No XJ40 tunnel. (Trans tunnel?) My floors are shot so when I mount the engine/trans then I will get to that part. Still lots of rust to repair yet.

I did get the rear end brace plate from one that I may use..aka as did FiBoy in his Mark II conversion. I have been thinking of getting the XJ40 pedal box with power brake booster, but it won't leave room for a clutch mc..haven't figured that out yet. Thanks for your interest.

Making more progress fixing rusted out areas. Last photo..tomorrow's task, area underneath where gas tank goes. All this due to small holes at back window lip!

 

The wheel arches on Winston are Cooms Racing Spats that were spot welded and leaded in during the body work stage of restoration. My Dad, the owner of the car, tells me that these spats were originially used when the cars were raced and he chose them because they are a period correct treatment. They are available at Welcome to our new Website - Martin Robey Sales Ltd secure online shop

I will get some pictures from my Dad that show the work in process.

 

here's a picture of my '65 S type and '84 XJ-6.
I'm new in this forum but I've owned Jags for the last 23 years. My S type is a San Francisco car, totally original except for a respray in 1984, (have the receipt from the first owner) no rust. I've improved it with XJ-6 electric mirrors, headreasts, high-mounted stop lamp, and other mods.

I'm impressed by this S type Coupé bodywork you are doing. Are you going to cut / round the rear wheel openings as some other owners have done? What I would do is keep the original engine & suspension and just improve it with a better transmission and a/c. I'm in Oakland/Winter Garden.

 

Steve,

That is a lot of great rust repairs! You are definately bringing back a Jag likely destined to be junked to a future cool street car!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. The car has been on hold for a while as I've had to work on other's cars to make some money...and life gets in the way too. I do plan on cutting/arching the wheel wells. As to the engine. I have the original, but it is worn out. The cost to refresh for this project is really more than I want to spend. I think instead I will put a SBC in it.

 

it always costs more $ than we think, but it's only money and life is short.

 

Steve,

Like Jose said it is only money, you only live once. I think a Chevy is a good idea but I would spend a bit extra and get a modern aluminum block Chevy/GM LS V8 rather than an old school iron block Chevy. The car will then not have the hassle with carbs and cold start with a choke and the car will will drive like a modern car with much better performance in handling and power. I scraped the SBC that my car came with for the LS1

 

since you guys like to modify the h*** out of these cars, here's a mod I made for the rear taillights in my S type; It was done for Safety, for Visibility in today's traffic, (you might not believe it but I actually drive my S type in the Orlando Florida traffic which is violent and aggressive, we must defend ourselves!).

Picture 1 shows the Canadian, Australian, and European Amber/Red lenses these cars were shipped with; Turn Signals (Amber lens) on Top, Driving and Stop lights (Red lens) at the bottom;
This arrangement is No good, the Driving light is too low and so is the Stop light.

Picture 2 shows the Red/Red lenses these cars were fitted with for the USA market only. Same arrangement but Red lenses, no Amber lens. Why? I have no clue.

Picture 3 shows my idea: I had the bottom lens reproduced in Amber; I switched the Turn Signal sockets with the Driving/Stop light sockets (they are switchable, just pull them off and push them on), So now the Driving and Stop lights are at the TOP, (Red lens) and the Turn signals at the bottom of the taillights, (Amber lens). Smart ehh? Well, my girlfriend says I'm a genius but I know she says that so I go fix her car....

I think the car looks more elegant too, like a Bentley. Also consider that Jaguar did the same thing in the Series 3 XJ-6, elevating the Driving and Stop lights to the top.

 

picture 1: funny how the 1960's Bentley uses the same tail lights as the Jaguar S type !

picture 2: here's my S type with the tail light lens mod

 

Major project! You aiming at something like this?

 

somehow Steve's Coupé job looks more "proportionate", yours looks like the door was just welded and the seams filled with bondo. Just kiddin'! Also the door itself seems to be out of alignment? shouldn't it be "flush" with the rear panel?

 

This is not my car. It's a US mod I saw on the internet. I think that the rear windows confuse the eye most.

I'm building a BRG ground up original to have a crack at concours.

 

I just came across this thread and wanted to compliment Steve on a great job done so far. Your vision and proportion (and handy work) are really well done. Any progress on this?

Jose,

I like the new turn signal lenses you created. How easy/pricy was it to get new lenses made? Could you tell me who did it?

Thanks,

Eric

 

it cost me a good chunk of money to get them reproduced; I got them made by a company in Michigan who went out of business during the financial collapse in 2007-08, I paid them for the Mold ($200.00), plus I had to pay for 4 Color Tests at $40. a shot. It wasn't until Test No. 4 that they got the Amber color I wanted, the first Color Tests were a bit bright for my taste, I wanted a darker Amber, like in the XJ-6. the Mold was supposed to be mine but when I claimed it they had already liquidated.

Any parts repro business can make these, but you'll have to pay for a mold, that is the key in the whole process. A mold that captures the original details of the lenses front and back (male and female molds).

I have 2 lenses if you're interested, but they are not perfect, they are Color Tests, and they have some minor imperfections (that can only be seen up close).

replacing the lenses requires removal of each taillamp because the center chromed lens-divider is what holds them in place, then on reassembly you simply invert the bulb sockets, the Stop bulb socket is moved to the Top, the Turn Signal bulb socket to the bottom, there's no rewiring at all, the bulb sockets are movable.

two lenses went to my S type, two went to the S type Registry's registrar in Arizona, and two went to a guy here in Florida who has a 420 and he saw mine at a Jaguar meet. (the taillamps in the S type and the 420 are identical).

 

Steve,
I am a brand new member to the Forum. Just joined today and have not had a chance to post anything about my own car yet; however, I immediately became hooked on your "S" modification to a two door coupe. I have fantasized for years about doing the same thing - just don't have the skills to do it myself and too many other projects to make funds available for the professional help to do the conversion.

I have two questions:

1. I was really disappointed to get to the end of the third page of entries only to discover nothing has been added as progress since July. Is the project still on going and active?

2. You may know all about it, but I wonder if you have seen the following image before?

Thanks very much for sharing what you have done!

Lin

 

To all who have seen my project. Life has been very busy but I hope top get back on it. To finance it, I have decided to sell the other 65 3.8S. It is all opriginal, solid, no rust and is a great car but it is tired and needs restoring. Hopefully someone will be interested. Let me know if you are...very resonable; $3,500 ... I paid $4K and $1K to have shipped to Fl from CA.

 

Just read this thread, love the amount of work you have performed.

Pillarless would have looked awesome, esp if you were considering not using glass as you initially planned

 

I hope you don't give up finishing at least one car.

 

I just read through this for the first time. Great thread and great project. I have seen pictures of Jaguars cut and shortened before to make a 2 door coupe, and rarely do they look right. This one looks good proportionately. Can't wait to see it more assembled and from a bit of a distance to see how it really looks. I have plans for a 2 door MK 2. I just bought the car, and have a lot of work ahead.

 

This is a great thread. Any updates?

I'm curious. Why did you shorten the body by 9" rather than extend the front doors a few inches and weld up the rear? That would seem easier.

Also, other mentioned that there have been a number of MK2 2-door conversion attempts, but only one pic was posted. I can't find any online except for JackTheLad's videos (which are inspiring).

Thanks!