My 1987 Jaguar XJ6. Project now on effective indefinite leave. :S

[Rotary Junkie]

Yeah... Must be that time of year, but there's another car kicking around, and we're to my knowledge STILL ahead after selling the Vega (this was less than it sold for).

Anyhow, my Series III Jaguar XJ6:

Current game plan is to get the broken trans out of it, new lock cylinders + ignition, and make it move. Then it gets to come all back apart again to fix any and ALL rust and get painted properly.

How bad the transmission is will more than likely influence the drivetrain and wether we keep the Jag stuff or swap it.


What do y'all think?

EDIT: And somebody find me a proper wood 3-spoke steering wheel. NOW.

EDIT2: Will get the prerequisite "Hello GTPlanet!" card as soon as possible, easier said than done though, 'coz the car is currently at my dad's and that's 70 miles away.

 

[killer450235]

Nice I guess.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

C'mon, if you don't like it or think it looks like a heap, say so

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

I've always liked them a bit, and Chevy V8s go in them really easy. When you have that running I'm sure you'll be pretty happy with it. There was one in the Targa Tasmania the other year with a Holden 5.0L worked, it was wild!

PS- I think you need a new tyre.

Edit: That's a straight six? 3.4L or 4.2L? Can it run?

Edit: On wiki they say the 4.2L can easily make 220hp just by flowing the heads, what does that mean?

 

[Rotary Junkie]

4.2L "XK6" motor.

Should run provided it didn't decide to lock up.

And yes, I need a new tire.

BTW, no small blocks. Tempting to see how far this late-40s designed DOHC inline six can go though... Meh, if it dies and a replacement can't be found cheaper than swapping something in the RIGHT way, it'll be swapped. Otherwise, the 4.2 stays.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Good for you man, shame we're not in the same country, would have been a fun race.

 

[G.T]

Cool, I guess.

Just good luck facing the abysmal quality of a British car from the 70s.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Cool, I guess.

Just good luck facing the abysmal quality of a British car from the 70s.

Still, it could be worse, it could be a GM product.

And I'm more worried about the wiring and electronics in general than anything else.

And it's a Series III. So 80s Gotta find the model year lol (we honestly don't know).

And Holden: Fun race for you maybe, Mr. 3000lbs. I might have you by a LITTLE bit on torque and a LITTLE bit on power, but I'd need 100hp+ more to keep up

 

[stumpydino]

what on earth possessed you to get that?

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Still, it could be worse, it could be a GM product.

And I'm more worried about the wiring and electronics in general than anything else.

And it's a Series III. So 80s Gotta find the model year lol (we honestly don't know).

And Holden: Fun race for you maybe, Mr. 3000lbs. I might have you by a LITTLE bit on torque and a LITTLE bit on power, but I'd need 100hp+ more to keep up

Hey, nothing wrong with my Ute, it's reliable as. GM hater.

I'd be worried about electrics too, these had a bit of technology for their age right? Age and technology don't normally do well together.

'70s, '00s, they all looked the same in that period.

Well then get 100hp more, you have 4.2L, sheesh. I had forgotten how heavy they are.........how heavy are they? I'm guessing ~3300lbs?

 

[homeforsummer]

Very cool 👍 Will look awesome if you ever get it finished!

 

[DKX]

Nice project. A guy in my town has a British racing green XJ6. Same as yours. Pretty nice looking car I must say.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

what on earth possessed you to get that?

Looks, lux, and looks. They look damn sexy done up right.

Hey, nothing wrong with my Ute, it's reliable as. GM hater.

I'd be worried about electrics too, these had a bit of technology for their age right? Age and technology don't normally do well together.

'70s, '00s, they all looked the same in that period.

Well then get 100hp more, you have 4.2L, sheesh. I had forgotten how heavy they are.........how heavy are they? I'm guessing ~3300lbs?

Yeah, you have a Buick 3800. So of course it's reliable. Still crappy and a GM product though

Let's see, electric everything, Bosch/Lucas injection (damn 4.2, 3.4s had carbs)... And of course it's a Jag so it probably has about 50 different gremlins running around in the wiring. Watch, I'll replace the ignition and the horn will go off when I turn the key or something even if it IS wired right.

Ah hell, it'll probably get aftermarket EFI and a bit of a compression bump. That said it IS a 50-year-old engine design so...

Very cool 👍 Will look awesome if you ever get it finished!

Indeed. I have plenty of time to get it finished, as I am only 15 at the moment and just about to get my permit in a few months (waited too long to get it so now I have to wait for classes). So a year to have it on the road, and time after that to make it (BAD PUN WARNING) purrfect.

Now I just need to see what can be done with that bloody 2-valve XK6 lump in the engine bay.

 

[homeforsummer]

Ooh, by the way:

EDIT: And somebody find me a proper wood 3-spoke steering wheel. NOW.

Nardi have some great wood-rimmed steering wheels

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Autotecnica have some nice wooden steering wheels as well.

 

[Danny]

It's beautiful! Once the bodywork is cleaned up, and maybe some fresh paint, that is gonna be amazing! Keep us updated!

 

[DKX]

15 and you own a Jag? Nice.

If you want to find a cheap wood 3 spoke wheel try some junkyards, you never know what you'll find in those and what shape.

 

[a112]

I would carb this sucker for sure,but you can always fit some EFI if you want to,something like 7MGTE manifold,not too big injectors,custom made flange,megasquirt or simmilar.
You probably can get improvements with head porting,bigger valves,etc.
Since it has only about 50hp/liter stock from a DOHC I6,they probably killed the flow by default.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Stock heads are known to be poorly done from the factory, also, this is only a 2-valve motor (1949 initial release, what do you expect?) and has (to my eyes) rather poor port design characteristics.

Also, the factory intake and exhaust is very restrictive. Power won't be hard to find I don't think but it also won't be my primary concern for a while. Killing Lucas, the Prince of Darkness and fixing the trans comes first.

 

[Jim Prower]

Built by Communists - Jeremy Clarkson

I'd say swap the mill out for a Chevy if it comes to that, as there's plenty of information on doing so. Or see if there's info on Ford or Mopar swaps if you're against GM. (Can you imagine this thing with a Crate 426? sleeeepeerrrrr....) I'll also give you that the car seems pretty solid up top, but you're gonna wanna look underneath to see how bad it is under there, too. Wouldn't be surprised if the car would need some major patching. seems like it's been sitting awhile, and that does damage that's not common to normal wear and tear.

 

[Alex.]

Is this actually going to be your car? Or a family car?

 

[killer450235]

C'mon, if you don't like it or think it looks like a heap, say so

Needs work.Thats what I think.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Is this actually going to be your car? Or a family car?

Mine.

My mom refuses to drive a car without a warranty ever again and my dad is fine with 1989-1991 Buick LeSabre/Park Avenues and their chassismates.

@ Prower: Buick 3800 + 700-4R. With boost. Dirt cheap, dead reliable, and POWAR. The best cost-effectiveness possible.

 

[VTiRoj]

I think you'll need some overnight parts from the UK RJ.

Looks like a heap, but I'm sure under all that wear and tear is a healthy cat. Good luck!

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Yeah, but at least it won't cost 8-16k a year to insure. Like your VTi.

That, and if I need parts, I will substitute as much American stuff in as possible.

 

[Jim Prower]

Yeah, 3800 would work quite well.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Oddly, it's the same sort of plan the Vega had, and it's the same color combo.

It's screwed! It'll never happen!

Nah, that's patently untrue unless this thing is REALLY nasty underneath.

 

[Gil]

Still, it could be worse, it could be a GM product.

And I'm more worried about the wiring and electronics in general than anything else.

And it's a Series III. So 80s Gotta find the model year lol (we honestly don't know).

And Holden: Fun race for you maybe, Mr. 3000lbs. I might have you by a LITTLE bit on torque and a LITTLE bit on power, but I'd need 100hp+ more to keep up

You do realize that the tranny in your car is likely a TH350?
Jaguar used them back then.
If you can't get the 4.2 running...a swap to a 5.7L Chevy V-8 isn't a bad plan, You already got the transmission...
All in all, a car with much potential. If your high school offers auto shop, you can probably do a lot of the work (possibly even paint) there.
Just promise you won't do some tasteless metalflake paint.
Get some Zymol now and clean and treat that leather.
Good luck!

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Nah, I'm stuck with a bleeding Borg-Warner 35.

Or at least I'm quite sure of it.

And no, I won't make it "GANGSTA YO" with metal flake or anything like that. Just a nice deep red metallic (not metal flake, just average metallic).

 

[YSSMAN]

Some of you know I have a soft-spot for old Jaguars. This is no different. With a bit of elbow grease, it could be a pretty awesome car... Good luck! I know those pesky Jags put up a good fight!