Has anyone converted their V12 XJS to a manual transmission? I am thinking of this as a project, any tips? Jag indy shop says it's not hard to do.

 

theres two guys on here who have done it. both probably put more into the trans than the car was worth, but that doesnt make me any less jelly.

 

Ya, my buddy has a '95 (I think) with an inline 6 and manual trans that he did a supercharged engine swap on. He is loving the car too much. My mechanic has driven the V12's with manuals and firmly believes that is the way the car should've been sold. Totally transforms the car. I'd like this project to tap out around 9K.

 

well you can do that well within your budget.

the driven man has a good kit, or you can overbuild the **** out of it like calvin did. that SOB will hold up to ANY amount of power you can squeeze from a V12

 

I am in the Boston area & would love to see your friends car.A supercharged 6 cylinder XJS would be a fun car to drive. You could fit a 3.77 or 4.09 diff & make a real street rocket. The factory made a manual transmission for the XJS in 1993 & 1994. I had one for a couple of years in the mid 90's. It was a fun car just underpowered off the line. The shop I worked at years ago converted quite a few V12's both sedan & XJS. Where do you have your car serviced here in Mass? If you are interested in more info pm your contact info.

 

I am waiting on the Driven Man's kit for a while now, so it remains to be seen how they deliver and how well it fits. Kit was $5K + $180 to ship.
Drove my implantation subject the other day and can only imagine what she will do with manual in it

 

ive got the v12 manual swap. driven man bell and built t5 for 415 hp. short throw shifter, billet flywheel and custom clutch pedal. i'll eventually put up a build thread, but i just got the car driveable so you wont be seeing me on her eas much as i am on the road.

 

Come on Calvin, no shirking, the full illustrated and annotated deal please! Exactly what you did, how you did it, and what you used to do it with.

Greg

 

My conversion project is on hold until spring. No room in the garage while I'm building a 66 mustang for the wife!

 

What do you know, TheDeriveMan.com just emailed me tracking info for my conversion kit. Due here on Tuesday, so I will have more on the topic soon.

 

Which kit did you go for: TKO500, TKO600, TKO600CR or T56?

I'd be very interested to know what you think of the quality of the components supplied with the kit when it arrives: transmission should be a given, but well housing casting quality, flywheel, quality clutch assembly or cheapest available?

Regards

Andy.

 

All seems high quality, no a single "made in china" found.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but can you fill me in with the back story on this kit pictured along with prices, etc???

 

Have a look at The Driven Man - Jaguar, Mopar, Ford, GM, Other British Brands - Specialty Performance Parts & Accessories

The hydraulic throw out bearing looks like an American Powertrain unit & I'm guessing by the colour, that the clutch pressure plate & disc are too.

I hope you will continue posting to this thread throughout the installation.

Thanks.

 

Clutch is unmarked, but on the bright side I found no "LUK" on it either. Chances are it will last. Everything is very sexy looking, plus entire kit is only 201 LB, so I am guessing one average size bloke is gonna be evicted from my car, as the result of this swap.

 

Any updates ?

 

Yes, whole bunch of them:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...redneck-88323/
She runs fine, you can see latest updates here:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-96328/page2/

 

It was sold with a manual transmission option originally - Ian Ogilvy drove a white manual XJ-S in The Return of the Saint. Unfortunately, very few people ordered it with the manual, so it was quickly dropped.

 

That TH400 was like an anchor dragging behind.
If Leyland did not cheap out and put good 4 speed auto in XJS, it would have been a much better fit. 3 speed with high ratio rear end turned V12 into V6 on take off and over revved it at highway speed.

 

I'm looking to buy an XJ8. I don;t want the car without a manual. Do you have any experience with these and sawpping in a manual? I saw your in MA so i thought you would be a good contact. I'm in Hanover. I have a couple options. There is one for sale in RI that needs a motor so I could swap in an engine and trans (probably non jag maybe ford 5.0) together or pay a bit more for one with a running motor and just do the trans. any and all help would be greatly appreciated.