Good news + some questions!
 

Hi everyone,
Last time I was on here my XJ40 was just hit! The good news is that the repair is going along smoothly and I should have the car back by the end of the week. The car is no longer all original, so I am interested in doing some (tasteful) modifications. I would like to put some fog lights on the car; there is a switch for it already installed, so I dont know if a wiring harness is already hidden inside or what, sp could you guys give me some advice on that? Additionally, I want to do a head unit swap and audio upgrade. I dont want some ugly flashing green and blue unit but something classy with all of the modern touches, like bluetooth. I am simply using a cassette to aux adapter to play music off of my phone. Any tips? I also have an old Rockwell amp which is period correct, however, it either does not seem to work or it is very weak. Any places or links to where I can get any of these parts? TIA, you guys are all awesome!!

Will

One thing I forgot: would adding a high performance air filter (cold air intake, pod filter, induction kit, etc.) be beneficial?

I bought an Alpine amplifier/booster and connected it to the speaker outputs of my factory radio and hid the amp in the space above the heater/ac controls behind the dash. I also added a low profile subwoofer-also by Alpine. I replaced the speakers with better ones. It all sounds fantastic and looks original. I would not go about changing the intake plumbing or trying to get more performance out of filters and parts that stake claims. They usually do not improve performance and confuse the ECU.

Thanks xdevo,
I am definitely going to check out the Alpine products that you mentioned. Are they any specific items that you would recommend? Although I would love to do a slick update to the sound system like you did (keeping the original head unit), I really only listen to my music off of my phone and I am sick of using the stupid cassette adapter that always skips or crackles. Do you have any recommendations for a classy-looking head unit? During my research, I have found a head unit by a company called Parrot (they make drones and car tech) that is both aesthetically pleasing but also easy to use and modern in terms of connectivity, however, it is discontinued and has mediocre reviews. I also know about Retrosound, a brand that does vintage-looking head units with modern features. My father put one in our 1974 Corvette, however, the options they have for the XJ40 look a little too old fashioned, maybe something that would suit a Series I or II XJ6. I don't want my beautiful Jaguar to look like an early-2000's Civic!
TIA,
Will

I would purchase an FM direct line modulator off of Ebay and run it directly into the antenna line of the original head unit. You can easily connect a bluetooth receiver to it.

Hi Will,

I'm happy to hear that your car repairs are nearly complete!

I agree with Xdevo1973 that an aftermarket filter such as a K&N is not a great idea. A filter capable of allowing in more air will also allow larger airborne debris and grit into your engine.

However, on the early XJ40s like your '88, the air snorkel on the air filter housing tapers to a very narrow opening, and it is well worth replacing it with the snorkel from a later car with a larger opening, or simply modifying it by cutting off the tapered section and attaching a section of straight hose as I did on our '88. The large images at Jag-Lovers have still not been transferred to the new server, but you can see my thumbnails and descriptions here:

XJ40 Air Intake Performance Upgrade

I found this mod to help the engine seem slightly but noticeably more responsive from about 2,000 rpm upward, with only a slight increase in induction noise.

Cheers,

Don

The other improvement is to try and track down ‘Andys’ Bracket’
Andy used to produce a bracket which replaced the original CPS bracket and gave a few more degrees of advance, lots of listers have fitted it and remarked how it has improved the performance. I did it slightly different in that I adjusted the reluctor ring on the harmonic damper to do the same end result. (I am a retired toolmaker and could do it so I did :). )

I put Andy's bracket on our '93 and it definitely improved engine response in the mid- and upper revs and overall fuel economy by about 2mpg. However, Will's car is an '88, and I'm not sure if Andy makes a bracket to fit the early AJ6 engines with the narrower crank pulleys. It would certainly be worth asking him. Andy's username is XJRengineer and you can find info about his bracket and how to contact him in this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...engines-66536/

Cheers,

Don