Hi, I'm Aaron from Driftmotion. I just picked up a 1990 Jaguar XJS Rouge that had a blown head gasket and rod knock. I am going to put in a 2JZ-GTE Toyota Aristo engine, connected to the original Jaguar/GM Turbo 400 transmission, and I'll post pics as we go along.


It all started when I was looking on Craigslist for a project car to build for my fiancé, and this cool XJS popped up when I was looking for something nice that was a good deal. We called the number in the ad, and the next day went out and looked at it. I was happily surprised that it was as clean as it looked in the pics he had posted! $1000 was the asking price. It had no rust, straight body, looked good underneath, but the engine obviously needed help. It was smoking and knocking, but I wasn't going to be too picky considering the asking price. I offered $940, (that was all I could get from the ATM on a Sunday lol) and he accepted. We loaded it on the trailer and headed home.




First order of business was to take the old V12 out, to go to its final resting place. It's a shame because it looked so clean.
(Anyone want a V12 super cheap?!?)


The engine was out of the car in a few hours.


Wow, that V12 engine is HUGE! If it didn't get 11-13 mpg to make 300hp, I would probably fix it and put it back in! LOL I think the engine we're installing will be a better way to go, around 375hp and hopefully somewhere around 18-20 mpg (it's a heavy car after all). It's a twin turbo 2JZ from a Japanese Aristo, and we're most likely going to put a big single turbo kit on it sooner then later.




Here's where we're at as of tonight.



I already ordered a custom adapter to mate the stock Turbo 400 trans to the 2JZ. It's not a cheap adapter by any means, but it will be less expensive in the long run because I can use the original drive shaft and transmission, transmission bracket, etc... I was considering a 5 speed swap, but it was just going to be too expensive and not handle any more power then the original auto transmission. Plus I have been itching to put a Turbo 400 behind a 2JZ, but I never came across someone who wanted to pay for us to do it. I am going to put a mild shift kit in the Turbo 400, I don't want it to chirp the tires, but I do want nice quick shifts. It should be fun to cruise around in this car, and even more fun to brake-boost launch this bad boy!!!

 

Looks like this will be one cool build thread keep up on the updates. If it wouldn't be so expensive to ship and rebuild that v12 could be a fun swap in to my range rover lol

 

Thanks! Would it fit in a Range Rover?!? :O

 

No idea but it would sure be fun to figure out

 

Wow, this sounds really cool. I wish I could see the pictures. Do you have direct links I could get?

 

I cant wait to see this finished!!

 

Thanks for the replies! Here are direct image links:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0605.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0602.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0594.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0586.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0633.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0634.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/SANY0636.jpg

Last night I was looking into the TCI 2.75:1 1st gear/ 1.57:1 2nd
planetary gear sets you can get for a little over $400. I think
that gear set, plus some mild valve body mods, and I should have a
Turbo 400 that will roast the tires in 1st if I want, shift under
load at around 6500rpm, and shift quicker and more positively then
stock. The (lower) low gear set will keep my engine rpm the same on
the highway, but make 1st and 2nd lower to work better with my high
revving 3.0L 2JZ turbo engine. I can't decide if I want to
upgrade the stock twin turbos with dual 46 or 50 trim compressor wheels,
or go with a single aftermarket T4 turbo kit with a 60-1 turbo.

I did about 8 hours of reading and research last night on the XJS
rear suspension and drivetrain, and on Turbo 400 transmissions and
all the options and possible upgrades. My brain hurt when I went to
bed at 4am! :O

Today we pulled the whole rear crossmember and removed the
differential and brakes. OMG is that job a pain in the butt or
what?!? I am installing new Brembo rotors, new pads, all new diff
seals and o-rings, new subframe mounts, new bump stops, and new
trailing arm bushings (both ends). I got all the parts suprisingly
cheap and got them delivered same day! I think this thing will ride
like new when it's done! I'll post pics in the morning.

 

Looks like a cool project! I don't think you have a 1990 Rouge model though. That looks to be a 1994 or later. What's the last six of the VIN?

 

We actually looked up the vin and it did come up as a 1990 with the Rouge package. I think the side skirts and bumper covers were added by the prevous owner.

 

Jagota?

And it doesn't get a corvette diff? Why not a six speed sequential shift manual transaxle, like the GT3 XK8?

 

I was going to get that Corvette diff, because I had plans to win the lottery this week, but then I didn't buy a ticket, so I didn't win.
I guess I'll have to wait on the 6 speed sequential now too I was also thinking about running dual 2jz-gte engines, that way I would still have 12 cylinders like the stock engine.... but with 4 turbos!

Is it a Jagota, or a Taguar?


I did make some progress today!

The diff was dropped off at Unitrax Differentials, along with all the bearings and seals I got for it.

I was able to press in the trailing arm rear bushings myself, but the front bushing is considerably harder to do because it sits in a cup in the trailing arm so I can't get anything to catch on the edge of the bushing to push it out. It's about 3.5" diameter and I couldn't find anything to fit it perfectly enough to press the bushing out. A local machine shop said $10 each to press them out and press the new one in, so I think that would be $20 well spent!

This was the status as of this morning

 

Man your making some quick work of this transformation. Really looking forward to following this build.

 

Yes sir, it is coming along, but the transmission adapter hasn't made any progress from what I was told yesterday.

The differential might be done tomorrow, they called me tonight and said they will be working on it in the morning.

I'm picking up the trailing arms tomorrow, I dropped them off this afternoon and they are ready to go they said.

I looked over the front suspension and steering bushings and they are all cracked, so I guess that will be next on the project list.

I also found a place that has all 6 Bilstein shocks brand new for $400 shipped!!! I don't know if I can pass that deal up!?!

 

What state do you live in?

I know if you tried this in California, it would be near impossible to get it to pass the referee for legal registration....lol!

Setting that aside though, what an incredible build. The 2JZ is a great motor and will take much of the weight away that the XJS suffers from. Great idea and I look forward to seeing your progress and eventually the end result!

 

You gotta know someone, that knows people, that has a cousin, who has a brother, etc....


Here's one of my other cars, 1JZ-GTE with a big single turbo:

 

I always wondered about stuffing a supra engine into an xjs since some came with straight 6 engines anyway, great progress. looking forward to the completed monster.

 

Is the 1JZ the stock motor for the Supra in your picture?

Yeah, it's nearly impossible to get a swap legal. I swapped out a D16 in a 96 Civic and stuck in an H22. I only got it registered because the guy who helped me had friends.

 

The 1JZ-GTE was the stock JZA70 Supra engine in Japan, but in the states they only offered the 7M-GTE and 7M-GE in the MA70. I wish it was the other way around! LOL

 

XJS Update:

Unitrax called me on Friday about my diff. It looks generally ok, but the bearings are slightly loose in the carrier on one side for some reason.
I guess isn't enough to make it spin in the carrier and cause damage, but they are supposed to be press fit yet right now it slides in and out by hand.
They are going to replace the bearing and put some lock-tite on the outer shell if it's still not tight to keep it from becoming a bigger problem, plus they are replacing all the other bearings and seals, and new clutch packs for the LSD.

I got a poly bushing set for the steering rack, and all new bushings for the front subframe, I'll be installing those next week.

 

I got the diff back today! Now it's fully rebuilt with all new bearings, o-rings, and seals!


The Jag is sad with no rear end


Pile of new goodies to be installed