Guys,
I am not offended by any of the comments. I understand how it seems odd to some people and I absolutely get the idea that the car has been *******ized. I get that same feeling in my gut every time I see a 34 Ford with a blown big block. BUT, just like the blown 34, the car is Waaaaayyyyy better now than when it was new.

My wife bought this car at a wrecker impound auction. We gave $1850 dollars for it. The only other bidder was a salvage yard owner who specialized in imports. If we hadn't bought the car, it was doomed to the fate of being ripped asunder. We saved the car from that horrible end.

Thst same salvage yard owner owner tried to sell us a used engine for the car. He wanted $3500 for a used 30,000 mile 4.0 engine with the same inherent design flaws as our broken one. Add in the cost of the necessary service work to be done on the used engine before install and you're now tickling the $5000 dollar mark.

I contacted the nearest Jaguar dealer and inquired about a reman unit. I think I remember the number was about $6500 exchange. They wanted another $2500-$3000 to do the install, plus parts.

Both of those options were cost prohibitive. Either of them would have placed the car well into the deficit in value.

My original plan was to abandon the Jaguar power train in favor of a Ford Coyote 5.0. Unfortunately the Coyote is 4 inches wider than the Jaguar strut towers. Obviously that was more than I wanted to take on right now so we turned to the LS.

I've got $750 dollars invested in the engine and transmission plus about $800 in a modified oil pan and all new front accessories including water pump, p/s pump, a/c compressor etc...

The Jaguar Specialties kit fit like a glove in every regard. Andrew was a wealth of information and answered every phone call and every question. The CAN interface was included in the kit price of $2,000. It was money VERY well spent.

I'd love to take credit for the installation but I can't. My regular job obligations and a new business startup took up way to much of my time and simply wouldn't allow me to tackle this job. I hired a local shop, NWA Streetworks to do the work and they did an outstanding job. They specialize in LS and Coyote swaps and tunes. Their work is impeccable. That cost us $3,500 dollars.

Throw in another $1,000 for various and sundry items like exhaust, drive shaft, tires and so forth and we are in the car to the tune of about $10,000 including the purchase price of the vehicle.

What we wound up with is a very nice driver that runs like a striped *** ape, is ridiculously dependable, looks like a million bucks and maintains all of the style of a Jaguar.

Will I do another LS install into a Jaguar ? NO ! The next one, and there WILL BE a next one, will be Coyote powered. I'm recently retired from my day job in the fire service and our business venture is up and running. I have acquired a plasma cutter and I am on the prowl for an XK Coupe to use as a donor. I will remove the strut towers and replace them with a much smaller coil over shock configuration. That will make room for the width of the Coyote.

The next car will lose lose most of its creature comforts. I'm going to build a car that is suitable for the track or the street. No a/c or cushy seats, no stereo and no carpet. The next car will be a toggle switch equipped, purpose built machine. Loud, FAST and violent is my goal.

To answer a few questions... We did strip out much of the Camaro wiring. The GM ECM mated up well with the CAN interface provided by Jaguar Specialties.

We used a modified GTO oil pan so the sump would clear the crossmember.

The aluminum 5.7 liter LS-1 and 4L60E weighs just 30 pounds more than the Jaguar engine and transmission.

The old engine and and trans brought $300 dollars to another Jaguar owner.

In closing please let me point out that an engine replacement in this car now would be very inexpensive. All of the expensive stuff has been done and swapping another LS engine in would literally be as simple as plug and play.

Again, I take no offense to anything said by anyone. I get it. I really do. But we must consider that without a Chevy heart, this old car was going to die. I'm happy with our little *******. 😀

The LS swap did indeed cost about what a replacement Jaguar V-8 would have cost. But, the expensive part is done forever and this little kitty will likely stay Chevy powered from here on. Why ? Because a rebuild on this engine can be completed for about $1,500 IF it's ever needed. A junk yard LS can be had for less than a grand. With these facts in mind I think it only makes sense to use Chevy power.

The Jaguar 4.0 is plagued with recurring and expensive failures. They are indeed cheap here, mostly because so many of them have suffered engine failures. In fact, I can take you to a 2001 XKR roadster in Erie Kansas that is currently for sale for a paltry $2,000. Why so cheap ? The engine is blown up.

One other consideration is parts availability. We drive our cars and enjoy them. If I find myself in some small town with a mechanical failure like a water pump etc, odds are the local parts store will have whatever I need to make the repairs. Jaguar parts are much less plentiful and much more expensive. Parts availability also played a big role in my decision.

Performance is also a factor. There is simply no way on earth that a 4.0 will make the power of this 5.7, all things being equal. The bottom end of these motors can easily withstand 700 horsepower in stock trim. That means that we can add a turbo or some other power adder without fear of scattering parts.

With regard to the Coyote powered Coupe, I think we can take about 800 pounds off of the car by gutting the unnecessary comforts. When you consider the car weighs about 3,800 pounds in stock form, that's a huge diet. A 600 horse Coyote in a 3,000 pound Jaguar will make for a very quick kitty indeed.

Again, I understand folks heartburn with the swap. I also know that if you ever drive one of these halfbreeds, you'll go home and yank the 4.0 out of yours. 😀