Hi, I'm Mike. I'm a Kiwi currently living in Scotland.
I'm moving back to NZ in July and thats where my Jags live

I can't bear to buy one over here in the UK and have to park it on the street in Edinburgh, despite how criminally cheap cars are over here compared to home.

Back in NZ i have a 1974 XJ12 Long wheel base in very sound condition. Totally rust free but unfortunately the paint is severely crazy cracked so it's going to require a full bare metal repaint soon.
It's dark navy blue with red upholstery.
The engine is unfortunately a US market smog motor so it's the very low compression version however I have 4x spare V12 5.3 engines in the shed
including a desirable 10:1 compression pre-HE which I may consider swapping in.
Currently the car runs a Gas-research dedicated LPG system with dual regulators and gas throttle bodies. So far i cant praise the system enough, it made marginally more power and torque on the dyno than it did with the stromberg carbs and of course is now not quite as crippling to run!! LPG is a great fuel when it's properly tuned for and not used in a heavily compromised duel-fuel system.
It runs super clean, smells nice, and the oil stays clear for thousands of miles at a time.
The downside is the 85 litre tank doesn't last long!
If you are wondering how we are stopping valve recession, thats taken care of via two fuelstar tin granule cannisters plumbed inline before the regulator. They seem to be working, the exhausts are nice and grey just like old leaded fuel used be like.

My other project in the works is a short wheelbase XJ6 shell which I intend to convert to a V12 coupe by moving the B pillars back 220mm and completing all the necessary coachwork to the front doors and rear panels.
It's not actually as complicated as it sounds and I have all the necessary tools and panelworking equipment back in NZ to complete it to a high standard.
I will install one of the spare V12s but plan to mate it to a Getrag 420G 6-speed from an E36 M3 and force feed it with two Eaton M90 superchargers from a Buick L67 3.8 V6 (long snout, rear entry)

This is a long project, I expect it to be measured in years not months!

That's all. Here's a few pics of the XJ12L attached.
Cheers,
Mike

 

Welcome Mike,

About as far away from home as you can get. Edinburgh must be no different from any other large city here now for on street parking. Definitely not a place to leave a Jaguar overnight.

That's a very tidy XJ12L. I had a very brief interlude with a 1972 XJ12 but couldn't get more than 8 mpg out of it. Six months was enough!

Coupe project sounds great.

Graham

 

Hello Mike welcome to the forum.

Quite the project you have. You have a pretty fast time line on it, good luck!

Thanks for sharing the pics, hopefully more to come throughout the process.

Enjoy all the site has to offer!

 

Welcome to the forums. That XJ12 must be a terror on the NZ roads! I can imagine how badly you want to get back home again, if just for the cars waiting for you. Please continue to share your pictures, expecially through the conversion to coupe.

Steve

 

Lovely XJ12! Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome to the forum,

Good to have you with us.
nice intro, thanks for sharing with us, I was never worried about parking in Edinburgh,
the problem was finding somewhere to park in the first place.

You should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Mike, welcome aboard, great to have you here with us

If you add your car details to your signature it will help others to help you much more quickly.

Loved the name....lol.....caught my eye straight away and made me chuckle.
I was in Edinburgh earlier tonight, Slateford road area and parking was a night mare........thanks for a nice intro and plenty of info.....pics as well, all good!!

There really are some amazing and friendly guys here....you're in really good company to discuss anything Jag related or even just to have a few laughs!

A really great mix of information, camraderrie and fun

I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the site and all its features
so jump on in and enjoy

 

When I said Edinburgh I really meant Leith My flat is rigth on the edge of Leith Links park in the Whiskey Bond building and I love living there but there are definately a few genetic deviations in the neighbourhood.
I bought a cheapy Honda when I got here and within 6 months it had been kicked twice, (once while I was sitting in it!!) mirror snapped off and backed into both front and back (no notes left of course).

I ended up scrapping it and getting another one the same. I've got a gated off street carpark now and so far so good but it's only a matter of time til the neds get in.
Someone in my building, maybe a member on here has a red XJS V12 HE in the parking lot but it's in a sorry state and hasn't moved since I got here. Another neighbour (maybe the same guy) has a nice black X358 XJR.

Parking wise I'm just not used to street parking. Auckland has more room and is very car orientated (terrible public transport) I lived about 5 miles from the city centre and had an attached double garage (man den!) I've sure missed having a shed since moving over here.

The biggest difference I've noticed is the difference the salt on the roads makes. My old nearly 40 year old XJ12 at home is still perfectly sound underneath, no rusty stubborn bolts and no rust on anything around the suspension, even the brake discs. Yet a 10 year old car here can be completely shagged... I guess thats why second hand cars here are so cheap.
If it wasn't for NZ's Euro5 emissions importation laws I'd take a nice XKR home with me as they are still fetching the equivalent of £25K+ at home. (£0.52 to $1 NZ)

We estimated my XJ12 did about 10 miles to the gallon on petrol. It would have been cheaper just putting a match to a barrel of fuel.


Thanks, I wont have any updates until at least October I'm afraid, will have a few things to sort out when I get back liek finding somewhere to live!

Will definately keep you all up to date once I get my teeth into it.

Yeah parking in the city centre is a nightmare, I used to live on Northumberland street in the new town and I spent more time looking for a park than I did in my flat.

Thanks for the upgrade! Now I'll just have to keep myself out of the buy-sell forum. I'm thinking of taking a crate of parts home with me in July, bits seem so much cheaper and more available here than home.

 

Here's a photoshop of my plans for the coupe. (this isn't my car the original photo is nicked from the interwebz)

As you can see if you look closely I'm retaining the B pillar and front door frame. I think to go full pillarless with a retracting rear window would be a vast amount of extra work and would require additional stiffening.
I plan to hinge the rear windows out like a quarterlight window, hinged at the B-pillar, latched at the C pillar.
Overall length and roofline remains unchanged.

 

.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like a decent project you have in mind.

Best of luck.