Since there are a fair number of us now that have wildly custom xjs's with all sorts of modifications, I figured we should start a thread dedicated just to that.

Mine, to start, is an 87 coupe with a five speed conversation done by myself, using a heavy duty t5, it has a 6.5 liter stroker motor with pre he heads and forged pistons as well as SBC connecting rods.
Fully powdercoated all the suspension and brakes. 17x 8/9 wheels with 245/275 tires.

C'mon guys add your .02

 

Hey Calvin:


I have not heard much on this forum about your 6.4L motor build. Did you get this running? Dyno'd? How'd it come out?


As for this thread's point:


My own mods have been of the bolt-on variety:


5-speed TKO, wide ratio, 3.27 first gear
AJ6 Engineering SE-ECU, TT extractors
Bored throttles (max bore, ala AJ6)
K&N filters, 3" velocity stack inlets to air boxes
Addco front and rear sway bars
Poly bushes on front suspension
Rotated big end bushes on trailing arms in rear
Replaced 2.88 diff with a 3.54 unit


Engine has air pump and associated plumbing completely stripped out, and A/C unit and associated plumbing completely removed. It's a convertible, and the top is always down when I drive it.


I run the 'revolver' XK8 wheels (17"), will update rubber on another post when I can verify what I used. Basically, the front tire and rear tire OD's are per what were used on the XJRS (although that model used 16" wheels, I have set tire size to match tire OD), so the car has a slightly nose-down attitude like the XJRS.


I have picked up a set of Bosch Plus4 plugs that I intend to install this summer. Will be looking forward to that.


I also have a 5.3 pre-HE low mileage motor with a CR of 7.8 or so sitting in my garage, and have to decide whether to turbocharge this, or take the heads and put them on a 6L block, along with a mild boring of the liners (92 mm or so; will do the bore because I will need new pistons anyway if I go this route). That's the future project.


And, if/when that motor comes to fruition, I will change the trans to a Richmond 6 speed, close ratio box.


That's about it for me.


-M

 

Sounds like a potentially great resource thread. My 76 is still in the teardown and plan phase, but I have decided to go with a weekend warrior/ street legal track car. There are several aspects that I'm still on the fence about, but I will be doing a manual conversion (likely a Jerico or G-Force), stripping the interior as much as possible, eliminating accessories such as air conditioning, and changing engine management systems.

 

I am currently in the process of building mine, but here is what I have so far (in process since June 2012):
Car:
1990 XJ-S V12 Convertible Diamond Blue, Isis Blue Interior, Blue Top

Engine:
-6.0 V12 w/ 4l80e trans from 94 xj12
-Swaintech Ceramic Coated and Ported Exhaust Manifolds
-Euro Downpipes+"High Flow" Cats
-Wizard (v12 performance.com) Aluminum Radiator
-V12s.com Dual Electric Fans
-Full Flow Oil Cooler
-3.54 gears

Suspension/Brakes:
-All Prothane Poly Front Bushings
-EBC Redstuff Pads
-Addco Swaybars front+rear
-Bilstein Shocks
-16" x 8" Lattice Alloys

I purchased a rear end from a 94 4.0 with 3.54 gears and limited slip. However I haven't decided weather to swap both the outboard disc and the diff or just the diff. I am still weighing the pros and cons,

Things I still have left to restore
-Install my great condition used interior (I have sourced parts from 4 different cars over last 2 years, Isis blue interior parts are hard to get)
-Purchase new interior carpet
-Install new convert top and frame (the only part of my car that is rusty ??) Anybody have a good condition frame or blue top they would like to sell cheap?

Future Plans (after at least a few miles are placed on the car, in order of preference)
-Cupholder ski-slope
-Euro Bumpers
-Manual Trans conversion
-Front Convert Underbody Crossbrace from facelift Convert, or HBE kit.
-AJ6 Engineering Goodies

I always wanted to put a 6.0 in an older XJ-S or Series III. So this is my car for the 6.0 swap. My overall goal with this car is to keep the classic look of the XJ-S with a mild horsepower bump, and a sportier ride.

 

Hey 86 jag:


Great setup you have there.


If I had the outboard IRS setup, I would drop my cage whole and replace it, like, right now. Doing brake service in the future will be SO much easier.


That cage will fit your 1990, too. There are pix on the Jag lovers site of a guy who did exactly this, and he wrote that it wasn't too much trouble- brake line feed to the cage and hand brake cable routing were the issues, I think. The later setup has the hubs set up for ABS sensors, so that should be OK, too.


I would not think for more than a second about this choice. Hands down, do the outboards. You will be regretting this if you don't when you have to do the rear brake service down the road.


On the other hand, doing rear brakes on a conventional Jag with the inboard brakes is really a rite of passage for a jag owner, so, if you really want the creds, keep that IRS!


-M