I'll take this thread to another board if I should, but this one is the best at answering V12 questions in general.

I'm interested to know how well the V12 engine works if installed in a non-Jaguar. I'm working with a guy on a couple of other conversion ideas and one of the crazier ones we've hatched is taking a Mitsubishi Starion and relocating the 2.6L 4-cylinder to a mid-engine configuration. The biggest issue there is finding a transmission that would work (the Starion was RWD, so the transmission was behind the motor; using it midship would require the motor to be installed at 90 degrees with a different trans setup). If we used the V12 from an XJS/XJ12, the motor would be too wide to mount across the car between the rear strut towers, so we'd have to mount it longitudinally. The two biggest challenges would again be the transmission option, as well as fuelling/computer issues since we wouldn't necessarily be using any of the Jaguar factory harness. Options for the latter would include Megasquirt/Haltech or even a Holley Sniper setup (multiple Snipers?).

The reason for all of this -- aside from building something literally no one else has probably ever thought of, much less done -- is that I've got a much higher opinion of the V12 engine than most and I hate to see them swapped out of our XJS/XJ12 cars. Good motors can be found for relatively cheap, and this would be kind of an I-told-you-so exercise for those who underestimate the engine.

Jess

 

The ECU for the V12 generally is a stand alone units, so very easy to make a shorter harness for it and run the stock EFI as is.

There are a few cars that have used the V12 ( and a 2/3 scale replica Spitfire) but I can't recall a transverse mount application.

 

some have used the Jag and other V12 in many applications! i see them at car shows every so often, hot rod types!

bear in mind Jags V12 is a very heavy weight engine/trans combo!
ron

 

I think we're going to have to go longitudinally in this car due to the length of the block. It won't even fit under a Starion's hood to begin with. You have to bring the engine into through the firewall by about 6 inches, and then there's the issue of where the shifter would line up, since I would be running a Tremec T-6 most likely.

Going transverse across the rear would work except for the rear strut towers on a Starion. So the motor would have to sit either entirely forward of that, or entirely behind the axle, which I do not want. Supposedly there is a Porsche transmission that could be used in a transverse application, with a custom-made adapter bracket, but again you're adding width there. I think our only option will be to go longitudinal with the engine and then we have to figure out how to get power to the rear wheels, either by using a transverse transmission with custom linkage, or finding a transmission with really odd placement of the half-shafts.

That's the other consideration for sure. I wouldn't use a factory Jag transmission (unless it was the 4(?)-speed manual), but the V12 block weighs probably 400-500 pounds more than Mitsubishi's G54B. At least the weight would be right over the rear axle.

Jess

 

Hello

Remembered this post all that time ago, and this is my dream hot rod (only with a KB international cab and not a Chev)
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-truck-147456/ (post 7)

This model T is also pretty wicked
https://www.carscoops.com/2007/09/19...th-jaguar-v12/

Cheers
Steve

 

hey just came across a Miata , with a Jag V12 in it, ON U-TUBE!

 

Maybe take a look at early 70's Eldorados. They were FWD with the 500 CID engine, so it's a robust transmission. Based on the same TH 400 in the Jaguar now, but a different bolt patterns so you would need an adapter. I think it was called a TH425, but I'm not sure.

 

Gotta have a manual.

Alternative thought: AWD car, with the driveshaft going up front and then a secondary driveshaft coming back to a rear diff.

Jess

 

They were used in boat engines, sometimes up to 9L displacement with water cooled turbos

 

https://www.corvaircorsa.com/V-12-01.html

 

The Car Wizard on YouTube is putting one in an old Malibu 4 door hardtop. Here's one of several videos.

 

And here's what I learned from that video series...new intake manifolds for the Jaguar V12 Products
Scoot forward to about 08:10 in this video to see them sitting on a 5.3

 

Ah a mitsubishi Starion. I've a a decent number of these. Still have a Conquest (same thing). I've swapped a 1uz in one of my Conquest back in 2012 or so. Fun cars but the 2.6 wasn't the greatest choice. I've seen a Starion with a BMW V12 and it fit.

As far as swapping the jag v12 into other cars, it's been done plenty. For your particular swap, find a fwd gm transmission that used a varient of the th400. You'll have to make an adapter or modify the bellhousings but that's a way.

 

This one is my favorite!

 

Google "alley cat van" John Strachan built a V12 panel van in the 80s.

Also there is Blo Back 2 a Holden ute with a v8 up front as per factory and another in the tray driving the rear wheels via a Cadillac transaxle.

 

where is the cooling radiator??

 

I've had 10 Jags and 5 Conquests/Starions. I'm a bigger fan of the G54B engine than most but swaps are almost more common these days than the original engine due to a combination of reliability (head gaskets, etc.) and difficulty in getting them over about 280-300 hp without having to do tricks. The MPI version of the engine, which was not sold in the U.S. market, is a much better setup. The first swaps for that car centered on the 5.0 Mustang engine, but you're much more likely now to get an LS swap or a 1JZ/2JZ.

We're doing a 3.7 Slant-6 in another one at the moment that's probably going to make close to 275 hp and 350 lb/ft when it's all said and done, using a Holley Sniper setup. The focus will be reliability over raw performance (and the iron block/head combo for the Slant-6 will make that particular car more of a GT than a true sports coupe).

The big hangup in the V12 project is that I hate automatic transmissions universally, and this car will have to have a manual unit of some kind. I'm running a 700R4 in my '89 XJS right now and it's a great match for the motor, but I don't want to repeat the setup in the Conquest.

Conquest pic for attention:

 

good lookin car !