This is an extra-special way to improve cooling. Just cut into the hood and make the grill larger. Problem solved.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sf...286747616.html

 

excellent mod. nice polished wheels, :>)

 

Oops, that really is a shocker.

Biggest issue with the XJS is getting air OUT of the under bonnet area. Once I sorted that, the temps behaved better than expected, and it was simple to do.

 

Did you cut holes in the fenders to get the air out?

 

Cutting holes in the wings doesn't help... Why? Because the wings are just decoration panels. You need to cut A LOT in the engine bay to make wing ducts work...

 

Interested to know more... Do you have pictures?

 

Louvres? Or just remove the entire bonnet and only drive on really sunny days?

 

No snaps, no digital cameras back then.

Look above your transmission, there is a very thick, sad looking chunk of foam. If it still attached to the trans tunnel, well done. Most are kept in place by sitting on the transmission.

This foam was the best they had in the day and did its best.

Mine was sitting on the trans and fell out when the engine came out.

I went to the local trimmer and got a piece of more modern insulation, as used by teh Hotrod fraternity, and glued it to the tunnel. This stuff is about 4mm thick as apposed to the foam of better than 50mm. Insulation quality waaaay better also.

Once the engine went back in, the room above the transmission was noticeably huge.

Also all the removal of "stuff" from the engine bay that hidered airflow was either repositioned outsid ethe engine bay, and my extremely warped sense of humour saw all sorts moving.

Cruise bellows,
Humungous a/c compressor replaced with Sanden compact.
Fuel rail lowered so the spigots of the rail were 1mm from the spigots of the injectors.
Throttle capstan spacers cut shorter, so the TPS "just cleared" the alloy bracket by about 2mm, thus lowering that alloy wheel thing also.
NO balance pipe blocking the rear of the engine.
NO Cats in the front exhaust pipes, Australia is the lucky country, we never got them in the first place.
Thermo fans, Ford twinpack.
Front "V" of the crankshaft pulley pack sliced off.
NO foam around the radiator or the a/c condensor.
Front lip spoiler INTACT, and sealed properly.
So on and so forth. It was a work in progress as well as the daily driver. Constanly looking at what could be relocated, moved, streamlined, whatever would work to tidy up the engine bay, and help the air get OUT faster. There is plenty getting in the front, it simply has issues getting out.

Temps stayed 1/2 way to N all the time, no matter the traffic or the temps. The RH fan was thermo activated by the factory 85c switch in the water pump inlet, and the LH was a/c only. With the LH on, and the a/c running, the RH NEVER switched on, even on 45c days in slow or crawling traffic.

Greg in France has added to these mods with his and has attained awesome results.

If I ever get another XJS, I will most certainly be incorporating his mods with my older ones, and maybe find some more to do.

 

At one time, a tall truck backed up a trailer hitch into the front lip of the hood and grill while the car was parked; in order to repair it that section required being cut out. I intended on creating a custom grill with vertical chrome slats similar to classic Jaguars from the 1950s and 1960s, but never got around to doing that - what you see is what you get.

What kind of repair would require cutting out a section of the hood?