One word ought to sum it up: divorce.

 

Did you use the Jaguar Specialties motor mounts or your own fab? I ask because the front of your LSx seems to sit higher than what they show on their website. I'm interested due to the slight hood clearance issues you stated.

Thanks,
Dan

 

I used JS mounts, and with the GTO pan modded to suit, there's pretty much no room to go lower (to the crossmember). The following things may contribute to it looking taller; the GTO covers, the DBW throttle body, and GTO PS reservoir. Besides, it shuts. Just use polyurethane or solid mounts instead of shitty rubber ones the almighty kit has listed to keep it in place.

Here's a pic of the JS mounts; the RIGHT one is how it is suggested to use. The factory bolt from the bottom like stock, through the plate which is tapped to accept it. A couple things bogus with this: nothing to keep the mount from shifting if the bolt fails or falls out, kinda screwed if the threads fail in the mount plate (which the stress of twisting force is on when tightening the bolt), and it is drilled for XJ and XK applications with about 1/16" between the holes - weak. My suggestion on the LEFT; a stainless steel bolt threaded down from the top making it a stud (twisting force on the nut / replaceable). I removed the threaded dowel off the stock mount and threaded it onto each mount so it fits the Jag frame nicely, and keeps the mounts true on the frame - helped greatly when installing the engine.


LH side in the car:


RH side in the car:


Nothing special about the mount adapters on the engine; generic LSX to SBC plates, and the poly SBC mounts are from Energy Suspension with the pre-load plate smoothed a bit on the block side.

 

One of the things I like about the AJ27 is the oil
sump capacity.

What is the capacity with the cutdown LSx pan?

BTW, it is implied in the parts catalog that there
are both 3 bolt and 4 bolt pedal assemblies in the
aluminum version with the provision for a clutch
master cylinder. Maybe late X300 production?

I grabbed mine when I bought a X300 rear suspension
for the differential.

 

Reduced from 6 to 5 quarts as far as I can tell, but that's a dry fill, I'll be curious to recheck it after it has run. As noted earlier I'll likely add an oil cooler to help compensate.

That's interesting about the aluminum 4 bolt housing - the quest continues I suppose. The current setup will do as a prototype.

 

Hey gang, not much of an update, just keeping a pulse in the thread. Last weekend I fortunately was busy selling off another car that freed up all the capital needed to complete this car right - very nice. I did make an effort to continue mocking lots of things in place and it's all going quite well.



The perfectionist in me is going to keep the pace at a crawl though...

Aligned the hood and found the GTO covers do not fit, the oil fill does fit, the throttle body does fit, and the GTO PS reservoir does not fit. More to come.

 

Man....I love your thoroughness! ;o))

 

Slow poke weekly update; getting a little scatterbrained tackling lots if petty details rather than finishing some bigger items up. I did get back to the pedals, made up this little ear to actuate the clutch master cylinder; I'm going to drill three holes into it with hopes of giving the action some adjustability but I think they will be too close together to make a real difference. On the plus side though the action will be quick (only 1.4" required by the Wilwood master cylinder), so I don't think the pedal will go past the deal pedal which it is quite close to, but a stop will absolutely be needed.


The left pedal housing is the beater test unit - I cut off part of the structure for the accelerator pedal to make room for the GTO DBW pedal to mount to the firewall. I entertained MANY options to address the drive by wire issue to use the stock Jag pedal, but in the end it just made more sense to use the GM unit, mount it right, and modify the pedal to suit.


Anatomy of a DBW pedal assembly;


The diameter of the pedal rod material is 3/8", so using some old scrap aluminum fuel line I mocked it into the pedal housing to see how practical it's mounting position would be (immediately to the left of the column). It may look crude, but proved none of the angles were too drastic. Solid steel rod will be used of course, this was just a crude mock;


I like the idea of lengthening the pedal rod as well since the pedal travel was so short on the GTO - the difference won't be much but I think it will be a benefit.

I spent some time going through a Gates catalog in an effort for find radiator hoses that required no adapters or couplers that I was eager to put down, and so far I have found one that fits excellent from the thermostat housing to LH of the radiator, but gave in and used an adapter for the connection between the water pump and RH of the radiator for the time being - I will still look for a one piece hose for this. No part numbers from the swap manual used.


That's all for now, thanks for looking

 

Still plugging away in no real direction, just the hundreds of loose ends to figure out. Re-worked a stock GTO cold air intake (cut, upside down, backwards), and it is tight, but with a bracket to limit movement it will clear the tensioner pulley and fan assembly. Later I will add a baffle to isolate the filter from the engine compartment and hopefully utilize cool air from the factory intake routing.


My homie laying TIG welds like art on the pedal.


Overkill clevis, overkill bracket with overkill weld job. The clevis is adjustable for pedal height, and the three holes are to adjust the rate of actuation of the master cylinder.


Painted and assembled; that doesn't mean it wasn't put into and taken out of the car about a thousand times to get the pedal height as desired and making final tweaks to the spacing from the dead pedal, more to come once it's on the road I'm sure. The action feels great even dry.


DBW GTO pedal mods; 3/8" steel rod bent, bent, bent, pressed, cut and drilled, and bent again until it was finally right.


GTO pedal mounted in the only space it could occupy, hence the long rod, however the action feels real good, and it added a bit of travel over the short rod so it will hopefully feel more like DBC. Intended to heat treat the rod for strength once it's running and final tweaks are made.


That's all for now. Task of the week is finalizing fuel system, heater lines, and new pedal pads.

 

Good Work matey, I like your approach to the project. I'm enjoying watching how it develops.

 

Thanks, it has been an excellent challenge. Being "older and wiser" than ever a lot of thought and consideration has gone into this project, likely topping my list of builds when it's all said and done. As eager as I am to see it on the road, I rather sweat the small stuff now making everything look as good as is it works and vice versa.

I visited my friends at an exhaust shop today that does mandrel bending ONLY and have done exhaust on several cars for me; they are on board with the project. Basically I am going to bring the stock XJ8 exhaust in as a template for the bends, utilize the factory mounting points, and use marman flanges to make the system modular/serviceable similar to a factory system - sweet.

Juggled wheel options from an XK, but really like the Pentas and for once in my life I want this to look 98% stock - Bridgestone Potenza RE760 UHP Summer tires on the way...

 

Great looking build. I did an LS1 in my 1965 Jaguar 3.8s and you might want to check one of my postings on heat as even though your engine bay is a little more spacious I think you would benefit from the same upgrades. I did not have an overheating of the engine issue but rather the engine bay got too hot which caused fuel vapor, electronic issues until my body shop created a solution.


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...e-area-167558/

 

I've sort of acquired the same "older & wiser" mindset as you with my project. I don't know if you've seen my thread but I'm renovating a 2002 3.2 sport and I'm really taking my time with this one. I've done a lot of work on these X308s over the years, and I've acquired a lot of knowledge about them. So taking that into consideration I would be foolish to rush through the project and say to myself "I'll do that later" when I know the time would be better invested addressing it now.

I can't afford to have the paint and body work done at the moment, so I'm spending my time cleaning all of the interior parts. I've got most of the interior stored in my spare bedroom as I work my way through it all. I'm also upgrading the sound system to Premium so I'm laying down the necessary connections and wiring for that.

I like what you're doing though with the "keep it stock" approach, it will create a good street sleeper. I'm also looking to upgrade my exhaust system, I'll be having a full stainless system made up to release some of the V8 gurgle without making it too antisocial or uncomfortable. I have XK wheels on my 3.2 which look pretty good, they will look better once I've had them refurbished. Some amateur in the past has tried to paint them a shade of grey and it hasn't worked.

Keep it up!

 

Hello,

Great Work !!! Would you mind telling what inputs the body computer needs to remain functional?

Thanks

 

Thank you. If you're referring to the old ECM it's long gone, and much of the wiring related to it, but not all of it. The GM ECM went into it's place, and it is pretty much standalone with the engine, requiring few inputs for power and ground to operate. There are also few outputs from the GM ECM to the JS CAN conversion module. Let me know the specifics on what you're wanting to know and I will provide it.

 

Hi,

Sorry I wasn't more specific. I am wondering about the inputs required from your Chevy ECM to the Jag body computer. I lifted a head gasket on my XJR yesterday, so it looks like my time has come for the conversion.

I am thinking tach , and coolant but there may be more that I am not thinking of. Perhaps a feed back wire telling the body control module that it is ok to engage the starter?

I am guessing that the JS interface board sends some messages via canbus to keep the dash from constantly reporting error messages. Probably relating to ABS , trac control and cruise control. As I understand it the JS kit does not support these features.

Thanks

 

I will give you the specifics on the connections most likely tomorrow evening, I fortunately have stepped away from the wiring long enough to where it's no longer fresh in my head. There aren't many, and you're right, tach, oil pressure, coolant temp, charge indicator, etc. I have powered the car up with and without the module, and it does eliminate several error messages on the dash when it's in the loop. Losing cruise control and traction control were obvious, but I didn't consider losing the ABS, that would be disappointing - I will look into that. Also, down the road I am going to take a look at using the Jag cruise control controls to command the GM ECM since the TB is drive by wire, not cable.

I haven't posted a lot of updates, been working on really tedious details like heater hoses, air intake, finalizing pedal arrangement (new pads, and new acc pedal in), fuel lines, and sourcing parts. Keeping up the meticulousness in finding molded hoses and even using the annoying factory Jag hose clamps to give it a look closer to OE.

Progress delayed due to hitting a deer in my 1969 Nova and working with collector insurance, getting a second job at an HPDE program, and a new girl in my life... what can I say?

 

I meant to comment on this earlier; all I can say is think twice before you commit. No intention of talking you out of it, and I wouldn't have been able to talk my self out of it either, just consider the time and expense will exceed your expectations if you intend to execute it right.

Nice username BTW! "Fred Garvin, male prostitue!"

 

Thanks, not many people get that.


I bought my XJR thinking I would transplant the engine into my XK8. Then I found that wasn't going to be the easiest proposition in the world. The XJR is an extra car so i can take my time doing the conversion. I wanted to take the rear end out and engineer a solution for 3.25 - 3,73:1 gears with posi and possibly a 2 speed rear so it just starts the process. Would you mind to post a photo of the board and how it ties in to the bus.

Thanks

 

I may be mistaken about the ABS. It's been a while since I spoke with JS.