The engine transplant thread got me thinking...

How much power can the old XK 3.8/4.2 be made to handle. Does anyone know of one which has been turbo'd. I'm not talking about making ridiculous power levels, lets say 300+

My initial thoughts were, the XK engine is an old design 1948 I think. But then look at the small block chevy, that's an old design and they can make serious power.

what do you guys think? Am I barking up the wrong tree here?

 

its the stype engine i am going to use,4.2 v8.300,bhp about,
been out from about 2002,and just replaced with a 5.0,lump,

 

Yes I understand what your saying the v8 4.2. What I was thinking is I already have the 1963 original 3.8 engine. If I were to rebuild that an look at a turbo set up. I just wondered has that ever been done?

 

i think if your jag is a 3.8,and numbers match for a 3.8,
then i think i would at doing a full resto on it as a 3.8 car is going for good money,and lots seem to want good ones ,
mine is a daimler,and not worth as much,
i was just looking to make a mk2,with all up to date gear,

 

I think I'd only use the stock if I was rebuilding it to stock to sell it. For me to keep a Jaguar 3.8S I want it to be a reliable daily driver so for me I am taking the restomod approach. I have seen others keep their value but you will just get about the same as you invested it in on a resale basis and maybe a little bit more.

I think a modern LS General Motors is the best transplant for a restomod as my 5.3liter GM LS1 is basically stock other than a mild street cam, headers, and custom harness and computer which will put out 450-460 HP yet it will get good fuel economy, is much lighter in weight, and be a daily driver that can go 200,000 miles with good PM.

To me the stock Jag motors were never great on reliability so when you upgrade the power you are likely to reduce reliability unless you really spend more serious dollars with a pro builder of Jag motors whom will balance and blueprint the engine and likely need to cryo the parts to increase reliability. I know from other brand cars that the cost of that process is doable but is huge bucks! I have seen as an example a daily driver Datsun with 1000 HP but that is a 40K motor! and the Datsuns already are a motor proven to get over 200,000+miles in stock form.

 

Primaz I entirely agree with what your saying about the LS1. I think your reasoning is spot on.

My car is an original 3.8 as I said I've owned this car over 30 years. But it is by no means 'original'. It is fitted with the early mk1 front wings grill etc, Flared arches, fibreglass vented hood, trunk lid. Doors are fibreglass skinned. I'll try and put some old pics up if I can find some from it's hay day!! Also the guy that built the car way back when, hand made wire wheels for it. The rears are about 10' inch wide I think. So changing the old 3.8 to a chevy is not really going to effect originality or re sale value. Having said that I wouldn't sell it anyway, so it re sale value is kind of irrelavant to me.

I sadly, Have neclected the jag over the last 10 years having put all my attention into a '67 pro street camaro that I have with 632ci in it. I propose to change that this year or at least make a serious start on the Jag.

I did look on ssp web site. I didn't see any metion of engine combo's for sale only wiring harnesses?? or did I misunderstand where you bought your engine from.

Have you got any pics of the LS1 in the engine bay. One other question that has just occured to me. Do you think my car being a RHD would cause clearance issues with an LS1?

Look forward to your updates.

 

You definately sound like you have a cool ride. Since you are like me and not needing to be worried about originality I highly recommend the LS powerplant. If you were worried about originality then the Jaguar v8 that Beecham uses might have been an option as it may fit easier but the LS will fit with a bit of work not much.

SSP only advertises their computer harness, etc. call them up and ask for Steve or Scott and tell them what you want to build. I found that their prices are a great value as I got a freshened up 5.3 liter LS1 with new pistons/rings, mild cam, chrome shorty headers, performance computer tune/harness, engine is complete with all acessories including AC, matching auto transmission that is also freshened up with stronger internals and stall to handle the approximate 450-460 HP and this was far less than any used higher risk E-bay sale! They build motors for many LS engine swap performance shops around the US.

I do not think there would be clearance issues with a RHD? We will have to trim a little in the engine bay and I will try to post pics when that is done. We will sheetmetal all of the old hacks the previous owner did as well as modify any new ones we need to cut so the engine bay looks as stock as possible. We added that flex joint on the power steering shaft and it fitted with no problems with the LS in place. We are currently making final modifications for the engine right now and we hope to have it done in a week or two so we can remove the engine, clean up uneeded holes, etc. so we can bring it to the body shop for POR15.

Here are a couple of pics of the motor, they even sent me a video prior to getting it showing it run. They did a great job and I have not found a better deal anywhere for a LS motor. I liked their help in choosing the 5.3 liter as it will still get decent HP but for me this is a daily driver and I wanted decent fuel economy so this was the perfect blend for power, fuel economy and daily driver reliability.

I love to see your pro street car, maybe you can send me them privately since that is not a Jag I made sure to tame my normal preformance persona as like you I love high performance as I want this Jag to be a sleeper, daily driver that will kick a Mercedes or M5 as they are shocked that a classic sedan in the 60's just dusted there ***! My Primadona Z car is where I am like your pro street car, it is designed to be streetable but for maximum speed so I can dust most supercars out there

 

Thanks for the advice primaz, I would like to think if I get to use an LS1. I quite like the idea of a manual 5 or 6 speed box. Do you think that would complicate things like clearance issues or make it easier?

I can certainly send you some photos of my Camaro if you give me an email address, as I'm not sure if I can PM you with them from here.

please keep us updated with your progress, look forward to more pics. sounds like your test drive is not far away now, Good luck.

 

If I was not building the car for a daily driver where I must have my full crazy mobile office then I would definatey gone with a 5 or 6 speed manual for the performance control but for me I am needing to mount my laptop car mount and I like that my car was a colum auto shift so that the center council area is open to mount my laptop lower.

I will PM you.

Yep I hope the test drive happens soon as I am so tired of my slow Lexus!