I just picked up a second 85 xj-s that had an engine fire.
After clearing the debris I realized that the dizzy points towards the front of the car.
My other is pointing towards the back and is a complete great running car.
The engine fire vehicle still had spark when I got it.
I have not checked the plug wire orientation yet to see if a PO flipped the dizzy 180 and changed the plug wire order. (can this work?)
And of course the dizzy is seized, no felt, no oil. Vacuum advance is melted.
Any advice while I have this ripped apart would help.

I love the challenge of bringing a classic Jaguar back to life.

 

On my '87 V-12, the vacuum module faces the firewall.

Hope this helps,

John

 

on my 84 V-12 it faces the fire wall

 

On my 86 it points toward the firewall. More specifically the center top of the vac advance points at the starboard vertical leg of the capstan stand.



There are three mounting screws in the lower dizzy casing. These are in slotted holes in the case so there's a bit of rotation available. In my car, the dizzy will not fit in any of the three possible orientations except pointing aft because the vac module collides with the heads in the other two.

 

OEM, the vac capsule faces the rear of the car. Someone has had the dizzy out and replaced it in a different position. This does not matter particularly, as the spark plug does not know from which terminal in the dizzy cap the spark is coming. All that matters is that the timing of the spark is correct. With the dizzy in a different rotational position, the HT leads will have to be moved round the cap from their normal OEM position to compensate.
Greg

 

Can you locate a part number on your dizzy? On mine it is on the side of the casing near the grommet for the wires