1996 xj12r
 

Nope they never built one. Too bad as I feel a two seat, retractable hard top in this body style with a V-12 that could breath would have sold well. Even better with an optional 5 speed. Below are concept photo's which are pictures cut in half and slid together. So I've been thinking about this project for 7 years or so and finally got to the point that if I didn't try I would always regret not doing so. Most likely will regret doing it. So I started this build about a year ago and the only difference in end result will be the top will be chopped just enough to eliminate any bubble effect from shortening up the wheel base by 22". My intent is to end up with a car that to a non-jaguar fan they would never suspect it was not a factory vehicle.

So I needed a volunteer.
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1996 XJ12 purchased 10 years ago out of California with 99,5000 miles for $4,500.00. Used it as a occasional daily driver over last 10 years and it now has 106,000 miles. Everything works as it should although at 20 years the rubber bits are all tired. So I put it up on blocks to get a good look underneath and come up with a game plan.
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Many hours laying underneath to figure out how and why. So I needed to build a rack to mount the car to. I had some I beams left over from raising the house. After getting them level, square and plum with the world and some ramps to drive up on and we are good to go. Car now on rack getting ready to remove the interior.

With the interior out the plan to slice and dice changed considerably.
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Ever wonder why we have so many electrical issue's. Look closely at how much wire I have hanging. Enough to do the space shuttle. I then had to mock up a cradle to carry the rear of the car after separation. My idea is to have this cradle roll on the frame rack like an accordion back and forth while I massage the front and rear sections back together. The front of the car is going to be secured to the rack to allow no movement. More on this to come.

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So now the front has to be secured before I can move forward finalizing the rear cradle design. I will down load these photo's and update.

In order to secure the front of the car to the frame rack without pulling the engine and transmission I decided to use the suspension. First I needed to eliminate suspension travel so I fabricated a solid shock absorber using 3/4" rod and cutting the ends off the original shock and welding them on.
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Needed to lose the front tires and fabricate a bracket to mount suspension to the frame. Had a quote from local fab shop for $250.00 for both sides made out of 1/2" plate with laser cut accuracy. I figured $125.00 per side was ridiculous so I would just pound it out on my drill press with 2-1/4" plates welded together. 1/4" plates cut to size $108.00, my 3" hole saw has a wobble so $25.00 for new hole saw and a trip to hardware store. I have 4-7/8" drill bits and 3-11/16" drill bits but not 1-3/4" bit in my box. So $20.00 more dollars and yet another trip to the hardware store. Still needs to be welded and drilled. Yah, so that didn't work out so well. But the brackets are done and installed.
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The rear cradle will have to be reinstalled into the car to insure I have enough tolerances for any necessary alignment corrections that may be required prior to final welding. Additional bracing will be required to insure the cradle will not flex under the weight of the car as the rear end is not being removed. The tires however are.

Very interesting, look forward to the updates.

One thought, the headroom in the X300 is already so limited it may be tough to chop the top a bit as you suggest in the first post. I understand your point about trying to mitigate a "bubble top" effect, but many coupes like the early BMWs had that effect and looked OK.

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Understand what you are saying as I'm 6' and my youngest is 6'4". So it has to be usable however my thinking for a mild chop is deeper than just eliminating the bubble effect. The 96 XJ12's are long wheel base with 1" more headroom. That extra inch is all above the drip rail.
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So by lowering an inch or so I will still retain the stock height inside for a standard XJ, reduce the bubble effect, the actual door opening will be lowered so this should flow better and may give me an opportunity to eliminate the frame around the door window. This will clean up the side of the car quite a bit without all that chrome. It may allow me to source a new door molding that would seal the window with just a little fuss. Not having to chop the door frame is attractive to me.

Subscribed...Can't wait to see more pics on the build process. Keep them coming!!

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity." ...Oscar Levant

1 of 19, we are counting on you following this project through to completion so that we can add the rest of that quote: "I have erased this line."

You seem to have the resources, skills and time. Add in a heap of optimistic determination, and the result will be incredible!

Good luck, be careful, and we will be watching your progress with great interest.

Very cool project! Had you made any progress since the original posts?

Painfully slow however progress has been made. I will get my photo's together and update thread. Does not look good for this years car shows.

Cool :) I can't wait to see the pics :icon_cool:

One of Nineteen,

After many weeks of nothing but dusty tumbleweeds here in the X305 section (obviously all the XJ12s are running perfectly well), I thought I'd ask for an update on possibly the most ambitious project ever undertaken with a Jaguar. The XJ12R. You've come this far. There's no turning back. Has the body magically been sectioned and reattached yet?

No turning back is right. But at the moment not much more than treading water unfortunately. Progress has been made since last post and I still need to update but have yet to do so. :icon_slap:

We have the car completely mounted to the jig, (which by the way I have just as much time into planning, bracing and jigging as I do working on the car) glass and sunroof are out, inside bracing is in and the top has been removed.

Life has a way of getting in the way from time to time and this has slowed progress significantly as it has prevented me from crawling around the car. This is no longer an issue but now all the other stuff that needs doing that did not get done has to be done first. Well in order to stay married. :icon_hug:

I will get my photo's together :icon_photo:

Thanks, we understand! Keep the dream alive. I bet once you get into the zone with the project, it's like an escape from the usual stuff of life.

Do the XJ12s get driven regularly in some rotation? Perhaps by color, or mileage, or whichever one the wife likes best?

They get around 10 miles in the spring and 10 more in the fall just to keep everything moving. They need to be driven more. I am now up to 2 which do not want to play anymore and we will have to see what's up. Just too many irons in the fire right now.