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What a nice car! I absolutely love the colour! Man if I was stateside I'd be bidding on that beauty. Wouldn't surprise me to see it make better than $30K, & it'd still be a good buy!
The real questions is: What would it be worth if it still had the stock engine and trans?
With a modern fuel injected engine it has more HP and gets much better mileage... plus it has better suspension and brakes now...plus the modern color. Would you rather own this car or a used Kia?
Having learned to drive in a 440 powered 1969 Chrysler New Yorker I fully appreciate the rocket ship brutal adrenalin rush feeling of wide open 4 barrel acceleration when so desired and the look of a classic automobile when it is standing still. My v8 powered jaguar reminds of those carefree days when gas mileage was not considered and maintenance was handled in the backyard with a box of wrenches and some help from the local parts store.I believe my jaguar's value increases when an emotional bond is formed through my experience with it. Like this week when a newish Dodge Challenger came a little too close to my rear bumper. Open 4 barrel and mission accomplished. A story he won't be telling his friends!
The real questions is: What would it be worth if it still had the stock engine and trans?
Hard to say.
Although this is an unusually nice conversion....and the car itself is very nice....I really don't think the $26k-$28k is representative of the market for these cars, with or without a V8 conversion.
With a modern fuel injected engine it has more HP and gets much better mileage... plus it has better suspension and brakes now...plus the modern color. Would you rather own this car or a used Kia?
The real questions is: What would it be worth if it still had the stock engine and trans?
I've suggested that one day well done converts will exceed the value of OE vehicles over on the XJS board and was ridiculed. Well that day seems to be here for the Coupe and is coming for the XJS.
You gotta think of it like this... What would the AC Ace be worth today with out Carol Shelby... not much. So as I see it...there is a symbiosis between converts and non-converts. Converts make the model more desirable to some becasue they can take these modifications so well and original cars become worth more to others because they have not been modified.
I've suggested that one day well done converts will exceed the value of OE vehicles over on the XJS board and was ridiculed. Well that day seems to be here for the Coupe and is coming for the XJS.
We should ask ourselves why this car is getting the big money while so many others, with or without with a V8, don't.
IMO.....
-The conversion itself is extremely sanitary. Let's face it, the majority of V8 conversions are not executed this nicely.
-The car itself is in absolutely superb condition, in and out. Better than most Series IIs that I've seen.
-No hot rod/muscle car/boy racer adornments and modifications. V8 conversion aside, the owner/builder kept all the essential Jaguar-ness intact. No outrageous wheels and tires, correct and all-Jaguar interior (except for the conservative Nardi steering wheel), no hot rod instruments, shifter, etc. The engine itself hasn't been customized with gaudy chrome bits or American hot-rod style 'stuff'.
I think it was in the mid 50's that 'sports car racing was fun". Many critters domestic and furrin and some of each chasing each other on road courses.
I recall a few. One, an MG TD repowered with a Ford V8 "sixty" in midget racing tune.
Raced with the best of them....
But, although my Lt1 powered Jaguar is no slouch, I'll not take on a Dodge Challenger, and surely not a Charger. Bimmers, hell yeah....
There is a trade off when stuffing a big Ol' Yankee V8 in the snout of a Jag, & that penalty is weight! A lumped Jag may have eye watering acceleration, especially if it's a highly tuned big block that's been shoehorned into the slot. But I'm more interested in what happens when a car tackles a corner, where the weight becomes more obvious, & I'd suggest that a highly tuned 4.2 will show any V8 a clean set of exhaust pipes, as soon as the road gets twisty.
The XKE is actually a heavier engine than a standard Gen1 SBC, and way heavier that later generation Chev V8s. One of the alleged advantages of the conversion is less weight over the nose. In reality the advantage on the twisties would be more about the nut behind the wheel rather than the bucket of bolts under the bonnet.
The V8 is actually a pretty compact engine in an XJ which gives a lot of spare space around the engine bay.
I'd suggest that a highly tuned 4.2 will show any V8 a clean set of exhaust pipes, as soon as the road gets twisty.
Laughable. XK's are signifigantly heavier than even an all iron SBC. Additionally, a significant amout of that weight is up high. SBC's / can be made to be very light weight and the weight sits lower in the frame by as much as 10 inches.
Sorry but less weight and a putting that weight lower is the recipe for tackling the twisties.
Where the V12 and I6 shine is in smoothness. The SBC was not designed to be smooth. Cadillac engines accomplished that. The SBC's didnt smooth out until Cadillac started putting Chevy LT1's in their sedans. The main reasons for this lack of refinement was the rear mounted distributor caused imprecise spark timing and the rotating assemblies were not precisely balanced. Both of these issues are easily solved today. The LT1 is smoother than the I6 and LS is nearly as smooth as V12 if the V12 is in tip top shape.
There is a trade off when stuffing a big Ol' Yankee V8 in the snout of a Jag, & that penalty is weight! A lumped Jag may have eye watering acceleration, especially if it's a highly tuned big block that's been shoehorned into the slot. But I'm more interested in what happens when a car tackles a corner, where the weight becomes more obvious, & I'd suggest that a highly tuned 4.2 will show any V8 a clean set of exhaust pipes, as soon as the road gets twisty.
Gary, the most common "big ol' Yankee V8" is a 350 (small block Chevy) that weighs in at somewhere in the realm of 600 pounds LESS than the 4.2. With alloy heads the difference is even greater.
As for the 'lack of cornering ability' here's a little first hand story.
A couple years ago (March 2014 to be exact) I was invited to have a little "road race" over on highway 101 from Upper Lake to Santa Rosa, Ca. (talk about twisties!!); Nix and me (Completely unfamiliar with the road, first time there) against another BLACK Xj6 (Series 3) still with the original XK engine, driven by a club member who grew up on that road and drove it at least twice a week for the previous 50 years.
He did better than I did on most curves at first but he KNEW THE LINE OF EACH ONE! I had him in every straight, and if I was far enough ahead he couldn't catch me on the next curve even though he had the advantage of the "home court."
I finally overtook him on the outside of one of the curves after I got the rhythm of the road, learned to watch other traffic ahead and quit worrying about what he was doing (watching the guy behind can be positively Deadly in such a race).
After that I kept the lead until we reached our destination, with much grinning, laughing, hand shaking and back slapping. (I was actually surprised how well Nix did; only had her for 6 months at that time and the suspension was loose!) All of us Thoroughly enjoyed that "race" and talk about it at most every meet.
Nix is at NO disadvantage on curves especially now the front end is all tight! The engine is set as far back as possible in most of these 350 conversions so there isn't all that dead weight hanging out front of the suspension. They aim Very well.
In fact, the other driver is considering having his S3 converted after seeing Nix's performance on that drive.
(';')
..... the typical, early all-iron SBC comes in at about 575 pounds. The 4.2 XK engine is something along the lines of 700-750 pounds; the V12 about 800 pounds
..... the typical, early all-iron SBC comes in at about 575 pounds. The 4.2 XK engine is something along the lines of 700-750 pounds; the V12 about 800 pounds
Cheers
DD
I stand (or sit) corrected.
I don't know where that number came from.........
TY.
(';')
I've always understood the 350 V8 is a lighter unit than the XK. I've also observed the difference it makes to the front end stance i.e. the V8 means the car sits a bit higher than original spec. unless suspension mods carried out. If anything, the weightier XK enhances the Jaguar's prowling stance in stock configuration (an observation made by more than one V8 conversion owner when parked alongside mine).
As far as comparative performance goes, let's face it the V8 would need to have either a serious design flaw or be in poor state if it couldn't out-punch the XK! What would be interesting, is if it were possible shave 150 pounds off the 4.2 XK and then run a comparison...of course we'll never know.
Other than all the conjecture, there will always be divided advocacy for both the XK and the V8 conversion - surely all we need to do is respect the attributes of both engines whilst condemning neither. Agreeing to disagree is not necessarily unhealthy!
Indeed, when my car was 4.2 powered, I liked it's nose down stance. When the LT1 went in, the nose went up. I measured it and found it now at spec. I forgot the number.
Still pleasing. And, even more so, when I swapped in the XJS sourced lattice wheels.
My LT1 came from a huge Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. So, tuned for smooth torque. The LT!'s for Camaros, Fire Birds and Corvettes sport alloy heads. Lighter weight, more HP, but the torque comes in higher up in the RPM band.
So, as my S3 is no light weight, the iron head version seems a great match.
Bench racing is second only to the real thing.... I try not to do the latter anymore???
From a purist's perspective - the value of a converted car would be relative to how full the tanks are. Full tanks would put the value around $120.00...
