Okay, after reading several postings about how to lower the front end on a Jaguar, I am more confused that I was to start.. LOL I have a 1974 XJ12L and the engine has been changed to a 350ci TIP out of a 87 Corvette and the nose of the car sits high compared to the rear. If I change out the front springs to XJ6 springs and with out the upper spacers, do you think it will put the nose back to stock appearance? I am not looking to drop the car I just would like to have the stock look back. Please any input would be great.

 

I would remove all the spacers and cut about one complete coil off the springs. The 6 cylinder engine is not much lighter than the V12 , if any. If that works, then you always have the option of getting new springs the same length as the modified ones made.

 

I doubt anyone will have the exact answer, as the data is a one on one thing for any converted car.

The fitting of the 6cyl springs MAY drop it a tad. The weight of the 2 engines is not that different. The 6cyl being cast iron, and the 12 alloy.

The spacers are generally on the bottom, and one spacer was deemed as 3/8" suspension drop, BUT, that data was for a Jaguar engined cars.

There are a few on here with those V8 engines, and when the celebrations quieten down, they may have better answers.

 

you can efectively lower the car by using different size tires. No need to alter the suspension.

Try 235.60.15 tires and you will see. (assuming you are using 15" wheels).

you can also try the 225.60.15 size. Not much difference in diameter from the 235.

 

Jose, I am not looking to just lower the Jag but to correct the height of the front end after the Chevy conversion was done. The PO never lowered the front to its original height but just left it sitting up in the air.. Thanks you for the advise though.

 

What are the Pros and Cons of using spacers on the spring plates to get the desired height in the front of the car? Also it seems the the car moves like a pivot, that when the front is lowered the back raises at the same time.

 

As you lower or raise either end of your car, it will pivot around the opposite axle. But if you are talking about an inch or two, you would probably need a tape measure to tell the difference. For example: if the distance between the front and rear axle center-line is 10ft and the distance between the rear axle CL and the rear bumper is 2.5ft, then lowering the front suspension 1" will make the rear bumper raise .25". I think most of our perception of whether a car is high or low comes from looking at the "reveal" or distance between the top of the tire and the top of the wheel arch.

As far as Pros and Cons of spacing out the spring pan, I don't think there are any good alternatives except maybe finding a set of dropped spindles. This might be like trying to find a 6-leaf clover and very expensive (a set for a Jaguar).

Dave

 

Dave thank you for the advice and information. Have you converted your Jag yet and if so how did you bring the nose down back to original height? Thanks

 

Hey, 350 chevy converted 1974 XJ6 here.

I also had to install conversion springs and spacers to get the nose down to stock ride height.

Make sure if you follow one of the guides on how to remove the springs that you get the proper tool for the job.
I have done the job twice with 6 sticks of threaded rod and the strength of the springs was enough to almost snap the threaded rods and it did on more than one occasion render the threads unusable

 

I'm doing a total rebuild (not restoration) on mine and am still 6 months away from having it on the road, but after reading several posts on this Forum I have removed both 1/8" spacers above the springs plus lowered the spring pans 1/4" with spacers. This should give me 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" lower than it would have been. I bought my car without an engine, so I don't know how it sat in stock condition, but I chose this setup to begin with.

Mad Hatter is absolutely correct, removing/working with the front springs is mechanically easy, but inherently dangerous. The force of the spring is not to be trifled with, look at post# 48 in thread "Alaskan xj6/LT1" for the second spring compressor I made after the first one showed some flaws.

Enjoy

Dave

 

There is a nice XJSC in Texas I was looking at that has the LT1 and a very nice price but has no AC so I told the wife I would rather have the old XJ12. The one I bought seems to be put together a lot better and more professionally. I will be looking for update post on your build and hopefully I will have mine at the house by the 13th of January after a short stop over in Nashville for a long weekend. Have a great one and Happy New Year..

 

Hello Greg, I’m Dallas in USA, hoping you can give advice. Last year I bought a 2013 XJL 5.0 Portfolio. I looked for months to find what I wanted with several must-haves. The ‘L’ edition, 5.0, British Racing Green, Cashmere/Truffle interior, no accidents and one owner. I found it Palm Beach, FL - 21,500 miles. There are things I had to give up (supercharged, Ultimate instead of Port, but after 6 months, and covering everything it HAD to be, I snagged it and am in absolute love with it. I’m want to keep it as OEM as possible, but I want to lower the car, maybe and inch?? I don’t know for sure because I don’t want it to look thug, i want it to look sporty. So what do I tell my dealer I want? What are the right words to say? New shocks? My wheels are 19 but I want to eventually put 21’s on there. I am clueless, obviously, and I’m not a weekend warrior mechanic. I want all the Jag functions to work but the car to be lowered! That doesn’t seem like too much to ask to me but what do I tell him I want? I must be specific, brand names of anything I need if not OEM, etc. Can you or anyone else help??? You can call me “dumbass in USA’ instead of ‘Dallas in USA.

 

When I installed the GM 350 in my XJ6, I lowered the car by removing the 2 spacers that were originally installed on the car. In addition to that I added 3/16 spacers on the spring pan.
After about a month or so the front dropped lower than I wanted. I removed the spacers I added at the spring pan and 3 years later the stance is just where I wanted it to be.
Will post a pic later tonight.

 

Hey Chillin, the thread that you landed on was for cars that are much older than yours. Our cars have a different suspension setup than yours does and we were abusing that difference to adjust our ride heights as needed.

On your newer Jag I have to presume that the most common correct solution to your desire to adjust the ride height is going to be resolved with adjusting the springs and shocks on the car if they are adjustable, or installing springs and shocks that are adjustable into the range that you desire.




Side note, why in the world did I not add these pictures when I responded to this thread the first time!?

 

1. The conversion kit that I used came from Jphns cars in fFort Worth. it suggested that the springs from V12 powered jaguars be swapped out for those from a6 powered car.
2. When my car had the 4.2, it had ance nose down stance. I never measured it. On the install of the LT1, the nose came up just a bit. I forgot the stock measurement. But, I do recall measuring it after the swap. right at satock ! No changes made, albeit jsut a tads higher, it is just fine.

Individual cars seem different. hence the spacers, and of course, the wear and tear...

 

The springs that you see going into my car in the above pictures are those same springs JagCad.
I found that they did not raise nor lower the front suspension whenever I put them in, so I also added spacers to the pan to get it down to the correct ride height.

Then I found out months later that I made a horrible mistake. It has now sagged far below the stock ride height and I am hoping I can take all of the spacers out and return it back up to stock. It moved a long ways after install.

 

If spacers are removed doesn't that mean it will be even lower?

 

Ah, maybe I didn't word that in the best way.

You take spacers out from the top of the spring perch to lower the front end.
You can also add spacers between the bottom of the control arm and the pan that holds the spring in, also effectively lowering the front end.

In the context I was speaking above, I had meant remove the spacers that I had added below the lower control arm.

 

Of course. Now I understand.