Conference terri::cars_uk

Serious business!  There are two things to look out for -
	1. Rust
	2. Serious rust
Oh, and don't forget to watch for rust!

Older Jaguars were put together in such a way that there are innumerable
crevices where water can lurk and lead to major rust damage which can be
very expensive to repair.  E-types, Mk1/2's  and S-types are notoriously
bad and unscrupulous sellers resort to amazing tricks to cover it up.

Having bought your Jaguar and got it into decent condition, there is a saying
amongst enthusiasts that "You drive it for a year and then you work on it for
the next".  This is almost true, but only if you insist on driving an immaculate
beauty.  My E is in annual use (and is currently up for sale BTW as I search
for a roadster - phone for details if interested) and I bought it to ENJOY, not
to spend it's life hidden in a bodyshop.

Mechanicals are generally good, although watch out for gotcha's like to fix the
handbrake on S3 E's means a complete rear-end strip - even to replace the pads.
Don't know about the others.  Take your E to an official Jaguar dealer for it's
MoT as they understand about handbrakes being inefficient!

There are many, many books written about old Jaguars and what to look out for
when buying them. I can recommend "E-type, the end of an era" if you want an E.

Happy purring,		Brian

    I think what has been said also applied to to the XJS to the same
    extent as the E. Early XJS's have the added bonus of haveing the Lucas
    injection system on the V12. V12's prior to the HE has this and it wa
    not uncommon for this little beauty to go wrong/catch fire. The down
    side to that is it box cost a fortune to replace. The HE XJS is the
    best be but again it can be a labour of love to keep it in tip top
    condition. XJ 6's 12's etc also have rust problems. Common places
    to go are wheel arches , rear valance and just about any place that at
    water can lay. 
    
    Engines: Both the 6 and the V12 are good engines ,parts generally
    readilly available. However XJS's with a V12 are a nightmare to work
    on, its a plumbers headache. It takes hours to do the smallest of jobs.
    There's not much in the way of 'engineering space'.
    
    
    I personally don't own a Jag ( would love to but can't afford an XKD)
    but have worked on a few and have friends who do.
    
    
    Happy Purring
    
    Garry

      
    
    I have in my possession one of the Lucas injection units mentioned in
    
    991.2 ,(LUCAS 6cu 83705B) which was in an XJS. The problem with it
    
    is that it dumps fuel,it was replaced by another unit and the car works
    
    fine.
    
    I have had some folks here in Ayr look at it but without a wiring
    diagram they are clutching at straws.
    
    Does anybody out there have any info on how to fix this unit as Jaguar
    
    are asking about 400 pounds for a new one.
    
    
    Thanks
    
    
    Des
     

    Hi UK Car World (some of the nicest cars):
    
    A while ago I  read an article that a 4 valves/cylinder head was
    developed for the XJ12 HE. I even talked to a company in Huston/Texas
    which claimed to have used the head in rebuilts.
    I have a '83 model with only 60K KMs in very good shape, a European
    one, without catalyzer. I'd like to rebuild the engine with catalyzer,
    and better fuel efficiency, which the 4 valve head supposed to provide.
    
    Does anyone know about this development ? Where is it available at what
    price ?
    
    Appreciate help,
    
    Zoltan

    
    Re .last
    
    The only 48-valve head that I know of for the V12 was the one
    developed by TWR Racing (Tom Walkinshaw) for the WSPC car. 
    As far as I can remember they only used the 48-valve head in 
    one race at Brands.
    
    This should fit on the standard V12 block, but I've no idea what they
    did about all the additional ancilliaries.
    
    Richard.

    Richard,
    
    
    Thanks for your info. If I  am correct there must be another version
    of the 48 valves cylider head too: the so called XJ13 supposed to have
    it. There are still some people who claim to convert XJ/S 12s into
    XJ13.
    The benefits of a modern 48 valve engine we can see in the BMW and
    Mercedes developments: lots of torque and low fuel consumption. These
    engines have even variable valve timing. Something like that what I am
    looking for. 
    
    Do you know of this kind of development by chance ?
    
    Zoltan

 >The benefits of a modern 48 valve engine we can see in the BMW and
 >   Mercedes developments: lots of torque and low fuel consumption. These
 >   engines have even variable valve timing. Something like that what I am
 >   looking for.

I doubt simply swapping a 2v/cyl head out for a 4v/cyl head will do what you
want (assuming there you can make the swap).  Typically, a 4v/cyl head will kill
the torque, just ask any 16v 1800cc VW owner.  Granted, with a bit of
development on the entire engine, the 4v/cyl setup will get better results, but
simply swapping heads probably won't do it.

What are the numbers you're looking for out of your Jag engine?  Can it be done
with some mild engine work?  Bumping up the compression (new pistons), bigger
valves, clean up the 2v/cyl head to breath better, larger diameter exhaust
manifold and exhaust system, balancing crank, rods and pistons.  Larger carbs or
new performance chip in the f/i system (whichever it happens to have.)

There are lots of way to get more power from the engine without increasing the
complexity of the engine by doubling the number of valves.

Dave

    Dave, thanks for your advice. I was not looking simply for a 4 valve
    cylinder head, but much more one particular development of the XJ13.
    In the meanwhile I found that particular engine: a company "welded"
    together two straight six engines, which offers 600 HP, etc. This is
    not an option for me. I have an European XJ12 HE which has already a
    high compression, and it is fuel injected. It gives me between 
    10-15 mpg  at 296 HP without catalyzer. For a modern engine this
    consumption is not satisfactory at this performance, even if we
    consider the cars high weight. Sure, part of the problem is the stone
    age GM three speed automatic.
    As I found out, at this point it is not much I can do. I could only add
    a catalyzer to this engine and take a better GM transmission a four
    speed one. Better would be a ZF five speed automatic of BMW or
    Mercedes, but they cost too much, and to attache them it takes lots of
    work.
    Anyway, from a four valve/cylinder engine I expected better filling,
    therefore higher torque/performance and/or lower consumption,
    particularly with variable valve timing which BMW offers since 1991,
    now in all models. They use their engines always at the knock limit.
    Their M3 Euro version makes 25-30 mpg at 300 HP. Even the 750/850 i
    models show very reasonable consumption values at very high
    performance. Coming close to this values would be my goal.
    
    If you had some practical advice for me to get close to my goals I
    would appreciate it so much.
    
    	Zoltan