Jaguar ‘Mud-Type’ Gets a Welded Differential for Off-road Action
CarThrottle‘s Jaguar Mud-Type project needs a few more upgrades until it’s truly overland ready.
The Jaguar X-Type didn’t come with locking differentials. That would likely be because Jaguar didn’t envision it facing going much further off road than a long gravel driveway. However, there is nothing worse than sitting in the mud with one wheel spinning its energy away while the other wheel does nothing. Particularly if the vehicle is has been built for off-road fun.
Of course, in CarThrottle‘s final build video for the Mud-Type, they aren’t going to try and figure a way to give it locking differentials. They simply pull the rear differential out, clean it up and weld it so it’s permanently locked. It looks like they have the electronic traction control instead of the earlier models viscous diff. How that behaves with the locked rear differential should be interesting to see.
Then, while they are in a butchering mood, they finish cutting out the wheel arches and start on the bull bar and sump guard. The bull bar is imported from a Jeep from an earlier adventure. The sump guard is basically a frame built using the same 25mm box section they used for the roof-rack. Intelligently, they left enough room to access parts later and make sure the steel sheet covering the sump is removable.
As the build has it’s finishing touches made, we’re starting to wonder if it may actually be effective. There’s a complete lack of finesse in their approach, however, it looks solid and well protected. The tires are good, the ground clearance is decent, and the snorkel air intake should work well. The real question is in how the unlikely off-roader will actually behave on slippery ground. We should find out in the final video of the series.
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