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 12:34

0

This seems to be a meme at the moment - there's 3 v8 Jag restomods on Bring A Trailer right now too.

I really don't understand why you'd do this with an xj6: the XK engine's about the most reliable part of the car, and one of its defining character features.

XJ12 I can understand, the nightmare/lovely ratio's too high for many people.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 12/10/2014 at 12:51

0

Someone mentioned that on BaT, and it's a really good point. I wonder how many of these were done in the 80s/90s in locales where Jag parts may have simply been tougher to run by. It seems unlikely, though.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 13:24

2

We are made of the same stuff, man. I've been pining for a Jaaaaaagrolet for a while now.

DailyTurismo > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 14:33

0

I approve of this message!!

DailyTurismo > RallyWrench 12/10/2014 at 14:34

1

This is a nice one too - I'll give you a shout out when I feature it on DT!!

Spoon II > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 12/10/2014 at 17:56

0

Very yes!!!! I love Jags with engine swaps. Like the kits you can buy to swap the old XJS over to various massive diesel engines

Buick Mackane > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 12/31/2014 at 01:12

0

Why? Yes the Jaguar engines are good but the wiring to the engine (specifically the fuel injection and engine harness) is crap. I also have a 1980 XJ6 and I can see all my fuel injection wiring is brittle and ready to break at the slightest touch.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Buick Mackane 12/31/2014 at 17:45

0

It's probably not fair to be too rude about plastic and rubber bits getting brittle on a 35 year old car - cars are designed to last a decade.

Having said that, I actually think shitty wiring and hoses are a good part of why there were so many swaps done on XJs. Car fails for the Nth time due to electrical, fuel system, or cooling system problems. This time some consequential damage has been done to the engine, even though the engine wasn't at fault. Owner, who probably regards everything under the hood as "engine" says, "Screw it, I'm over this, stick a reliable 'Murican mill in it". SBC is stuck in.

At which point one of two things happens:

They replaced most of the troublesome wiring and hoses during the swap. The car is now reliable and the SBC becomes that little bit more legendary.

They didn't replace the wiring and hoses. these continue to fail and the car continues to be a reliability nightmare, but now the motor doesn't get blamed, because everyone knows SBCs are reliable.

Of course if they'd just fixed the motor and updated the electricals and hoses (or better yet, swapped out the crap bits before they killed the motor), the same effect could have been achieved, probably cheaper. But most US shops don't know that, and most owners wouldn't want to hear about a "pre-emptive replacement of everything" maintenance strategy.

I have a friend who bought an SII XJ12 a few years ago. He spent a grand or so and 4 or 5 weekends replacing every hose in the thing and recoring the radiator, another couple of weekends opening up, cleaning, and electrical greasing every connector, and another grand having all the bushes done. He's since put about 40k miles on it with no significant trouble.