Hi all,

I've recently moved to Sydney and I'm near Hoxton park. I have an old 1975 Jaguar XJ12. Ever since I got the car it always feels like it hasn't been running correctly. It also spits a lot of fuel out of the left exhaust pipe and sometimes it even gets flooded with fuel and stalls. As the car is unregistered I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to come out and have a look at it with the possibility of tuning it for some cash. Im looking for someone who has the right equipment, tools and experience to tune the 4 carb monster.

 

jack, i'm out riverstone way, what carbs are on that, bit more info on the history it might help in knowing what may be need doing

 

Hi Tom, it's a 1975 Jaguar XJ12 with what I believe 4 175CD Stromberg carburettors. I bought it off a guy in Victoria a year ago and took it to a few people to get it roadworthy (which it still hasn't). I was told there might be something wrong with the ignition and it spits a lot of fuel out the left exhaust. I can definitely hear that it misfires every now and then, especially when you take it off the choke. Ive been through two sets of plugs since I got the car which isn't cheap having to buy 12 of them. It also has had a new set of spark plug leads fitted to it. I don't believe it is running the old OPUS ignition system either has it has been upgraded. I hope this information helps.

 

jack, 1st thing if you want to register it in NSW you'll have to get a blue slip.
you've made the common mistake in replacing items without testing, what were the condition of the spark plugs per cyl when you took the originals out and the second set? important info as in were they all wet - electrodes burnt down - extra sooty and so on,
Quote> I can definitely hear that it misfires every now and then, especially when you take it off the choke, < now that's an oddity as in the choke is delivering more fuel with choke on but less when off, have the carbs been checked yet for flooding - fuel bowl level etc or a general clean up and set to spec's?
Next ? has the ignition coil been tested, you can do this yourself with a multi meter or replace the coil if you have a spare (don't go buy one to test)
There should be a ballast coil resister - 3 coil - in the system - you can test that for resistance as well.
what i'm suggesting is there's some easy tests you can do yourself with a basic multi meter also give feed back about plugs, coil, condition of carbs, a miss fire may not be due to an ignition fault but flooded plug/s...any idea what the upgraded ignition is?

 

Realise this is 6+ months old now, however... In NSW if your car is unregistered, you can get an unregistered vehicle permit (UVP) from Service NSW for about $30 for a day. You have to nominate a from / to destination then take the most direct route. I've used this in the past for taking cars to a show, or for mechanical purposes other than getting it ready for rego. You can drive it legally without need for a UVP from home to a workshop for the purposes of gaining rego by the shortest route, but if you do that, I'd advise making a booking and if you get pulled over that the police can verify that's what you're indeed doing.