impressive work. If you have spare time, come over and do mine. Thanks.

 

Lots of progress, no pictures to show for it. Every time I get out in the garage after putting the kids to bed I just jam the work out and get in the zone.

Trans cooler (40K) mounted and plumbed.

Stock Jaguar throttle cable hooked up; I had to modify and extend the LS throttle cable bracket. The pedal is a bit stiff so I might remove one or both springs that are mounted on the pedal.

Radiator is mounted and rad hoses are done. Bottom is a typical LS1 Camaro hose, upper is a stock truck hose that I cut up and spliced to snake under the charge pipe.

Heater hoses were a pain due to the way the hotside crowds the passenger side. I ran 2 90* hoses around the front of the motor and back down the driver's side to feed the heater core and surge tank. Originally I was going to use an Audi B7 A4 tank due to the large capacity and mounting tabs, but I did some more digging and actually found a much nicer option from a 2005-2010+ Equinox. The mounting tabs are for a vertical wall application meaning they're well suited to older cars that don't have the weird contours of modern vehicles. The outlet exits straight out the bottom which makes it easy to tee into the heater return, and the steam vent/deaeration line exits horizontally. 15psi cap and a nice compact package, all available at your local Pick and Pull for under $10.

The newer models have a modern black plastic top while the older ones are fully clear.





Next up:

Cleaning up engine bay wiring
Terminator X Install
Fuel Cell Install

 

Randoms shots installing the catch can, cooling system/heater hoses, and general engine bay. I took off the compressor cover to allow easier access while installing the turbo oil drain, which is an extended 4" 10AN and drains into the pan above the oil level.











Exhaust is done, painted and wrapped. Full 3" up to the stock catback (resonators and mufflers) with a cutout dumping by the oil pan.

 

Removing the stock fuel pump, filter, and other ancillaries from the trunk well.







The old trunk mats/carpets left a fine furr all over everything, so I vacuumed it out to clean it up a bit.



Spilled a bit of gas disconnecting the old lines, so some ventilation to clear it up:



New fuel cell mocked up - I made some straps to bolt it right to the trunk floor with some foam mat to insulate it from direct contact. It's a 20 gallon cell with a flat bottom (no sump), 0-90ohm sender and -8AN outlets throughout. Fuel will be 93 pump to start and once I get the car up and running, I'll start to introduce ethanol.





The top of the cell sits below the lip of the trunk side, so I'll make up a new cargo cover to allow the trunk to be used. For anyone lamenting the loss of the spare tire, none of my other cars (mostly BMWs) have had spares. This is not a daily driver for me anyhow, so the likelihood of needing one is very low.

 

I spent the last few weeks wrapping up the fuel system. It consists of the following:

20 gallon flat bottom fuel cell with -8AN rollover valve vented under the trunk floor

-8AN feed to coarse prefilter
-10AN feed to 400lph pump
-8AN feed to C5 FPR
-8AN return to top of fuel cell
-6AN feed under the car to fuel rail
-Flex sensor plumbed inline with feed

I filled the cell with about 7 gallons of fresh 93 pump just to check for leaks and found none (on the pump suction side, at least). I need to run the pump manually to prime the system and see if there are any leaks on the pressure side of the pump. Also installed the Lowdoller fuel pressure sensor on the rail after taking out the Schrader valve to be able to see if the pump can keep up.











While I am waiting on some AN fittings I decided to jump into the Terminator X install. It's mostly plug and play, just a matter of routing things neatly in the engine bay to prevent damage from heat and moving parts. That being said there are some loose wires to connect which I saved for last. I hate wiring, it usually means uncomfortable positions.



The ECU will live in the glovebox. It's very compact so there will still be room for documents, etc. My goal is to leave the interior looking as stock as possible. There will be no modifications except to the gauge cluster.

I have a new fuel gauge that uses the correct 0-90ohm resistance range compatible with the sender in the fuel cell, and the tach will be driven via the output on the TermX. I would like to use the stock speedo by driving it with a configured output from the ECU but haven't really looked into the details yet.



The interior is a bit of a mess at the moment but will go back together once I run the fuel pump trigger wire and the sender signal wire to the trunk.

Last but not least - check out that front ride height!



It settled in quite a bit due to a couple of reasons:

-Removed 15 gallons of fuel from the stock tanks, which transferred weight to the front
-Jumped up and down on the front bumper to "settle" the springs which was good for another half inch or so
-Added all the accessories under the hood like the engine harness, fan harness, and fluids (engine oil, coolant, power steering), and battery.

Keep in mind this is stock springs (uncut to preserve ride quality), 2x spring packers removed (you may have seen them in the trunk), and 3/4" spring pan drop.

Hoping to have the first startup next week!

 

It's alive! Got some wiring finished up (roughly) and fired it up Friday. No major issues or leaks upon startup, let it get up to temp and topped off fluids. Everything seemed pretty good, just a lot of smoke from all the paint and exhaust wrap burning off.

Couple of revs and it died on me, so I re-fired it and it wouldn't idle without 10% throttle input. I'm a total rookie on the Holley software but I noticed that IAC counts were very high @ 90% so I figured it needed the blade opened more. I flipped the idle set screw and opened it up a bit more, did a TPS Autoset, and it was all good. Holley made it so easy to fire up, I will never go back to HPTuners.

Took it down the street to the gas station, drove pretty nice for a wizard tune. First impressions:

-Front tires are too wide and rub on the fender on bumps.
-Exhaust leak somewhere up front, maybe the crossover pipe.
-Steering has some play in it on center, might look into tightening up this rack or maybe something a little more radical. Also needs an alignment badly. I will have that performed after I replace the front tie rods and ball joints which are thrashed.
-Brakes have a slight pulsation from sitting so long, we'll see if they clean up with additional miles.
-Differential has a healthy leak. I changed the fluid a few months ago and it weeped a few drops but once I drove it the oil came out at a much faster pace, so maybe something is wrong with the vent.

Overall it's a great cruiser with a ton of style. I can't wait to further refine it; once the small bugs are worked out I'll put on the charge pipe and see what it feels like in boost.

Here are some photos of driving around and after I washed it.

 

How is the car coming along?

 

Everything swap related is working nicely, but I'm fighting the old car blues right now. The diff was pissing fluid out of the driver's side so I had to pull the axle/UCA, inboard caliper/rotor, and output cover just to replace the seal and o-ring. Got that taken care of, then found that the power steering is leaking bad around the rack somewhere. Hoping it's just the o-ring on the lines where they bolt up to the rack, we'll see.

I hope to install the charge pipe soon and change the tune to account for E85.

 

You've done a lot of good work and I admire that a lot, having rebuilt a Mark 2 and also most of an XJ6, but surely you must admit those wheels and tyres are totally OTT.

 

Of course they're over the top - and don't call me Shirley. Everything about a 1980s Jaguar in a sinister black metallic with bright chrome accents exudes the decadence of that era. My vision for the car was that the wheels would complete that same look. Sure, the tire sizes are not right for the body style, but I plan on fitting some that are a little more in line with the fenders.

I was never a fan of the Kent wheels, and although they are growing on me, I do not think they fit the character of an mid 80s Jaguar. The black painted inlays are reminiscent of a wheel design from the 60s on American cars, which dates the S3:





Let's not forget that Jaguar offered the Lattice wheels in that period, which looked much more at home than the frumpy Kents.

In other news, the car started marking its territory with power steering fluid after a spirited drive. I cleaned the rack area thoroughly and found that the return hose (original to the car) was suspect.



A local hydraulics shop was able to make a replacement on the spot for $35, including a 45 degree fitting that would better avoid the engine mount pedestals.



Refilled the system and all is well again.

 

I never cared for Kent wheels either, got rid of them in 1990 and installed XJ40 Teardrop wheels, which look more "Jaguar" to me.

The Kent wheels look very similar to the wheels of the 1970's Volvo 1800-E and ES models.

 

That makes at least 3 of us not liking Kents, I don't care what the "purists" say (I bet that shocks everyone).

When I first saw Nix I knew nothing about Jaguars, series this or that, all I saw was a BLACK car with 4 doors and CHROME WHEELS!
It was all over at that point.
(';')

 

Four of us!

 

Yah but, if your goal is the look of "just a nice looking old car", then Kents complete the illusion. Given the money and opportunity, I would change mine too.

Dave

 

I didn’t like the Kent’s either, and I was told to avoid the wire wheels, that they aren’t made for such a heavy car., etc etc, I got mine used, haven’t had a single Issue ( other than keeping them clean 🤦‍♂️) I do love the look!!!

 

Hey, Darren!
When yer wife isn't looking put them one at a time in the dishwasher!

 

​​​​.
not a bad idea for my S type wire wheels Elinor, I hope you are serious because I have to clean 5 of them before new tires go on. I was thinking pressure washer but hot water sounds better. Spinners can go too.

 

Oh yes, I'm serious!
After I scraped the worst of the Krud off and gave them a good treatment with Oil Eater, I put the timing cover and oil sump in my dishwasher (while husband wasn't looking! He's funny about that).

My friend Rob had to buy a dishwasher specifically for his shop cuz his wife had a Fit that he even Thought about car parts in HER dishwasher.

EDIT: I'm not sure how Alloys would react to dishwasher soap though. It could be very bad!
(';')

 

I can always check with the spare wheel, and they are all chromed stainless steel.

 

It will dissolve the alloy. Brake calipers go well in the dishwasher though!