fastest XJ been in was a well-sorted short wheelbase S1 XJ6, with a warmed-up 350 Chev transplant, put out 375HP, it WAS a fast car, and would beat the Mrs Mazda…check out the ‘lumps’ section
thanx for the tip Tony.
With all due respect, I’m not a Lump kinda guy. Jaguar or any manufacturer. I see old 49 ford pickups with small block Chevy V8’s, and I think it’s criminal.
In, fact I’m in the process of negotiating a deal for a Pink (that’s right Pink) Series I that was about to be lump(ified) and sacrificing a reasonably sound Series III. I keep telling myself, it’s ok, I’m doing the right thing.
One my seminal moments in Jaguar ownership was sitting at a red light on a hot summer’s night in Toronto (up on Steeles by Martingrove). The car had started running hot that summer, so the heater had to be left on to compensate for the plugged radiator. The glass in the driver’s door had separated from the lift mechanism that afternoon, so that window had to stay up. The IRS mounts were shot so you had to be very gentle starting off otherwise the cage would shift around and the D/S would knock on the tunnel. The central alternator brush had worn through the commutator ring, so the electrical system would occasionally just completely stop working. The right side tank had a leak, and the stereo didn’t work.
The light turned green and I moved off. Not long after that a Police cruiser lit up and told me to pull over (I was about 17 and would routinely get stopped by the police as they generally presumed I’d stolen it).
The policeman asked me for lic and registration which I handed over and explained that it was my father’s car. I got out and popped the bonnet to help it cool off, and the copper and I stood and talked about the car for about half an hour as the crickets chirped and the car ticked. He asked a lot of questions about the car, and for most of them the answer was “Well, it’s not that hard to rebuild if you can weld and fabricate.” At the end he said “I always thought these were wonderful cars. I have a Mustang I’m rebuilding, but I can just go and buy parts I need. You seem to be getting a whole engineering education from this one.”
In retrospect, I did learn a lot. And it built character. And in the sheer joy of youth I did the ton that night on a quick run up to Barrie and back. I even lowered the driver’s window to enjoy the drive, though it meant taking the driver’s door apart to fix the glass into the channel the next day.
Even an unsorted Jag is still a Jag… with the side benefit of learning.
1 Like
I remember the write up on this car in Jaguar World some years ago, a full comprehensive write up, triple Datsun Cherry turbos, intercooler, twin injectors, one for normal fuel and one for Nitrous oxide, all programmable, he claimed power output at 250/550 bhp, also no mods to the bonnet to get it all in…some years ago I went to see a turbo set up that Lynx did for a customers 3.8 MK two for a German customer, I know or was told nothing of the parts or source of them, but was present when they drilled the back of the oil gallery prior to fitting capillaries to squirt oil at high pressure at the underside of the pistons…I have no knowledge of how the car performed, the machine shop guy also told me they were reworking a 2.8 engine to 3 litres for a customer, wasted exercise in my opinion when you could fit a 4.2…Des Hamill claims he can put his finger and thumb up two adjacent inlet ports to judge the thickness of metal left…I wondered if this is where the expression rule of thumb came from !!!
Pretty simple to source the EDIS stuff from a 6-banger Ford product, a trigger wheel from triggerwheels.com, an easily assembled MegaJolt box and s couple of days. WAAAAY better than even a Mallory Unilite!
I’d love to see that write up. Not that I’m going to do that to my car, but it would be interesting. Kidna like watching roadkill on youtube where the guys by clapped out cars and het the breakers yard for bits to bolt on to their project and make it go fast. It’s kinda like driving past an accident, I’ll say to my self, “Don’t look, don’t’ look… I looked… Damn it!”
The videos are entertaining, but seriously offends my OCD. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). He he 
You get it. I see,
Unfortunately, I’m not a teenager anymore, and I have no excuse other than laziness, and I have 5 other jags that are begging for my attention. I keep telling myself, I just need to get one solid, then start on each one. The tough part is “getting one solid” in the case of my Jag’s their all clapped out cars, that have been rescued from the crusher. I think I’m like that crazy cat lady,
Great story!
Thanx
A Megajolt controller, cheap EDIS parts, a triggerwheel and an afternoons work. The best upgrade you can do to the XK-powered Jag without a shade of doubt. I’d done any number of mods to my 4.2 over the years, tri-carbs, Mallory dizzy, Rob Beere Racing head, stainless headers, K&N filters, never really noticed any difference. Fired it up with the Megajolt and it all came together, like magic.
Look at Chris Harris’ review of the ariel–same take as mine on them. They need a smooth track otherwise they are very skittish and very prone to swapping ends. A young man I knew lost his life in one.
PRECISELY: it truly was the best mod Id ever made to the Jag, and am going to do the same to my Rover, this winter.
The EDIS was to the Mallory as the Mallory had been to points and condensor.
does anyone have a link to “reports of distinction” from Jag-Lovers (or elsewhere) for doing this setup ?
Not quite sure I understand…?
like this
I will search more from the archives…a pictorial with list of parts would be ideal:smiley:
will have to have a chat with the S2 owner, he used local (Oz) GM parts (I think), but he has been running this system for many years. If Ford parts are “better”, then I would use them.
I dont think Ray supplies the kits anymore.
the engine I have in mind is a S2 XJ6 engine, with 3 belt pulley
I do not think it matters much where the EDIS parts come from: Ford and GM are just plentiful!
There’s a ton of online help: heres one. This is a 36-1, for a four-banger. The Jag takes a 72-2 wheel, but the general layout is the same. Trigger-wheels.com has good info, too.
What does EDIS stand for? From what i gather it has something to do with fuel injection, right?
Electronic Distributor-less Ignition System.
This looks like what I was looking for…plenty of reading material…
http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php?t=437
the late model GM system has a coil pack over each plug,
I havent eyeballed the car setup that way,
but did talk to its owner, he felt there was some advantage in that system
the Ford EDIS obviously allows a more original looking engine bay, with conventional leads
That’s what Tweety has, and unless you look closely, it’s difficult to tell its there.
Ok, thank you. I feel like an idiot, ive referred to EDIS as diatributorless ignition. Haha.
I’m not new to wrenching, i’ve got 30 year old ASE certification, and worked at a chevy dealer.
Europe has better petrol.
Higher octane.
No alcohol.
They had leaded gas available until the mid 90’s.
They didn’t get no lead for quite some time, 20 years after the US, if I remember correctly.
No cat converters for the longest time.
Some of these may be the reason for higher performance, and they usually had a smaller displacement available with the conventional size the US was provided, being an option.