This just awesome....

 

This was posted about 4 months ago, it turned into a pissin' contest between rocker arms vs ohc.

 

Really? I guess I missed it. I certainly don't want to get that started again. For me though, I would never replace my AJ with a LS. If I wanted to own a Chevy I would just go buy one, but that doesn't detract from the coolness factor of this one. I especially like the door handle setup, super clean.

 

Oh yeah, prospectively its neat, but like you say, buy a Chevy if you want a Chevy.

 

LS engine conversions only make sense if the current car has a crap engine design which the Jaguars do not. For an old school Land Rover, yes, i can understand that, but if the guy wanted 600hp, get avos twin screw

 

I left "jag-lovers" because the forum structure was like something from the dark ages BUT they at least had a "Lumps" section where like minded people could congregate and share ideas. After hanging out on three forums here I'm still befuddled as to why the leadership here doesn't put up a "lumps" or "engine swap" section to facilitate this. IMHO all I ever see is these threads going south.

 

Exactly what you said, they go south....and that I believe is because of the hard core original enthusiast who may, ahem, mod his Jag with Jag parts. Not with aftermarket nonJag replacements.

 

I'll politely disagree here. An LS swap seems far simpler than an Avos twin screw setup. Not to mention how much they cost as well.

If the original Jag engine has blown, and you live in America, it's often cheaper and easier to pick up a second hand LS than a second hand AJV8. Plus aftermarket bolt on parts are significantly cheaper and easier to make high power.
Avos might be making 600hp, but remember he's done FAR more than just bolt on a new blower. They've usually either upgraded to 4.2 (or bigger), plus fueling, electronics and cooling upgrades on top.
Drop a 6L LS engine plus a cam and chip and you're looking at 500hp with pretty much no effort.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend NZ$15k on a basic twin screw setup, which will get me around 450rwhp. But if my engine blew up and I could find an LS1 for a couple of thousand, spend another couple of thousand on the conversion kit and another couple on basic mods to get the same, if not more power, then the math is pretty simple.

 

There are enthusiasts and purists; polarize the two and the opposing view from one another becomes hack-jobs versus snobs. It’s a big spectrum, folks - get over it. I respect every degree until it becomes unreasonable or simply lacks sense or taste.

The car in question I actually could care less about - I respect the craftsmanship but don’t feel it has made sense overall as a package.

 

One snag is that dropping a non-jag engine in means losing quite a few functions that are driven by/from the original PCM. Many (seems nearly all) people want those features so straightaway cannot just dump another lump in.

 

Deleted, not worth it.

 

On more for the "ignore" list.

 

I like it. It's a cheap old car that he is having fun with. These aren't rare, a lump job here and there is no big deal. I like seeing people have fun with stuff, while Concours vehicles are neat, so are custom jobs like this.

 

Absolutely agree.
There was a time when there was a justification to do this. The V12's (and even many straight six') were falling left and right while earning and collecting bad-bad reputation and there were long lines at the Chevy conversion places (70's - 80's).

That was then, but since that time, Jaguar has come a long way in regards to power plant reliability, along with excellent power from the supercharged cars. And then, if you're committed to spend money on an engine swap, why not spend that money on the Jag engine/system? There's a multitude of mods that are available, including different design superchargers, or, if your wallet can stretch it... the very recent Jags are now in the high 500's HP, even probably over 600 HP by now.

However, the love of cars and the love of power is something very special and I respect any car aficionado's project because it can only expand and enrich our beautiful car world.

Cheers,

 

Totally agree.

 

Oh, something I left out, before I forget.
Two things. First is that hood on the X308 cars. It looks so special, so sexy and, of course, it is not the first time for Jags to have a sexy hood. Going back in time, all the way back to the XK120's, the C's and D's and of course, the E-Type, along with hoods on the awesome XJ6/12 series 1, 2 and 3, Jaguar wins the hood contest hands down, no doubt.

Second, is that awesome V8 music. Some people say they like the sound of V12 engines, but I don't hear really sexy sound from them, unless we're talking about an exotic, like a Ferrari engine when screaming at 9,000 rpm's. When I'm at a car show and I see V12's drive by at low rpm's, looking for a spot to park, the sound is definitely no so hot, especially that of a V10 Viper. They tend to sound exactly like a straight six Chevy truck from the 30's with a big leak in the exhaust. Conversely, the V8 harmonies from the Jag on this thread are absolutely incredible, the best engine sound possible to my personal taste. I do like the sound of my 4.0L six XJS, but my XJR's sound is, simply, superior...it's a V8.

My two cents...

Cheers,

 

I'm not sure this is necessarily the case these days. I'm assuming you've read through ifxn's conversion thread? The conversion kit he has, while requiring some work, seems to get everything functioning at least as well as factory



FWIW, budget notwithstanding, if I could swap any engine into my XJR it would an Aston Martin V12

 

If I were to swap mine, it would be for a Ford Coyote. I'm just not sure if that oil pan would clear?

 

This is true, due to the complexity of PDU and CAN network, there is a lot of functionality at stake. The big selling point for me (at the time) with the Jaguar Specialties "swap kit" was the little black box that will supposedly remedy all woes and allow 100% functionality by taking key inputs from the GM ECM and communicating them to the car as the factory ECM would. By keeping this link in the CAN chain the rest of the car functions as it should, and supposedly the IPC will read correctly - I'll believe it when I see it when it comes to life. I have powered the car up and with the module in play it remedies several error messages and indicators, so that's a start.

Jumping back to the car this thread is intended to be about, note the Racepak display - easy to take signals from the GM ECM, no integration to the car required, and of course that "race car" look. The ABS system is all gone, etc, etc... Less is more can be a good mindset, unless it's a shortcut.

Buy a Ford if you want a Ford. Just busting your *****, no harm intended.

 

Doesn't appear to be such a member so it's kinda hard to say!

No-one has solved the issue I raised for the S-Type, for example. Not even slightly. So, dropping in an LSx would lose the trans, dash, a/c, EPB (if fitted), ABS, NAV, etc.