'86 5.3 HE Engine EFI 12-stack project
 

This is the first post here after my intro.
Those of you who read it know what this is pretty much about.
I stripped down the 5.3 to what I'm going to leave, with the exception of the cast manifolds, which are there just till I give it another bath.
Then later I'll make flanges and create a good set of headers.
What you see is all I'm going to use, except for the breather which I forgot to toss.
And yes, the water pump is gone.
The only thing the engine is driving is an alternator.
The distributor is staying for now until it's running and tuned somewhat, but I'm building one that will trigger the spark and the EFI that will drop in it's place later.

Anyone who wants anything missing off this engine is welcome to it, and off the car itself.
I'll post a shot or two of the car later.
The shots I took tonight are a bit poor as it was at night.

It had the Lucas controller on it, and the stock ECU.
The car ran fine before the tear-down so all the controllers should be fine.
Just send a list and I'll see what is good, and you can tell me what you want to give for it.
The email address for that is preseventy3@aol.com
I'm on the computer off and on day and night as most of my business is from the internet.
The instruments are not for sale as they will be used, but most everything else is up for grabs, cheap.
It's sitting on the frame of the engine run-in stand that I'm going to use later when it's ready to fire, but not attached yet as I'm waiting for the mounts I ordered so I can finish it.

I was really blown away when I found the mini cats inside the 'Y' pipes!?
No wonder I've heard that people have dropped power when they install larger exhaust on a stock car.
They were tuned from the factory to run with a potato in the pipes, not without I would be my guess.
It's a wonder they run well at all.
I guess the legislators like dogs instead of cats?

Nuff for now.

HEY, good luck with your project, keep us posted, and with pix?

what are you planning on using for intakes?

what are you planning on using for intakes?

Hi Fellas,
Thanks for the good wishes with the project.
I have my good Buddy Chad Bolles as a well appreciated mentor on the 'ins and outs' of these engines.
I was with him a few years ago when he was at Maxton.
I hate that got shut down as we only now have 1/8 and 1/4 mi tracks left here in NC.
I had plans to warm the track over with a few things,, but that's not going to happen.
He sent me a Marelli dist housing so I can make up a simple trigger for the injection and the spark out of it.
I'm planning to make a complete system that will bolt on and drop in to eliminate whatever problems that were plaguing these things by starting over with new tech.
On the intakes, they are my own creation and are 5-3/4'' tall.
I'll paste a cad drawing of them here and hopefully you can view it.

Thanks again,

how much would it cost to get one of thoes setups made? just curious.
Chad bolles helped me on my motor as well, when i was stroking the crank and adding a tec3 engine management system

pre73, sounds like you may be building something for the TEXAS MILE!

thats a lot of FUN also, it does get serious at those speeds!

Hi All,
Yes, Chad is very helpful, and I have worked with him on some Lambo stuff.
I guess we respect each other's work.
I respect his for sure.
I just wish he wasn't 3 hrs away or we could really have some fun!

I've not completely priced everything out yet but judging from the cost of all the other stuff I make it will be under 7 grand for everything.
What I mean by everything is the complete injection intake, ready to run with all wiring and sensors ECU and fuel pump and filter if you wanted it upgraded from stock, and the ignition system that would also be stand alone.
This might include the distributor replacement as a trigger and a pair of V6 coil packs to light it off.
This is the tentative plan anyway but with unusual projects there seems to be a lot of ways to get it done.
I want the simplest and the best way.
But it absolutely has to look good.

I figure that if you want to do it, do it all, and have it separate from anything else on the car so there would be no collision between anything electronic.
That is, for a Jag itself.
This is going to have a '36 Chevy Pickup built around the entire drivetrain out of the XJS.
The engine will be exposed which is the plan, and we want it looking first class like it deserves.

Here are several shots of the '86 XJS.
If you see anything you might want off it just email preseventy3@aol.com and make an offer.
The trunk is full of stuff that came out from under the hood, and the book is in the car.
Maybe this should be posted on another thread, but would rather stick to one here if I could to keep it simple for me checking things.

hi pre73, couple ques's, would the main housings be manufactured from aluminum or magnesium, just thinking of exotic or erotic?

and something like rotary barrel throttle valves, or simple slide valves, it would be so kool at a show to rap about.
a well talked about subject on this forum was the length of the inlet runners most finally arrived at around 18-20" from inlet valve to trumpet inlet, Jag V12 is not noted for much torque at low rpm, and has an unusual flat spot around 3000-4000rpm.

with only 5-3/4 trumpet along with inlet port length be about 10-11" total, so peak power would be up in the 7000-8500 range! and a little lazy in the middle rpm range.

course if the car is light enough would make little difference,anyway.

yes would need a trigger wheel of some sort, standalone ignition, most standalones now have both fuel and spark in one package! thats nice and plenty of tuning help.

no coolant pump,? are you going to use like a Davies-Craig electric with computor controlled fan? thats about the best cooling control system i have ever seen!

is that a roadster i see in the background, is it for drag racing or street shows?

thx,, ron

look at the building the 6.8 thread, I have the trigger wheel setup I made on there

Hi Ron & Cal,
OK the injection intake and throttle bodies I make are modular, unlike anything else out there.
They do have the traditional shafts and butterflies.
I have designed a few of the rotating 'ball valve'' type of units, but they are really expensive, and for our street use they don't give us much for the money.
Sort of like the 4 valve head swap, (although they do look killer if done right).
I've tried the slide injection which I've always liked that concept, but never have been happy with anything I drew up.
They are machined from 6061 aluminum.
Now as far as the total length, the drawing is for the lower profile setup so it will fit under the hood of the Jag itself.
I have a few guys who want this setup and need it to not have clearance issues.
That's why the intakes themselves are only 1-1/2'' tall.
They are sort of deceiving.
What looks like a Weber base is really a similar pattern which bolts the plate that the bodies bolt to underneath, and that bolts to the intake, which bolts to the head with hidden bolts.
On the height, these bodies have the flared tops that unscrew, and that can have extensions added any length.
On this application we have room to go higher, and I can maybe answer the question of length in a real situation on a chassis dyno using different stacks.
At least on a stock engine, which is what this is for the moment.
The next one, who knows what I'll do with that yet.
The ECU, has the capabilities of everything I need and eve sequential, which I feel is pretty much a waste of effort unless you have to follow stringent regulations imposed by 'Little Brother' if you know what I mean.
On the coolant pump, I have a little variable speed pump that can put out 8 gal/min and is mounted remotely.
The plan is to make an interesting manifold for the water on the heads, and pump the water in there first and out the front of the block.
I've done that for decades and it helps out engines that have 'heating problems' by cooling the heads first.
It's not a Davies-Craig pump, although they are very nice pieces, and I would use them if the application warranted it.
A lot of good stuff comes from OZ.
On the Roadster, it is strictly a Street Machine.
It has about 60K mi on it, and the only award it has ever won at a show was "The Road Warrior" award when I drove it to the Boston Area Roadsters picnic on Martha's Vineyard several years ago.
It fit the car.
The pics I just took today of it will show some of the wear, and also the trailer hitch on the back which I use all the time to carry luggage.
The interior wear shows it's been driven a lot.

Cal, that was a great job you did on the 6.8.
I'd like to hear more about how it runs.
The trigger wheel was thought out as I see you gave the damper room to do it's job with out interfering with the signal when doing it.
I chose the dist route for the triggers as it's easy access, and a person can just drop it in on a stock or even modified engine that's still in the car.
(Tried to upload pics but that didn't work, will try later).

Photos of throttle body raw machined pieces and a few of the Roadster.
Sorry about the poor quality of the shots.
I have to quit taking pictures of things as I'm about to leave the shop at night.
I really don't have a lot of pictures of the car as it's mine, and I know what it looks like, if you know what I mean.

OK, I have to remember not to hit the 'back' button after reviewing the post as the pictures keep disappearing..

Missed the shot of the interior.

Are you able to cnc machine and draw things yourself? if so I may need your help on my project

Could you explain, please, how you route/control the steering column etc on the car, as the front wheels are a long way from the steering?

Greg

Hi Cal,
I make the basic drawings, and then my associate does the finished CAD work.
The program for this I can't do on my two computers here, and it gives him another source of income.
On the CNC work, I have 4 places that do work for me.
I'm not wired to be able to stand in front of a milling machine or lathe for hours on end as I would be in a rubber room in a few days.
I have to be doing something physical or creative every day to keep sane.
I can still help though.
Wha'cha got?

Hi Greg,
OK the steering is done with a half of a Triumph Spitfire rack and pinion.
I used it because I had one back in the '80's when this car was built, and it was perfect for what was needed.
It's mounted lengthwise along the frame under the body, and pushes and pulls the arm on the spindle for the left front wheel.
There is a universal joint and shaft that comes up through the floor to the column.
The steering column tilts forward and back so I can get in and out of the car easier.
Here is a birds-eye-view taken back in '79 when it was under construction, and you can't see the rack, but the plate that is on the left side of the frame a couple of feet in front of the rear wheel is where it mounts.
The shot taken the other night that shows it somewhat.
The long shaft, (chromemoly tubing), comes out of the body.
Not a good shot of it, but you can see the rubber boot on the right side of the pic.
By the way, 'everybody' said it wouldn't work.

Thanks for the explanation, really ingenious! I have a long term project idea for a spaceframe chassis using my spare V12 and axles, but I want to move the engine back. So I am thinking about the steering column routing.