If (& it’s a big if) you could take the mufflers off the other end of the downpipes. Could you pull the manifolds & snake the downpipes out the top???
Also use a six point socket to get the best purchase on the nuts, may need to go deep sockets as well.
So is the preferred method of engine removal dropping it? or lifting it? Deconstructing is tedious and sloooow. Rusted bolts are stubborn! My jag guide says to remove seats, stereo, etc. as part of the procedure. Is that what others have done.
Depends: do you want the car mobile, after engine is out?
Out the bottom.
I suspect you will want to rebuild the front suspension anyway so you might as well tear all that down and then drop the engine out the bottom.
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I would take out the engine and box by dropping it, then put the wheels back on the car to keep it rolling, without losing the torsion bar settings. It would take me a morning, but it is pretty straightforward.
I would try and keep the car mobile after the engine and gearbox is removed. It will make your life far more tolerable.
Best idea would be to go by the book, but this is the jist of it. Take pictures on your phone then you wont worry how it goes back together. Take your time.
Disconnect everything form the motor in the largest sub assemblies possible. Remove the inlet manifold with carbs still attached (get you arm in up to your elbow underneath from the front). Remove the exhaust manifolds, wiring cooling system, pipes, oil filter and anything else that will get in the way when you drop it. Dont forget the engine stabiliser bar.
To remove the seats and radio should take minutes, dont worry too much about it, just crack on. Take out the gearbox cover as well. It is easy (or should be!).
Now disconnect the prop, watch the speedo cable drive (easily damaged), take pictures.
So my strategy would be to raise the car 20 inches off off the ground. Working one side at a time position a trolley jack under a lower suspension ball joint, thereby taking some suspension load.
You are now going to split the suspension at the top and allow the lower section to swing down on the jack unwinding the torsion bar safely, one side at a time.
To do this, connect the steering ball joints shock absorbers and brake flexi lines. Undoi the top ball joint, then with a hub supported from underneath with the trolley jack, drop the lower control arm/hub assembly thereby safely unwinding the torsion bars (one side at a time) without having to disconnect a torsion bar and thereby not losing the setting.
Then remove the reaction plate underneath the flywheel housing from underneath- (4 small bolts and 2 large bolts). This is now not under the load of the torsion bars so is safe.
You can remove this plate from the car with the rear torsion bar “ears” still in situ as long as you have removed the 6 bolts. The reaction plate may be a tight fit to wiggle it out, you may require a mallet and possible the engine/box raising a bit, so make sure you have undone the engine stabilizer and mounts, accessible from the top of the car, visible behind the engine. Otherwise you cant raise the engine!
Take off the clutch slave. I am sure there will be something else to disconnect, take pictures. I allt sort of explains itself as you go along.
This will allow you to carefully drop the engine and gearbox (all disconnected obviously) on the floor and pull it away from the car for processing. Best to drop it on a low trolley with wheels!
Protect your frames with thin ply of something as you drop it as the clearance front to back is a tight fit, you need to try and keep it level. Otherwise your water pump will be denting you picture frame or you will damage the bulkhead. Just go slow and easy. Using the lifting hooks on the cylinder head. Maybe a trolley jack for support as well.
Now with the engine/gearbox out the way you can re-attach the rear torsion bar arms to the bulkhead without the reaction plate buy using some of the 6 bolts you have just taken off to remove it.
The reaction plate does what it says, it provides a reaction to the torsion bar twist when the suspension loads up with the weight of the car going over bumps.
Although the car will now be weaker with out it of place, it doesn’t matter, as you do not have the weight of the engine, gearbox and bonnet twisting the torsion bars in the car, pushing the chassis legs together at the bulkhead, so dont worry.
If you jack the lower suspension arms back into place, reattach the upper ball joints, you can safely put the car back on the ground (with no engine and gear box) and start cleaning the frames etc.
Having reached this stage you can consider yourself an e type expert.
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Ow. I remember that, vividly…
And you’ll quickly learn to appreciate kevlar mechanics sleeves.
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…or if I were to say have a six pack of really good ale for each of you, Wiggles, James, John, Tom, etc good come do it while I take photos. I’ll publish the book and give you all the credit??? 
Where in Texas, and make it half a dozen 2 liter bottles of Coke Zero.
I ask where because I think it’s the Austin area and if I’m right you should join the local JCNA club Not just because they’ll probably be willing to help, but because I know them and they are a really nice bunch of jaguar people.
Alternatively, if you plan to redo the whole of the area ahead of the firewall (I think this had been mentioned earlier as a possible plan), you can remove the engine forwards without any need of a hoist by just disassembling the engine frames from around it. You can still make the remaining tub mobile as I did by mounting a furniture dolly under the transmission mounting plate like so…
Impressively small turning circle like this…
-David
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North Dallas but my oldest is at U of Texas so frequent visits to Austin
Two JCNA affiliated clubs there. Folks I met from there are equally nice as well.
Soon as I learned of’em— mid-80s?— I got two pair!!!
I don’t normally care for light blue cars. But, Damn David, that really looks nice.
Nice of you to say so, John. If you see it up against a genuine light blue car, maybe it will make sense. Suddenly it doesn’t look quite so blue. My car (painted by a PO) has a hint of green - perhaps aquamarine would best describe it.
-David
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Tried to remove the exhaust manifolds. Rusted TIGHT! Looks like there might be weld spatter where there shouldn’t be any. The flange plate is loose but won’t slide down over the bolts.
Based on previous recommendations I also broke the connection to the muffler to see if it would go UP or DOWN. Nope! I will try jacking the car up tomorrow to give me more clearance. Honestly, the condition of these pipes precludes my considering reinstalling them. Should I continue to try to salvage or do they even have value as original equipment?
side note: again, the engineering design of these flanges is crazy. There is NO way to torque to ANY spec as I had to use no less that seven different wrenches/pliers to remove the eight nuts on the exhaust manifold.
Steve;
The ‘down pipes’ have no value, no need to save them. You might be able to use a long punch or some such to hit the bottom flange to break the seal between the exhaust manifold and the down pipe or since you have the exhaust manifold loose maybe you can use a sawsall to cut the down pipe just below the bottom flange.
Keep working at it and you will be rewarded.
Regards, Joel.
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Humm, I recognize several of those cars 
Cheers,
LLynn
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Hi Steve,
I agree, your going to have to sacrifice the down pipes, IIRC they came with my SS SNG exhaust system anyways. Your half way home getting the nuts off without breaking the ‘ears’ off the manifold. Another big challenge will be getting the studs out of the manifolds, the good news is that 1) replacements are available from the usuals and 2) a GOOD welder can sometimes weld them back up.
Cheers,
LLynn