Hey guys,
I came across a 1998 xj8 Vanden Plas with 86k on the odometer and the interior and exterior show its been well maintained cosmetically. The previous owner bought the car in the summer of 2007 with 79k on the odometer in Vancouver and has the reciept from when he purchased the car and the shipping reciept from his move to Toronto 2 months ago. The problem, the engine is dead and will need a new one or one from another vehicle. I am not afraid of the mechanical work as my dad owns a repair shop and we have the facility and tools required to do just about anything needed. After doing some research an engine will cost anywhere from 2100-3000 for an xj8, so i was considering the motor from the xjr. I did a couple searches and haven't come up with much info on the 4.0 to 4.0 supercharged swap. Also input on just the engine replacement would be appreciated, as in whether its worth it or not.

My past vehicle ownership has consisted of about 70-75% Japanese cars with the majority of those having 2 doors. I've owned a couple american cars in my first your of driving and ahve recently moved into the germans for saily drivers, starting with a 1.8t jetta, followed by a 96 audi a6 and now a 04 330ci. i'm 21 and this xj8 would be car number 41 for me. I enjoy project cars, but already have too many on the go a 88 nissan pulsar undergoing a sr20 from the gti-R, a 86 mr2 undergoing a 5spd v6 camry swap as well as a 87 corolla gt-s (ae86) undergoing a LS swap. I have some previous engine work experience such as sr20 into a 240sx, b18c1 into a 89 civic hatch a couple years ago and more recently a 3.5 vq maxima motor into a 2001 maxima that came with a 3.0. These projects were all pretty damned time consuming and the cars were out of commission for months. i'm hoping that something can be done with the xj8 in a weekend or two.

Let me know what you guys think about whether or not i should buy the xj8 and just go for a straight xj8 engine or tray and do a xjr swap.

Thanks in advance for your input!
Fletcher

 

Welcome to the Forums, Fletcher. Wow 41 cars by age 21, and I though I was bad.

Regards putting an XJR engine into an XJ8, don't know too much about that, except for the fact that it is most certainly not a straight drop in job. At the very least you would need all the engine management gubbins etc that goes with it and then some. Hardly a weekend project.

You need to ask this question in the XJ8/XJR sections.

 

Welcome to the forums.
I would just do a straight exchange. Easier and cheaper.
With 41 cars in 5 years of eligable driving I don't think you will keep it long enough to go through all the trouble of doing the R engine. Also your ROI will disapear quickly.
Fix it and flip it.

 

i'm guessing ROI is return on investment? i'm leaning towards the straight swap and selling it for a profit as thats what most of my cars have been to me with the exception, but this is my first jag and would be my second real luxury cruiser. the first was a 97 750il which i drove for a few days but couldn't afford the gas i was going through with a lead foot 5.4 v12 and a 12 dollar an hour job. I kind of want to keep the jag for at least a couple months to enjoy it. i'll post the supercharged swap question in the xj8/xjr section

 

Howdy R1

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to the forums
That's a big change , XJR is a totally different beast and you also have to change PCM,tranny as well . I asked swapping an XJR engine in my XJ40 too and got same respnse
Anyway, enjoy our forums

 

decided to buy the car last night and ordered the na v8 motor this morning. the tires on the xj8 are pirelli p6000s's and kind of worn. i found someone selling his xk8 revolvers with good winter tires on it and i'm wondering what it will look like. i've googled xj8 with revolver wheels and gone through the first 10 pages of the photo gallery here with no luck. anyone might know where i can find a pic of an xj with the xk8 revolver wheels?

 

Hey there R1....welcome to the site

Try posting this question in the relevant section for better results!
This is essentially only for welcoming newbies to the site and does not get as much traffic relevant to your queries

good luck

 

You don't mess around do you, R1C3RCKT? Saw it, want it, got it, ordered motor and looking for wheels. No wonder you can go through so many cars. i hope you can enjoy it for a few days. Hope you can gets lots of help here bring that cat back to life for someone if not for you.

 

Armyjag put revolvers on his older XJ

 

they look decent on that car. i called my dad today and he told me the old motor is out and the replacement should arrive on monday. picking up wheels this afternoon. Looks like i'll be able to take her for a spin next weekend where i'll have to make a decision about whether i'm keeping her or not

 

here are some pics of the big cat sitting on revolvers with winter tires.
i think i'm gunna keep her for a while, by that i mean i'll have it for more than a month

 

Looking good. Colour coordinated with the houses, nice touch.