So I picked up a XJS with a 350 in it as a project. The body is straight with no rust. The interior is good except for the driver seat has wear and cracks and the laminate in the center console is cracked. I'm tinkering on it and it runs now, just poorly. Should be a fun project. As soon as I can post pics, I'll add some.

I'm sure I will have a lot of questions. On every board I've been on before, there is an expert on everything. Who is the 350 swap expert here? I may need to read all of thier posts to get up to speed. Thanks
John

 

Sounds good John,
I am doing a small block swap but it will be a while before the engine actually gets put in as I am doing a complete on the car & the body is on a cart right now.
Good luck & show some pics
Bill

 

That looks like a nice facility! I'm a garage guy. I'll get some pics up soon. Going to go work in the car right now. I'm thinking my issue is the fuel pump. Maybe.....

 

Here it is, everything is there but the grill:

 

So, the fuel pump is good, and the various vacuum operated bits are working and it has no vacuum leaks. So I started messing with the timing. The emissions sticker says it should be at +3 but it was just running like crap so I started advancing it, bit by bit. Fineally, at +8 and the idle at about 900 it feels much better. I think it is getting there.

 

So, here is my connundrum. I want it white, my wife wants it white. But i don't want to paint the doorsills, trunk, engine bay etc. So, I figure with a red accent of some sort, it will make it look correct. I also have an eye on resale, because I always need a project, and plan to sell this off when I'm done for my next one. Kinda "flip my ride" but the labor is free to me because it makes me sane. Making a profit would be good too though.

Anyway, this is a quick hack job with Powerpoint (no photoshop wizzard here) of the poossible red accents I'm thinking of, on a picture I stole from the web that is an XJS just like mine.

I'm interested in opinions or any other clever ideas from the "hive". Thanks-John

This was my original idea:


Then I got thinking this was more subltle and classier looking:



Then I just went crazy:



And lastly the full racing stripes:

 

So, I've noticed that there does not apear to edit a post on this forum....this is going to be tough for me. My spelling has gotten awful the last few years. I let MS Word and Apple do my spelling for me

 

nice nardi steering wheel, Mustang.

were you thinking of keeping the lattice wheels red? might influence the choice of red accents you go with.

 

Yes, either red or white. But I will repaint them to match either way.

 

I like the idea of painting the lattice wheels red & high polish the lips, but being a painter I have to say you will never get any money out of it if you do not paint the jams & underside of the trunk lid.

 

Thanks. Yea, I'm going to do those, just the engine bay is not going to get paint.

 

I really like the lattice wheels that we both have but I want to upgrade to 17x8's & I cannot afford the BBS RS wheels that look similar

 

Got it running okay. I think the fuel pump is either dying or barely able to keep up because it just doesnt seem to have as much power as I think it should. I put in a tank of high octane, changed the filter and changed the plugs and it is getting a little better with each step. So I figured it was time to get to work on the apearance so I started sanding.....

 

Well, got the sanding finished and the first paint coats down. Tomorrow I sand and do the final coats. Decided to stick with red, just a brighter, "safety red"

The color is good, but it will take a lot of sanding and polish to get it nice. I cleaned it meticulously, and sure enough when I was on the trunk, out of nowhere a bunch of leaf bits blasted out of a crack when the sprayer hit and it settled over alll the wet paint !!!! So, basically had to wipe off the paint and try again. Tomorrow's sanding should show if it worked or not.......

 

That one by far, it makes the car "sit lower," A MUCH sleeker look

 

Ok, it's done with me for now. Now it is time to list it for sale...
(Still polishing out the rims)

 

Okay, she is running okay and I go in for smog this week (wife still insists I selll )

so here is the current issue if anyone has any insight:
It turns out this is a Chevy 305, not a 350, TBI. Idles smooth, sometimes sputters on take off, advancing the timing helps. I crank timing up to where it starts to detonate up a hill then back off a couple of degrees. I think it is about 10 degrees advance. Also, and this is the weird part, Just to mess with it i ran the EGR straight to the manifold vacuum (no solenoid to activate it, just always OPEN) and it seems to run better. I thought that blocking the EGR was supposed to improve performance.

And it is just inconsistent. It is running fine one day, and crap the next. Nothing has changed and it is warmed up to the same temp. I had some bad gas, but I am on the next tank so i don't think it is that. (now that i mention it though i may want to change the filter). This thing is pissing me off. Ideas?

 

sounds like the fueling is poor. especially after you go wide open EGR and performance actually improves. probably running way too lean. 10* timing isnt much at all

get a good edelbrock 650 or something.

those quadrajunk carbs are more trouble than a V12 jaguar.

 

Thanks. I'll look into it. Unfortunately smog here in CA may limit my options.

 

the quadrajunks are 650 as well IIRC.

shouldnt effect the motor in any way, except that it will run like it was always supposed to.

quadrajunks are real picky about choke and thermostat adjustments and they have a tendancy to bog even when working correctly because of the enormous secondaries. ive never owned one that ran properly.