Hi
I am new to this forum and just wanted to let you all know about my land speed Jaguar that I race on Lake Gairdner, a salt lake in South Australia.
It is now the fastest Jaguar in the world with a average speed of 237mph over a flying mile. It is a 1984 model XJS with extensive modifications.
I will try to post some photo's but the build can be viewed on the build forum on the Dry Lakes Racers Australia (DLRA) website.
I am interested in building a twin turbo v12 on methanol as I need 1,000 to 1,200 hp to go much faster and need 8,000rpm with the gearing I have.
A big ask I know!
Thanks

 

I forgot to mention that the Jag has a MoTec M800 withe CDL3 digital dash and the two camera MoTec VCS video. I have uploaded the in car video to YouTube.
Please search 'Worlds Fastest Jaguar'. I think it is top of the list at the moment but if not the car is bright green so is easy to spot or give this link a try.
Thanks

 

Would be great if you could post some pics up here. Sounds like a beast.

 

Here it is on the Dyno.

 

On the lake in South Australia

 

That is a spectacular effort! I can only imagine how fast your heart must have been racing. I get a little lightheaded from adrenaline just hitting speeds that are a fraction of what you have achieved.

 

Found the build thread, Shaguar - Dry Lakes Racers Australia

40 pages, will take a while to read through...

Can you give us a summary of where it's at now?

Engine, driveline, etc...

 

The car is extensively modified and with each modification safety was my main concern. 240mph is very fast and the problem with salt lake racing is that if something goes wrong I can't jump on the brakes and get out. Without the 'chute it takes a long time to stop so if there is a fire it can be like a blow torch with the force of the air pressure. I made the cage super strong, I have two completely separate fire systems with two large bottles each with two sets of nozzles. One actuated by cable and the other pneumatically.
Anyway, yes I have a lot on my mind at that speed but it is a buzz.
I want to build a v12 so I can keep it all Jaguar. The Ford engine in it now is an engine I had already so to keep the cost of racing down I decided, reluctantly to use the V8. Hopefully all that will change so I can keep my Jag all Jag.

 

Cambo,
The engine is a Ford Cleveland Arrow block. SRP Pistons, Oliver rods, Crower crank. Still 351 with 6 inch rods. Little field 671 blower with Enderle bug catcher. I am using a MoTec M800 ECU running 12 trick flow 1600cc injectors above the hat. It runs 10% overdrive so about 15psi boost which gets to 17psi at speed. I cut down a Windsor Dizzy for the synch signal and modified a Windsor MSD crank trigger for the Ref signal.
I use a Doug Nash 4+1 box which has no synchro's and is 1:1 in 5th gear. 3.5 inch tail shaft to a 9 inch, Romac fully floating axles with Strange spool, modular centre with reinforced housing. McDonald Bros 4 link with coil overs.
The roof is chopped 3 inches.
The front has new hubs made with Ford stud pattern and cr moly stub axles. Jag brakes front and rear. Brakes are not a big deal on the salt!

 

What sort of power is the Clevo making?

If your goal is 1200hp & 8000rpm, i'm not sure anyone has built a Jag V12 to that level yet...

There are a few twin-turbo V12's out there, and a quad-turbo currently in the build.

Bruce @ Jagworks in Sydney has a V12 TT XJS, although it's in a bad way after the battery caught fire. Was making ~600hp at the wheels.

There were some twin-supercharged Lister V12's too.

I think 1200hp is a hell of a goal. I can only imagine it'll be >7L with custom forged everything. And you might have to make your own heads.

Most of the V12 discussion is in the XJS section of this forum XJS ( X27 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

There is a guy here in Australia who built a quad-cam V12, using the AJ6 4-valve inline-6 heads on a V12 block. http://jenkinseng.com/


Might be worth talking to Mr Jenkins if you haven't already.

 

This is awesome!

 

Somewhere in the mid 80 ' in a car magazine the XJS got a cool nick name . Underneath the picture it said
"the fastest cigare on the planet"

 

you will find the V12 much stouter than the Ford. Without the need for buying a lot of aftermarket pieces. I go racing with stock bottom ends. Already worn and lose. And we are at full throttle for 30 minutes at a session.
The crankshaft is a really strong EN40 forging. That after machine work is already hardened. As are the connecting rods. Rods are 2.300 and mains are 3 inches. Total weight 78.8 pounds!!!!! The oiling system is capable of dealing with 1000+ horsepower with the traditional radius of oil holes.
Use the 1977 3/4 and later engine. It makes adapting to a manual transmission very simple. Or stock is the fabulously strong GM turbo 400 transmission.
Use the 1971-1980 heads. ( pre HE ). Much better flow. The stock pistons are the only real issue. They won’t take 8000 rpm. Cosworth made some great pistons that are significantly lighter than anything else plus by using the heart shape combustion chamber ( in the piston) there is a significant power increase.
Forged Aftermarket pistons typically use a shallow dish.
Do not supercharge the engine. Bulky, adding turbulence and drag sticking up in the air. Plus it limits the boost pressure. And it takes a lot of power to turn the supercharger.
A pair of bigger turbo’s. (T 6 size) Can get you up over 1600 hp. At 30 psi. ( easy for the Jaguar to handle) Don’t be afraid of the Chinese made ones. They are holding up pretty well and if they should fail, replacements are really cheap. I just buy them off EBay or Amazon.
You can’t use the stock ring gap running that much boost. .025 for the top is minimum if you are using 100% methanol. Gasoline, nope. You’d have to increase it a lot over that.
Air to air coolers work probably better for your application than air to water. Too much heat for the water to deal with even with dry ice.
You can use the stock cast iron manifolds without much loss. ( less than .02% ) because the firing order of the V12 just works. And cast iron is much lighter ( yes lighter) and massively more durable than headers.

The whole art of making cheap durable power is properly developing the system on the dyno. Use a chassis Dyno so you include the transmission and gearing losses. I. Your tuning sessions. If you use stock bottom ends and fail replacements are inexpensive.
Going price here is $300-500 for a 5.3. They really are fantastic. And affordable.
The one area that’s a challenge. Is camshafts. Really all that’s available is regrinds. Isky has good valve springs at much less than stock prices. And the factory tested the stock springs up to 8300 before any float was noted. 30 pounds of boost going to need aftermarket. There are better ( but expensive ) springs available for Formula 1
The 6.0 is about 50 more horsepower to start. But many, many multiples more expensive. At least 10 times. Plus only the 1993-94 had the good crankshaft everything after that was Sintered Iron. While it’s stronger than a casting it’s no where near as strong.
If you want to see a guy who really knows uhow to pull power out on the cheap watch Nivlac 57 on UTube. He makes 824 horsepower on a version of the 6 cylinder Jaguar engine. Straight out of the junkyard.
His dyno development is the secret.

 

Thanks for the great advice. It is much appreciated.
I am going to use two Rotrex C38R superchargers running counter-clockwise which are small and efficient and mount them in line with the radiator with a six inch bellmouth in front of the grille for a bit of extra boost in the airflow. The rootes 6-71 blower gained about 2psi extra at 200mph.
I am running methanol so dont need intercoolers.
I have a 5 gallon oil tank for the four stage dry sump pump so oiling wont be an issue.
The V12 is certainly a learning exercise after the racing the V8!
I have a post running somewhere else on this forum re head studs which is taking up my brain space at the moment.
Thanks again.

 

Good Luck with the V12. Mguar is definitely a lover of them. I personally know the Power of the 351 Cleveland, as I used to run around in a 500+hp Mach1 Mustang back about 1980. The Chevy boys would sneak out the back of the parking lot at the "Square" when they heard me coming. LOL!

Yeah it was Fun!

Great car, and Wow! 237 I've been a little better then a buck fifty in a car, and it was quite intense. I can only imagine 237!



Jack

 

I’m surprised you aren’t going the turbo route. Superchargers take too much horsepower to drive compared to Turbo’s. And heat up the charge too much for real high RPM power gains. Oh yes superchargers gives real boost off the line but fall away at higher RPM compared to turbochargers.
I should imagine a pair of larger turbo’s could put a 6.0 into the 1600 horsepower range. At about 30 pounds of boost.

 

I am not one to usually accept form over function but turbo's are ugly and the space is limited down there. The V12 has enough problems with heat as it is. In land speed racing we sit on full revs at max power for minutes at a time. I want to be confident that the engine will not have a meltdown, even after the run with heat soak. I will be running an extra 40lts of coolant behind the diff with electrics pumps as an added precaution.
Besides, turbo's muffle the exhaust noise and I want to hear the V12 through straight pipes exiting behind the front tyre at 7,500rpm.
Call me a dreamer!

 

It’s your car, I will encourage you to build it just as you want. My suggestions are just that.
I’ll be the first to admit that 30 PSI for minutes is a risk. But looking at the way the head is bolted on and the strength of the bottom end compared to every other engine I’ve ever worked on, I’d go for it. ( start with the cheap 5.3 and when it’s properly sorted out buy a 6.0 from a sedan.
However if my goal was land speed racing in a Jaguar I’d be tempted to race the XKE.
No you don’t have to start with a factory car. You can use a fiberglass body and copy the factory frame so easily( assuming you know how to cut and weld.).

The reason for XKE over XJS? Pushing air!!
The E type shape was going 180+ mph back in the mid 1950’s with about 250 hp.
It’s narrower, lower, so it pushes about 1/2 the air that a XJS does. The V12 will fit( the factory proved it). And it’s been successfully crash tested by the Government.

If you do use the XJS, the turbo’s don’t go in the engine compartment, they go in the space between the engine compartment and the front fenders.
Bigger turbo’s will need a cut out back into the engine compartment on each side but you can cover that with a piece of exhaust tubing. If you make the front fenders removable it’s very easy to access should you need. And you keep all that heat out of the engine compartment.
You will need to modify the cooling system. Stock it’s too easy for cooled water to short circuit without cooling the rear of the engine.
On the water manifold, reverse everything and send the hot water to the firewall to be collected in a tank and then rerouted back up front to the radiator.
That will ensure uniform cooling.
Back to sound. Turbo’s respond well to big diameter exhaust pipes. ( it’s a back pressure thing) 3” is typical. But great sound will come from megaphones. There is some aero advantages to running the pipes out the back add some serious sized megaphones. I promise you, you’ll love that sound