Talk to George… he might oblige… a ‘little donation’ to the cause ?
It’s cheaper to send it by air…
I’m sorry, but I have issues with a man who has (had, until 2017) a monopoly on parts for this car and now arbitrarily decides who he will and won’t sell parts to. And I have let him know my feelings, which means I won’t be getting any parts from Don Law for the foreseeable future, but he’s doing this to many independents. Asking US owners to ship their cars to the UK is just ridiculous. Kudos to him for keeping these cars “alive”, but as others have mentioned, the car would probably still be alive on its merits, and wait-Pirelli is producing tires for this car as well, only they don’t make multiple 20 minute YouTube videos about it, they just do it…
There is already one shop not far from Lime Rock in CT recommissioning these cars, and he’s doing mine. Don Law refused to sell him parts after dealing with him for over 10 years. Not a problem. Jaguar Classic does have every part for xj220s, and while they are a bit slow, they are getting them to us. There is also a good crossover list my technician prepared, with parts common to other cars. If he allows it, I will publish the list. For example, the transmission oil was originally Castrol XH21, which is only available in Russia, Japan and possibly a few other countries from what I can determine. But Castrol Syntrax 75-90 is virtually the same formulation, and is available pretty much everywhere.
I will have a full Zytek diagnostic kit for the XJ220 within 4 weeks. Will also have “superuser” (factory, not dealer diagnostic) software so anyone who wanted to monkey around with their map (not recommended unless you really know what you are doing), could do so, and will have diagnostic software for XJR-15 and XJRS, possibly superuser for the XJR-15. It pays to make friends and be good to people.
Yes, there are a boatload of xj220s arriving in the US, my friend and exotic car dealer in CT has already brought in a dozen from all over Europe, and has 6 more arriving within 3 weeks. We missed out on all the fun with these cars in the US, but that doesn’t mean we would not have liked to have them, and now that we can have them under the 25 year rule we are going to buy more and drive them like they were meant to be driven.
Which brings us to the problem of the Zytek interface box. No one who owns one of these kits is going to submit to having his box opened, have all the resin boiled out in a pot of water so some electronic genius can see what’s in there and duplicate it, because chances are high that there are $10 worth of circuit boards in there. Which would make it easy to duplicate and bring down the value of the original kits to the level of an interesting original accessory, but not a critical piece of kit something worth $75,000. I have no idea what Godfrey paid, and it’s not my business to ask, but the other existing unit which is currently in Nashville cost the original owner $75K about 15 years ago.
If anyone believes that using an oscilloscope or other non-destructive method of determining what is in the interface box is useful, they will be welcome to use my kit. I don’t believe in hoarding valuable resources that can help others. We will have to work out the details (will need to be done in my shop in CT, I really don’t want FEDEX losing this package), same for any XJ220 owner who needs his/her ecu diagnosed. The fees will be extremely reasonable, I don’t want anyone’s firstborn. You will also be able to send in your ecu for diagnosis, but without the car that will be limited to letting you know if your ecu is good or not, or remapping it to S configuration (approx. 680bhp, not sure of the torque increase).
If anyone can successfully duplicate the function of the interface through reverse engineering-more power to them. I have no problem with that. As far as all the other items posted, sorry Godfrey, but I must take issue with some of them:
We would have transmission fluid-see above.
We would have tires-see Pirelli
We would have parts- see Jaguar Classic
We will have at least one more Zytek diagnostic kit, and possibly many more if they can be reverse engineered.
We don’t need that gentleman’s experience with these cars. I’m in the midst of a total recommission and we just pulled the engine. It’s a great robust unit, but it’s not a particularly complicated engine, it’s actually pretty straightforward. It’s a large V-6 with DOHC and 2 Garrett T03 turbos, and an ecu with 6 sensors… That’s it. My STi SE has over 160 sensors and god knows how many dedicated ecus. Every Ferrari I have owned from the late 90’s on has an engine that is hundreds of times more complex, and only rarely did I need to send it to a main dealer.
Do you really think it is reasonable to send your car to the UK every time it’s running rough? For a complete rebuild of a rough car, maybe. For a tune-up? To replace a faulty sensor? There is a developing need for technicians who can work on this car in the US, and for diagnostic equipment, and where there is a void, someone will fill it. It’s already being done.
I am not a professional mechanic, just an amateur. But I have a brain and I know how to use it. I watch and listen and read everything. Within a year I will be able to carry out all necessary work on this car in my home workshop. If you feel a sense of loyalty to someone and want to send your work to that person, that’s your decision to make. But stop defending him. If there were no other parts and supply sources, and he had his way, he would be taking food off the table of other shops that want to work on these cars and have the technical ability to do so. You don’t take away a portion of someone’s livelihood just because you can. As I mentioned in my letter, I hate bullies and extortionists, a club to which your friend unfortunately belongs.
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Just to clarify: the gear oil I mentioned is Castrol Syntrax, not the Syntrans commonly sold in the US. The Syntrax is available in the UK and Ireland. For whatever reason, Syntrax is not sold in the USA.
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I don’t have a full size 220 (my 1/8th scale one is devoid of electronics!) but your generosity, in both sharing information, and a willingness to share equipment, is truly emblematic of the spirit of Jag-Lovers.
I’ll follow along with interest as you figure out this magnificent beast!
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Paul, so what you are saying is that JCNA should have a per day charge for the tools. At this time JCNA has a mostly complete set of tools for loan to JCNA members at no charge. We are setting up another duplicate set of tools on the west coast to make shipping quicker and less expensive. Due to insurance regulations, this service is only available to members. It is run by member funding and therefore a member benefit. We have loaned thousands of tools at this point and the system works just fine. If you have a problem joining JCNA to borrow a tool, maybe you or Jag-Lovers could set up their own program. All it would take is hundreds of thousands in inventory, a lot of space to store and organize and someone competent to run it. And all of this free to members. Member only programs are not that rare. Next time you can, go to Sams Club and try to buy something without being a member. I think it is gracious for anyone to loan out a very rare Zytec analyzer for any terms. If the JCNA had one, it would be part of our program and available to members as other analyzing equipment is currently.
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No, not at all: I didn’t suggest that. My remark was in jest at Godfrey’s outrageous monetary claims for the rental of his equipment.
Re-read the thread.
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