hi all my name is Trevor I have a 62 mkii that I inherited from a relative its been sitting in a field for 25+ yrs the engine was removed and is no longer useable I am going to do an engine swap in it over to a chevy lt1 out of a mid 90s camaro due to cost. I want something uniqe and I can drive I don't have alot of money and will be doing this pretty much on my own and will take a long time to do(wife and kids). I am trying to find out if these cars are 12v or 6v systems first off and i've heard the wiring is weird so any help on that would be appreciated. I know that one of my uncles had changed the front end out to a splined wire wheel set up but I want to go back to 5 lug if thats possible because that is what the rear end is and I was thinking of maybe changing it to right hand drive because I heard that isn't to hard to do either( like I said something unique) any and all input is appreciated. just dying to get started on it probably mostly body work because I can do that myself for cheap

 

Hi, Trevor. Welcome. I just started working on my son's '61 MK2 3.8 which spent a lot of years in a barn. I'm documenting progress on the "1961 MK2 3.8 Project" thread here. I haven't started the car yet. Cleaning out the gas tank and lines at the moment. First thing I did was replace the battery, so I can tell you with certainty that it's a 12v, Positive Ground system. I wouldn't know what you have to do to set up an engine from a negative ground system, but replacing Jag engines is very popular, though I would never do it. Someone here will know. There are several threads on resto-moding MK2s. Also the Service Manual and Parts book you can download here in PDF form are an excellent help and the illustrations well done. For little money and lots of labor, body work is good, and you can stop when you need to change a kid's diaper, if necessary.

 

Joe thanks for the info but you said it was positive ground is that a special battery or will any 12v work? Yea and the only reason I'm swapping the engine is because my uncle removed it back in the 80s removed the spark plugs and its been sitting outside and is seized so at this point it would be cheaper to do the swap. I'll have to search some of the other threads for the wiring for the engine transplant. Thanks!

 

Hi Trevor
Welcome to the forum, pretty new myself, I have been given some good direction from some of the guys on the site. My 66 Mk2 has been converted to negative earth, google 'how to change Jaguar Mk2 to negative earth' it's pretty easy worst part is the Dynamo, but you will have a negative earth alternator on the donor engine so this is not applicable, you will also be better off with a voltmeter in place of the ammeter with an alternator, easy to source as the smiths units are used on most British cars of that age. Electrics are pretty simple with only 2 fuses in the fuse box, so it may be worth looking at the fuse box from your engine donor car or an aftermarket unit.
The front splined hubs can be removed and stud hubs fitted, I'm not sure if any of the later cars will fit, eg 420, S type, so ask the guys the question.

I also fitted twin pot brake callipers from the S type to the front, the original single pot were bloody scary. if you post your email address I'll send you a soft copy of the manual, or you can google Jaguar MK2 service manual, quite comprehensive, but a Haynes manual (ebay) gives more detail.

I've also seen on the web somewhere quite a detailed site where someone has installed an american V8 in a MK2. Get googling, loads of info out there.
Good luck keep us posted
Graham

 

My car had wire wheels and I switched them all to 5 lug hubs. Call Andrew at Jaguar Specialties whom is in SJ, California at (408) 839-5569 or go to his website www.jaguarspecialties.com even though his V8 kits are for the later model Jaguars he is a great resource for all Jaguars for both new and used parts and he can sell them at better prices and he provides a great wealth of information to hook you up with the right parts.

If you get custom offsets you can easily put 17" x 245 and on a MKII maybe even a 255 or 265 wide tire. I have 17" x 245 tires on 8.5" wide rims on all four corners.

I am am installing an aluminum block/head LS1 with 450-460 HP in my 3.8S Jaguar for reliability and went with the smaller 5.3 so I can get about 25 MPG. An LT1 is good but if you can get a later model LS then the motor and tranny will be lighter than the stock engine yet have much more power and reliability.

 

converting to Negative ground is a piece of cake: how to do it? see link below.

Star Auto Electric Company - Instruction For Polarizing Generator

installing a V8 is another piece of cake, even a child can do it, how to do it? see link below showing how easy it is on a MK-1,

FiBoy's Mk 1 restoration; modernization of a Jaguar Mark I Saloon 2.4 litre

 

Thanks for all the info on every thing. primaz like i said im very limited on money so I'm going to pull the engine from a 96 or so camaro from pick a part and rebuild it my self because if i go at the right time and get all the parts i can get it done for about 600-700 instead of 2000+ im also going to go with a carb instead of fuel injection much easier for me. i really wanted to convert the car and run a 6 speed but i might just stick with an automatic for simplicity and lack of money

 

Good day Trevor, welcome to the forum - sounds like you are into challenges Good Luck & once again Welcome

 

tjpolzin,

Actually if you are ok with carbs and an iron block v8 you should easily get that cheap. Check with some local performance shops and repair shops as there are a lot of people upgrading iron block v8's with the newer LS aluminum v8's. My car had an old v8 that needed a rebuild and I basically gave it to the shop but even they did not feel it was worth to spend much time to sell it as there are so many old v8's like that give away or sold for very little cash.

 

That is the straight 6 not a V8.

tjpolzin, a V8 will definately fit and will provide you with a much more reliable and powerful engine than the straight 6. Good luck on your project. Here is a pic of the LS1 installed, we still have a lot of clean up work and more mods to do before it will become the daily driver it has been engineered to become but it will give you a good view that the chevy / GM engines will fit under the stock hood.

 

Thanks for that inspiration primaz that looks great!