Its your car, do what you want... LOL.

 

Well, there are certainly different views on things. Views:


1. Way back when, I inspected a 721 Red Mustang to buy. My beloved spouse wanted a red one. This one was within out at the time limited budget. The smart "a.." male thought removing the idiot light bulb would disguise the engine's ill health. Poor gal friend just kept mouth shut. I and late wife felt sorry for them. Seeking to sell the M'tang and go back to Oklahoma for a new start in a battered El Camino!! l


The 302 smoked out the breather and the nice pipes, but ran amazingly well. Wife and I drove it for a spell. I fixed some of the issues. Another gal bought it hoping to get som,e more miles out of it. I think she did as I saw it around town for a spell. she liked M'tangs, especially red ones!! Well, she was a rather good looking red head!!!


2. On another list, way back, I read the travails of a guy that bought an XJS. Busted V12. He installed an SBC. Nicely done. And when the seller saw it in V8 style, he made an offer to buy it back!! Sold!!! Two pleased guys!!


3. In 2001, the DOHC 6 in my 83 XJ6 cooked on I5 in CA's hot central valley. Nuts, things were going so well. Cool AC and all. In 2006, it passed CA's rigid conversion inspection, powered by an LT1 and 4L60E from a donor 94 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I added a V8 badge on the boot right under the XJ6 badge. Wuzza six???
I am pleased with the workmanship. Others may be better and others may be far worse. Now, utterly dependable with lots of power.


I refer to it as English elegance, with an Italian touch and American power. Neat combination.


Or, as junk to Jaguar heaven, near the demise of the OHC 6!!!


Carl

 

Ok, I get it, it's your car do as you please. Mine is no where near stock. The thread took a " cheaper alternative" position. Mine isn't a " don't you dare lump it position" as your insinuating, mine is "putting in a V8 and 700r4 and all it's ancillaries AND getting it running right isn't going to be any cheaper OR easier"

 

Have we just strayed into LUMP territory again?? I agree we could probably use a dedicated LUMP (and I don't use the term with any mean intent: Less Upkeep More Power) section, but it sure might quiet things down around here.

These discussions are always entertaining!

And for the record, JTsmks is right, it'll be cheaper to get yours running properly, or swapping in a good XJS drivetrain.

Lumping is like Pimping: ain't easy.

 

I have a SBC. It has a ton of power. So reliable I havent opened the hood in weeks. I drive it daily. 3760 km since June. I took it on holidays to Lac La Hashe this summer. 1200 km return and no problems even on days over 30C.

 

My issue is no garage. No cherry picker, no air compressor. The car is in a garage with nothing more than a trouble light, a socket set and 120 Volt's AC.... I have room to part the thing out (Which if anyone needs anything, please let me know...) but I do not have a "garage" to work on it in withough paying an un-GODLY amount of money.

I have my eyes on another 89, not sure on keeping the white one for parts until it gets too much of a burden or not. As I had said before. If anyone is needing parts, please let me know.

 

Cant do that with the Th400 thats in there now, it will not bolt up to a chevy. The bell housing has a diffrent bolt pattern. If you dont have the skills or space to do it, then dont. Buy one already lumped or have someone lump it for you. Too bad you're not closer, I've done a few. The hardest part of the job is removing the V12.

 

Only someone who's never done it could say that out of pure ignorance. I've worked on v12's and done swaps. Once the v12 is out and you've collected all the parts lumping is a two day job. As for the price...well that depends...a proper rebuild of a v12 with machine work, new seals, piston rings, and bearings, hoses etc, will easily be thousands of dollars and take months. Prices for chevy converts varies too. The last 350 lump I did was an LT1 with trans and it needed head work. The complete running power train was ready to install for 2600$

As for buying a used engine...How do you know it doesn't have a dropped valve seat or isn't gonna drop one soon after you install it? No sense in shelling out $1200+ for someone else's used and possibly abused time bomb.

As for value...as of now...Lumped XJS' sell for more than non-lumped. As for collectors, no...sorry the XJS will never be collectible. It was never well received and never will be by collectors. Unless its in the wrapper as an oddity or has some celebrity pedigree it wont be worth much more than it is now. They just built too many. At some point after we are all long gone and there aren't many left due to time they will be valuable to some collector who probably isn't born yet and worth something like a pre-war Allard is worth something. Allard's without their original engine aren't worth much less than examples with their original engines, the swaps became part of their story.

 

Glad I decided to say my peace and move on....I could have a field day with this Gem!

 

Moved on... ha ha ...that's just another way of saying I'm clueless and prefer not deal with facts and / or reality.

 

I haven't done a swap myself, but that doesn't invalidate my observations and personal research.
I believe the OP has stated that he does not have the resources to pull the drivetrain himself. If he's paying a mechanic to do this, it will of course be cheaper to pull the drivetrain and replace it with an identical unit. I don't believe he said anything about machine work, etc. - he just wants a running XJS. A solid drivetrain can be found for not too much $. In fact, OP if you'd like a lead on a 6.0L with low mileage for a donor, PM me. For you guys with the mechanical skill to do a conversion over a weekend - I'm genuinely impressed! Not all of us can though, so labor becomes a huge factor.
Come on man, you can obviously test before buying. Guarantees that it won't drop one after it's installed? Well, no guarantee that a used lump won't have issues post installation either. You want guarantees: buy new, have it stripped and rebuilt, or pay your money and take your chances

Time will tell on this point.

 

+1 Flint

 

"Clean-up, Isle 5"!

 

I was going to ask what facilities you have and your knowledge, and basically were you willing to have a go, but reading a few posts back you have answered all that.
It seems a good option to look for another one running, preferably in your case with a rusted out body that you can do heart transplant, by it or "nicks and use what you can, scrap the rest.
Unless you have find the means/facilities to rebuild, then do it it nots hard, but if you don't and need a third party you should definitely opt option 1.
Who knows you may get game at some stage and build one motor out of two.
Good luck , looks like no easy answers, but I will ask have you found what the damage is as yet?

 

keep it civil - everyone has their own opinion, agree to disagree and move on.

 

But, but... it's LUMPS!!! No harm, no foul. Yeah, OP we'd be very interested to find out the final diagnosis on your existing engine.

 

Here's an interesting listing on the Detroit Craigslist

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/pts/4592782619.html

 

If you've never done something how can you have strong feeling about the specifics. You may not like the idea in general but you shouldn't comment on the details such as price and difficulty if you've never done it. What personal research? Agreeing with others who post mis-information isn't personal research.

Let me give you an analogue. I don't like the practice of yoga, I've never done it, I probably never will, I dont see any value in it. However since I have no personal experience with it and have done no qualified research...It would be ignorant for me to comment on specifics about it's practice or pass judgment on others who do it based on what I've read on the internet.

How exactly does the "test before you buy" work? I've purchased many things on CL and Ebay and I don't know how you can test a v12 from a buyer who is likely many miles away. You have to have trust in the seller I guess. No guarantee a lump will live either but if I'm taking chances and placing bets, my chips are on Chevy. Especially if the Chevy in question has already covered 100k mile and runs like this.

There are two V12's on ebay right now, one in CT and one in CA. 3500 miles apart. Neither say anything about a guarantee they will run. Both just happen to have about 70,000 miles and both say ran when pulled. Thats code for...'if anything happens...its your problem'. Both are out in the open and impossible to test when the buyer is many miles away. Neither have any detail about a compression test.

Engine recycles don't deal with these engines, and if they did it would surely be AS-IS.

Bottom line as I see it... a replacement engine, like a convert project, comes with great expense. The risk is that after all is said and done and the money is spent a dropped valve seat or some other expensive common problem could be right around the corner. The recent posts about dropped valve seats and engine fires on well maintained vehicles suggest this statement is plausible.

Everyone has the right to their own opinions but not their own facts. Just because you want something to be true doesn't mean it will be.

 

If buying a used engine, be it Jag V12 or Chevy V8, the best way is to hear it run while still installed in the car.

Good Jag V12s are out there. There are not as common as a Chevy V8. Takes a little looking. Buy from a reputable seller....just like anything else. More than likely, though, is that a good Jag V12 engine will come with four wheels, leather seats, and 2 or 4 doors....in the form of a clapped-out Jag with a sweet running V12 :-).

Cheers
DD

 

And it wouldn't be, as Chevy V8s are not rough engines.

A Jag V12 has a very smooth turbine like sensation but a Chevy V8 is not rough.

Cheers
DD