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First post and I'm excited to join the Jaguar community. Just posted the same thread on the wrong forum, so I apologize for the duplicate.
Just purchased a '72 XJ6. It's pastel yellow with black interior. The engine has been swapped for a 383 chevy stroker with a 700r4 transmission. Paint seems original, body is straight and interior is in miraculous shape. It has a salvage title, which I'm thinking was a blown engine, hence the swap. But, it also has Series II tail lights, making me think there could have been rear end damage. I can't find any though.
My first order of business is to address the suspension. It's been sitting in the California sun, and every bushing has dried up. I'm going through Andrew at Jaguar Specialties for the bits. I might do King Springs to lower it, but that is undecided. I'll replace the shocks and strutsas well, and get new rotors and pads.
My question is whether I could fit a 17x8 wheel with a 74mm center bore and 20mm offset. The following site says that everything would work except for the 20mm offset. The site says you need a 25-33mm offset. There are a particular set of wheels that I'd LOVE to put on the car, but I am unsure if they'll fit. It seems SO CLOSE!
Welcome, 383 with 700R4 is a really good combo if executed well.
I dont think anyone can give you an absolute answer about a particular wheel but that said I have run 17X8's up front with proper offset. The Jag needs high offset wheels like a Corvette or Gen 3 Camaro. I dont think 20mm will work well. I would think you would need an offset in the 40's with a 8 inch wheel.
Last edited by icsamerica; 12-06-2016 at 03:35 PM.
It is not uncommon to mix lights and other later model parts
Your car has non S1 door mirrors... not sure if they are even Jaguar? But, they look good.
Having had all three Jaguar models, my preference is the SWB S1. Your front end height looks good now... someone took care to correct the normal "higher" distance after installing a lighter SBC V8.
I have later model XJ40 wheels, seven inch wide but still 15". Be warned if you change the OD of the tires from what you have now making the speedo and odometer read correctly is FUN. They are separate in the S1 (even though they are in the same instrument) and the speedo heads work by the choice of rear end ratios and there were not many in the S1. The front hubs
on the S1 are different from the S2/S3 and just because they say the wheels will fit a later model, does not mean it will fit a S1... I have wheel spacers on the front and longer lug nuts just to use the later wheels.
Have not heard of King Springs before, but it is a PITA to change these springs safely and most of the time the cars end up higher since most mfg. have no clue on what spring rate to actually use, especially now with lighter weight in the front.
If you have any problems with your S1 post here. There are several of us that have done a lot of modifications that you might want or need in the future.
I really appreciate the detailed and fast replies. This car spoke to me, and I know all of you probably feel similarly about yours.
I do have many other questions. Should I start a different thread for each, or stick to this one for cleanliness?
Probably going to have custom wheels made. I don't want to do all kinds of modifications just to run a wheel I like (bore hubs, spacers, fender tuck, etc). It will probably end up costing close to what customs would cost, and not be nearly as clean and reliable.
The engine swap was done professionally, and I still have all the paperwork that goes with it. Done in 1988, but beautifully executed. It still pulls hard and the shifts are smooth and decisive. In fact, the car came with all of the original manuals, including the Haynes and the incredibly detailed Jaguar manual (almost 2" thick!). Not bad for $2500, huh?
+ 20 offset wheels should fit, Ive run plus 20 and they fit fine on my s3 maybe its different but i thought they werent :/ you could always make a jig out of card board with the specs you want and see how it sits at ride height
You are giving me hope! Were they 8 inch width? Because +20 with 6 inch width is different than +20 with 8 inch width, right? I'm struggling to understand the whole offset concept.
I figure the offset is how many millimeters from the center of the wheel the hub is set, right....
I really appreciate the detailed and fast replies. This car spoke to me, and I know all of you probably feel similarly about yours.
I do have many other questions. Should I start a different thread for each, or stick to this one for cleanliness?
Probably best to keep each problem/topic in its own thread, that way you will get clear answers for each topic. Otherwise the thread will get messy and hard to follow.
A search of the forums may throw up many answers to questions before needing to start a new thread. Most problems have have been covered and well documented, in saying that the rest of us more than happy to reply to new threads even when it has been covered before. We just love sharing and talking about our cars and how we dealt with each project.
I know in our market the series I & II have the same tail light, the diffrence between the two is where the rego plate lights are mounted. Series I on the rear bumper, series two in the plinth on the boot.
Fitment will be easier if you are thinking about wheels without a center cap
that covers the grease cap area. This is the major difference in the specs of
the S1 and S2-S3 hubs. I have even tried smashing the caps and removed them entirely for a while... then the front spacers and longer lug nuts.
I went to local custom wheel place years ago to fit new wheels. We never could find any I liked that would fit on the front. So I stayed with the later Jag XJ40 wheels and the proper sized tires to keep the look and ride.
You can convert the front hubs and all the rest of the front suspension to the Series 2. There are many threads on the two Forum sites that talk
about doing this job. Can just get the whole from suspension and steering parts from a later Jag junk car and rebuilt it.
That is a great looking car. And the price was 'very right". I think the name of that color is "prim rose". For quite while I incorrectly thought prim rose was pink!! A few years ago, I used to see an S3 in that color, complete with flashing wires. Very nice. It's driver was elderly.. So...
My car was decidedly low in front when it came to us in DOHC form. Unfortunately, that did not last long. Ugh. Relived of it's burden, and on the install of the LT1, it was a big higher in front. I measured it and fund it was now at spec. Although, it looked slick in the lower stance, it's present stance is low enough be pleasing, to me anyway.
Later along the trail, I reshod it with 7x15 XJS lattice wheels. Those plus 215 x 70 x 15 tires fill the wells just right and don't touch tin or steel anytime. Yeah, 15 tire choice isn't what it once was, but the T rated B.F. Goodrich product suits me just fine.
My car has minor issues. But, it runs and rides great and still attracts compliments.
The Haynes publication might serve you better than it did me. It was based on s1 and S2 cars with S3 clumsily inserted. Confusing, oh yeah...
Who did the install, when and with which of the three more popular kits? Just curious.
yes 17x8, I also ran a 15x8 with 0 offset and it filled out the guards nicely, stock tire size 215,70 fit up front but not the rear, could have had something to do with my broken rear springs but a 225,60 fit nicely maybe a 215,60 would be the best in that case :/
Roger, those wheels look great on your car! And they also look to have a center cap that is fairly flush with the rest of the wheel. But you didn't have fitment issues with these? The lip on the wheel also seems to be quite pronounced. That ALSO gives me hope! I am now looking to put 16" wheels on the car, as I think 17 will just be too aggressive and take away from the classic charm.
JagCad, I need to figure out exactly who did the swap and what kit they used, but I have a feeling they did not use a kit, per se. Were there kits around in 1988? The bills of sale I have name a Nelson Instruments in California, but I haven't found anything that lists the labor of completing the swap. There's invoices for the engine build...350 long block, 400 crank and rods, cams, etc. There's another invoice for the tranny, but haven't come across the swap labor breakdown yet.
Sunchip, I think the tire size is what it will really come down to. If I don't have too much bulge in the sidewall, it'll probably keep me from rubbing the fenders. Just want to make sure my overall wheel and tire circumference is as close to stock as possible, as stated by Roger.
Here's what I'm leaning toward right now...
I'll swap the BMW center caps for Jag - The caps seem to stick out fairly far from the hub to allow for the dust cap
I really appreciate the detailed and fast replies. This car spoke to me, and I know all of you probably feel similarly about yours.
Yes we all do!
I do have many other questions. Should I start a different thread for each, or stick to this one for cleanliness?
I've done it both ways and it seems that members In Search Of can find things easier if you post separate threads for major projects.
For example, I posted one called Rolling Stock which covered Way too many repairs on too many components (everything connected with Rolling stuff) and took too much time. I should have broken it up into several smaller threads.
...
The engine swap was done professionally, and I still have all the paperwork that goes with it. Done in 1988, but beautifully executed. It still pulls hard and the shifts are smooth and decisive. In fact, the car came with all of the original manuals, including the Haynes and the incredibly detailed Jaguar manual (almost 2" thick!). Not bad for $2500, huh?
Not bad at all! My conversion was done in 1986 and is about due for refurbishment, and we paid somewhat more than $2500 to begin with. I haven't added up what we've sunk into it since; ignorance/bliss and all that. We had to buy the factory Jaguar manual (which has been absolutely Indispensable!) and it wasn't cheap!
I had to use 5/32 spacers to move the wheels outward to allow the room for the center cap and the grease caps to fit. Plus the wider tires were hitting the
ends of the tie rods on the inside. The Series 1 is different in several areas from the S2&S3... parts can be substituted to change some characteristics.
Then I had to get longer front lug nuts to have at least 4-5 threads covered up by the lug nuts... I carry a spare one just in case.
The rears fits fine as no grease cap and I use the stock XJ 40 lug nuts in the rear.
I like these wheels on the Jaguar and would not mess around trying to fit larger OD wheels.. do not need wider tires.. even with 407 HP and 470 # of torque
the 2:88 LSD rear end only allows the tires to burn about 3-4 feet when really on the gas pedal... note how well they fill the front wheel wells.
In some cases, Jaguar knew what they were doing and always made good looking vehicles...
While I like the look of the black lattice with brushed aluminum, I can tell you from experience it's a bitch to keep clean. Better get a good bottle brush.
I have moved away from the wheels posted on here and am going a more retro direction. I'll post pictures once the wheels are on the car. There might have to be spacers, which will likely mean longer lugs. The advice is golden.
1. Indeed, the conversion might have been done, sans kit, from scratch. Two clues:
A. Front engine mounts. Horizontal cushion or vertical cushion.
B. Rear transmission mount. Big steel plate or a smaller one.
2. Off set. As I understand it. Lay a wheel on the ground, sans tire for clarity. Lay a yardstick across the surface, centered and each end just inside the tire lip. with a tape, measure from the center mount face to the yard stick. that number is the off set.
So, once knowing that, determine the same With an example of the wheel Jaguar put on the car. Might be one as a spare in your car. Measure it. That will give you an example as to what offsets will work.
2. Beware of wheel spacers. Some are far better than others. The wheels rely on Wheel center to hub center matching. A decent spacer includes that. Other "bad" ones are mere connected washers!!! Too much load on the wheel studs. They will pop. wheels coming off are not good events. Been there, yowee. Luckily, the wheel opening lip kept the wheel in and the hub rode on the inner part of the wheel.
12-06-2016, 02:37 PM
Wheel Fitment 1972 XJ6
