1985 XJ6 V8 conversion
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 11
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From: Florence, KY
1985 XJ6 V8 conversion
I'm new to this forum, so I should probably do a short introduction.
I'm a full-time college student cursed with a love of British cars. This means I don't exactly have the funds to maintain a stock powertrain on an XJ6, but I adore the car's ride quality, legroom, cargo space, low center of gravity, weight distribution, rear wheel drive, and excellent cornering for its size and weight. Plus, it's classy as it gets, I mean come on...
Due to this I've been a deviant and put a stroked out Chevy small block (crate motor I got on the cheap) with a Buick 200-4R 4-speed overdrive automatic (out of a Grand National) into my XJ6. The original owner's engine took a chunk out of the side of the block
. It's a little quicker than stock with 383 cubic inches (6.3L), and most importantly, it drops maintenance costs to the point that I can afford to keep it running as my daily and out of the junkyard on my shoestring budget.
Aside from the powertrain, the car is almost bone stock and has no outstanding issues.
I'm a full-time college student cursed with a love of British cars. This means I don't exactly have the funds to maintain a stock powertrain on an XJ6, but I adore the car's ride quality, legroom, cargo space, low center of gravity, weight distribution, rear wheel drive, and excellent cornering for its size and weight. Plus, it's classy as it gets, I mean come on...
Due to this I've been a deviant and put a stroked out Chevy small block (crate motor I got on the cheap) with a Buick 200-4R 4-speed overdrive automatic (out of a Grand National) into my XJ6. The original owner's engine took a chunk out of the side of the block
. It's a little quicker than stock with 383 cubic inches (6.3L), and most importantly, it drops maintenance costs to the point that I can afford to keep it running as my daily and out of the junkyard on my shoestring budget.Aside from the powertrain, the car is almost bone stock and has no outstanding issues.
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Joined: Mar 2014
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From: Tehama County, California, USA
Those of us driving V8 powered Xj6s, well, our name is Legion because we are so many, largely for the reasons you cite.
Yours is a Very neat and clean conversion! Congratulations!
Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')
Yours is a Very neat and clean conversion! Congratulations!
Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 120,439
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From: Durham, UK
Welcome to the forum 383 Jag,
Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.
Follow this link XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the XJ6 Series I, II & III forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.
Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.
You can also visit the US Southern Midwest Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/us-southern-midwest-67/ to find other members in your region.
Enjoy the forums.
Graham
Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.
Follow this link XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the XJ6 Series I, II & III forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.
Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.
You can also visit the US Southern Midwest Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/us-southern-midwest-67/ to find other members in your region.
Enjoy the forums.
Graham
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 25,844
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From: Summerville, South Carolina
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Welcome to Jaguar Forums 383 Jag,
Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.
If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help
Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.
If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 11
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From: Florence, KY
I guess I'll give a quick story line of my car's life. The original conversion on my car was done by its second owner as a John's Cars kit with a 350 after the original owner's engine decided that rods belonged outside the block instead of inside. I purchased the car from owner #2. Supposedly a Grand National was what that tranny got pulled out of, but I've only got his word on that.
After the 350 started puffing blue smoke rather early into its lifespan, I decided, why not upgrade? That's when I decided to do the easy swap to a 383 crate motor I got for free with <10k miles. There's a long story behind how that fell into my lap, but essentially owner #2 who was a friend of a family member, had a son who was doing a conversion on another vehicle and blew a piston in that one, and just bought another crate motor and tossed the old one. I was the only one they knew that had a small block that wasn't already stroked out (and that's kind of shocking, now that I think about it), so I got it from owner #2, who had no idea my motor was on its way out. It's complicated. Anyways, I just swapped a piston and dropped it in. New engine total cost with additional accoutrements and cylinder replacement was under $200 and done in a weekend.
It's not all perfect on that front though, as despite specifically requesting that the guy that I purchased my piston from weigh it to make sure it matched the other pistons, he didn't. Because of that, I've got a slight balance issue, but it's really not enough to bother tearing down the engine, and I plan to upgrade in about 3 years anyways. I don't drive it hard, but it doesn't seem to mind if I wind it up, so I'm fairly sure I'll be fine for a few years.
Aside from a continual battle with the infernal air conditioner, it's just maintenance. And yes, the air conditioner is infernal, because it likes to spew heat sometimes
. It's no longer spewing heat when I don't want it to, but I'm not getting cold air either. Luckily it'll be cold enough soon that I won't really care.
After the 350 started puffing blue smoke rather early into its lifespan, I decided, why not upgrade? That's when I decided to do the easy swap to a 383 crate motor I got for free with <10k miles. There's a long story behind how that fell into my lap, but essentially owner #2 who was a friend of a family member, had a son who was doing a conversion on another vehicle and blew a piston in that one, and just bought another crate motor and tossed the old one. I was the only one they knew that had a small block that wasn't already stroked out (and that's kind of shocking, now that I think about it), so I got it from owner #2, who had no idea my motor was on its way out. It's complicated. Anyways, I just swapped a piston and dropped it in. New engine total cost with additional accoutrements and cylinder replacement was under $200 and done in a weekend.
It's not all perfect on that front though, as despite specifically requesting that the guy that I purchased my piston from weigh it to make sure it matched the other pistons, he didn't. Because of that, I've got a slight balance issue, but it's really not enough to bother tearing down the engine, and I plan to upgrade in about 3 years anyways. I don't drive it hard, but it doesn't seem to mind if I wind it up, so I'm fairly sure I'll be fine for a few years.
Aside from a continual battle with the infernal air conditioner, it's just maintenance. And yes, the air conditioner is infernal, because it likes to spew heat sometimes
. It's no longer spewing heat when I don't want it to, but I'm not getting cold air either. Luckily it'll be cold enough soon that I won't really care.
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