Any LARGE/TALL XJ220 drivers?

XJ220
#1

We are finally at the stage where we need to fit me into the XJ220. I already knew that I do not comfortably fit into a standard 220 with factory seats. My head brushes the top. I knew this was going to be an issue with a helmet, and I did not want the extra 200 lbs. for the 2 factory seats anyway. I read a post recently from an owner who is 6’6" and put in a set of Recaro seats and has no problem with headroom. Unfortunately there is no contact info.
Doug Demurro drove the car in his review and he is 6’5". Standard factory seat.

I am just under 6’4" and 280 lbs. 40" waist, 54" shoulders, pretty much even split between legs and torso. I have been searching for seats for 2-3 months. I would like something that has a reclineable back, because I will be driving this on the street. And I would not be able to get into a car with a one piece racing seat because the sides are so high. I need something with flatter side bolsters so I can just “fall” into the seat.

The Tillett seats I looked at seem incredible and some have very low side support. But they are rigid and won’t “give” like a soft seat would.

So I am looking for anyone else with my problem, and any solutions. There is always the bag seat, but that’s a last resort. Any help much appreciated.

#2

Hope you can find an answer: as usual, Im of no help, on this subject.

#3

Well, You know the answer…DON LAW…
gtjoey1314

#4

For the good Doc… that’s not an option, methinks.

#5

We know but, That’s the issue with the car, your held captive to the MAN.
Jaguar SOLD OUT the xj220.
He has the goods, I twice been offered xj220’sover the years but having limited to no access to parts and crazy service intervals, its just not worth it to me.
Im 6 foot and the car is tight.
Love the car by design but the rest, Ehhh.
TOP DOC, Maybe try the guys at Donovan, Dean is usually pretty helpful.
I can put you in touch with Gary Bartlett, but then yiull have to hear the horror stories :slight_smile: gtjoey1314
good luck either way.

#6

I assume this means the mechanicals are all complete?

#7

Sorry, I’m not familiar with Donovan. Can you tell me where they are located and what they do?

Don Law does have al the original factory part specifications, drawings, and lots of parts. You can read about my discussions with Mr. Law in other areas of this and other websites. I did not get a Christmas card from him this year.

In any event, While it took a lot longer due to Covid shutdowns, we were able to get every part we needed. It also cost a good bit more because we had to have some parts made to order like the ATL fuel cell. The company in England that makes them has a contract with Don Law and won’t sell to anyone else. But ATL did a beautiful (if slow) job and their cell fits perfectly. The low and high pressure fuel pumps (4 total) are Bosch, and we got them directly from Bosch. Injectors are Denso, coil is a modified Lucas, wires from Magnecor, etc. Basically my restorer can now get anything he needs for the XJ220 except major items like blocks, engines, transmissions. But even if I burn a piston or hole the block, it can be scanned, fixed in a CAD/CAM program, and then either milled or 3-D printed, so technology has made all of Don Law’s drawings obsolete. Jaguar Heritage is not currently selling parts, but they have scanned every part on the XJ220 and can repair it in their shop. In England. So there is an alternative to Don Law.

This is not a particularly complex engine. And it was built by a race shop, not Jaguar. Many parts are not unique to the car. The V-6 that was at some point related to the Metro R4 was reworked, expanded and strengthened and is built like a brick ****house.

I guess, bottom line, if you really want one of these you can have one, and they can be repaired, maintained and restored right here in the USA.

2 Likes
#8

If you can put me in touch with Gary Bartlett I would very much appreciated it. We just found some XJ220 head gaskets that were sent by Gary to my restorer over 10 years ago, and were shoved into storage. God knows what else is in that storage-I’ll need to take a week to inventory everything in there.

#9

Topdoc, Donovans has been racing jags for at least 35 years?
They go bespoke from the earliest to newest.
Ask for dean, they are in Mass/Bershires. They do alot of custom fabrications .
They have a big machine shop and alot of 1st place trophies.
413 499 6000 give them a try…
Good luck
gtjoey1314

#10

Assembly going on as we speak. Still waiting for shocks we sent out to be rebuilt and a few other items, but the big stuff is all here. So the rebuilt turbos are going on this week, along with new injectors, brake rotors and pads, etc.
We’d like the tuner to get the car by early April.

Giving serious thought to R-compound tires with sipes cut in so I can use it on the track and drive on the road. I won’t be driving much, so I don’t care if they wear out faster.

1 Like
#11

What tires?
gtjoey1314 sounds fun

#12

One of my requirements for the tires on Tweetie was to get as low a wear rating as possible!

#13

Not sure if they make appropriately-sized tires for the 220, but at one time, Hoosier made what amounted to DOT-legal racing/street tires.

#14

There are a number of companies making R compound tires in the correct size. Hoosier, Mickey Thompson, Nitto, Falken, Michelin. Pretty much any of them will cut a sipe pattern for street use just in case it rains. Of course they wouldn’t work in the cold, but who drives them in the winter? There are old DOT Hoosiers on my car, but in larger size than standard. I wish I knew if TWR specified these sizes for their race cars, or if the previous owner mounted them. They are on BBS LeMans wheels that are a bit wider than normal.
These cars are going to oversteer. Remember FastMasters? The cars were sideways and crashing all over. So the street car has a very staggered pattern with those monster wide tires in back and thinner ones in front. Classic anti-oversteer setup for people who might otherwise get into trouble. My car came with a much less staggered setup-wider tires in front and back, but much less of a width difference. Wish I knew what size tires they used for FastMasters, but decreasing the difference in the stagger would make the car more prone to oversteer and less prone to understeer. It also really needs a functional wing in the back instead of a mostly decorative one, but that’s another story.

#15

6’3" and your size. Fit OK. Ingress and egress not graceful. Cannot recline my head behind the roofline/glass top area, therefore cannot sit my head against the seat headrest. Pedal box is great, lots of pedal spacing for big feet. Even though the seat position is a little weird, the car is a workout to drive anyway and I find it doesn’t bother me that much.

If I keep the car long term I’ll figure out a solution to the seat sitting up as high as it does I only need a couple inch height reduction in the seat to let me recline my head; haven’t thought it through yet.

#16

Do you have the factory seats installed with the sliders? My head is already jammed up against the roof with those seats, I cannot get a helmet on, and they weigh about 100 lb. each. I went to NJ last week and tried on a bunch of Recaros. Settled on Sportster GT with reclining back and 6 point harness holes. Now I’ve got to wait for this endless snow to stop so I can drive up to the shop and measure for a custom bottom mount.

#17

Much obliged. Never raced a Jaguar, only a few different formula cars, SCCA CSR and mostly Ferrari. I will contact them. My restorer is near Lime Rock so not too far to Berkshires.

#18

We are back to tires. They are unobtanium. Bridgestone makes street tires, but only sells them through Don Law, so that’s a non-starter. Pirelli also makes them, but sells only through Jaguar Classic who are: A. impossible to deal with, B. Quoted me just shy of $7,000 for the set, without shipping from the UK.

Race tires seemed like a good 2nd choice, with Mickey Thompson making a street legal steel belted radial with R2 compound in the correct size for the rear, and a 275 section width for the front (20 mm more than the 255 specified by Jaguar, but no one makes those) from Jeg’s at a very reasonable price of $1211 for a set of 4 with shipping. Jeg’s advertises shipping within 24 hours, but after they debited my account today I called to confirm shipment and was told it would be late August. No one could explain why their website still shows shipping in 24 hours, or why they debited my account before shipping (not their usual policy).

So now it’s on to Hoosier DOT radial slicks with water grooves cut in, if anyone actually has them in stock. Now that we’re approaching completion I am anxious to take the car out for a drive, but not on 20-something year old Hoosiers that are hard as rock.
If anyone has a lead on tires in stock, let me know.

1 Like
#19

Looking forward to video, and a report!