I have a 1975 XJ6L US spec…
Will a series 3 radiator fit in a series 2?
My radiator is toast…and my usual parts suppliers show it as unavailable.
I took my old radiator to a radiator shop…and the recore cost is truly eye-watering.
Found a replacement listed for a series 3 82my and up…just curious if it will fit my 75 series 2 without significant modifications.
Cheers
Gary
I put one (the later S3 style with the brown header tank) into my Series 1. I suspect it would fit a Series 2 as well. It works well and, for me at least, provides better cooling than my original radiator. I can’t prove that the improvement was due to design, rather than the condition of the individual radiators, of course.
Gary,
I’m surprised to hear that recoring is unobtainable in your neck of the woods.
Hereabouts it’s about as expensive to recore - and more reliable - as an exchange part. I’d always go the individual reconditioning route …
Good luck
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
Jochen,
Recoring is an option…its just been quoted in excess of $600 USD…
Just a bit too costly in my opinion.
I found a series 3 aftermarket radiator (aluminum?) For $179…seems a bit more reasonable if it will fit without a lot of modification.
Cheers
Gary
I see. I’ve been told around 300 in this part of the world. Guess it always depends on whether or not you find a pro shop doing this on a day-to-day basis … Maybe you should ask for another quote to have a Mustang rad recored? Jaguar markup might play a role …
Good luck
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
It requires what I would describe as a fair amount of modification. Not to the radiator, but changing several of the parts to which it connects. Probably not a good idea for you. Maybe someone else whose done the swap will chime in.
Gary,
Give Vintage Jag Works a call.
Jeff H.
I’ve done a few now, and if the rest of your cooling system is in good order, then I would recommend getting it re-cored or using an aftermarket alloy radiator.
The radiator on the S3 is much more efficient, but it does require a fair bit of work to convert as the plumbing, flow design and hoses are all different. Also keep in mind that the used S3 radiator you’ve located is likely not in much bettern shape that your stock unit.
I put together a writeup, that I think is on Facebook now, but here’s the basic needs:
Radiator
Plastic shroud
Overflow tank (which needs the chassis stiffener from the S3 to mount on)
Water rail / thermostat housing from the S3
Late Water pump (ideally to take advantage of the later black plastic fan)
Among other bits. It’s definitely a great upgrade, but will cost you much more time and expense to complete.
Here’s some pics of a completed car I did 6 months ago - this is a ‘78 for reference.
Jeff,
Thanks for the detailed response.
That conversion may not be too bad as i have two spare series 3 engines hiding in the back of the garage which i could harvest parts from.
To be clear…the $175 radiator is a new aftermarket unit from summit racing.
Gary
That’s an interesting unit - if the picture is the actual radiator, it almost looks more like a S2 than a S3.
No coolant tank feed on the lower left inlet - could be a shadow. I’m wondering if this is a universal to cover the lumped cars vs. an OE replacement.
It looks like (if indeed no inlet feed), it would fairly drop-in for the S2 as a result and omit the need to convert to a full S3 system.
One clarification; could you cobble together bits on a stock S3 radiator to make do in a S2? Probably, but the core and end tanks are smaller on a S3, due to having the coolant tank vs. storing that capacity in the radiator itself. The S3 system is just a lot better / you’ll notice a huge difference in maintaining temps in traffic especially.
How is it more efficient, extra row? (I really don’t know).
My SI radiator is not adequate. It is able to cool the car in ANY situation - traffic, racing in the hills on 34°C days, it never gets hot so I don’t see the need for a ‚more efficient radiator‘ that needs more plumbing and tanks and other things that may not help either. I‘d recore it even at extra cost because then I know the rest fits and works the way it used to.
If you think the cooling system in the SI is inadequate that is because you never experienced one that works normally. You can’t claim that the S3 system is vastly superior, I‘m sure its design improved a little but you can’t improve something that works perfectly.
I‘d recore and stick to it. Also, the original system is a bit neater and gives more access, is that ever a bad thing?
First of all, we’re talking about a S2, not a S1. I would not suggest updating a S1 cooling system to a S3, as there wouldn’t be any appreciable benefit, other than getting a more efficient fan drive.
The downsides of S2 cooling systems, particularly in traffic with the A/C on, are very well documented in history, thus why Jaguar nixed it for the S3. It has zero to do with a well maintained system, that’s a given. This is a package upgrade, not simply one component. The black XJS fan on an upgraded clutch alone, moves a lot more air than the metal fan in your S1, but that’s not the subject here.
Ah, I came from Roberts post, that’s where I read S1.
Whatever they changed for the S2 must have been terrible. What was that?!
The cooling system in my S3 was in a sad state and I had fan failures, aux fan failures, it was partially plugged inside and out, hoses burst, headgaskets went and freeze plugs leaked. The usual. Yet, it never overheated while it was operating, um, okay. I hated the cooling system with its ugly plastic tank, wouldn’t want it, but I admit that the S2 although pretty wasn’t a masterpiece of quality engineering.
Jeff,
while it is perfectly true that the series Jag lost a lot of its old world charm from SI to late SII and strike related and other quality issues became major concern in the course of the 70s, I can’t find anything particularly wrong about the cooling system.
The metal fan may be noisier than the SIIII plastic fan of but a lot less failure prone. The torquatrol unit is o.k., the rad on my car is still original and the entire system works just as it should after almost 50 years - and not in South England in the 70s, but in Southern Germany in times of global warming. I used the car at 36⁰C and stop-and-go traffic. The interior ventilation was useless, but engine temperature was just fine.
That being said I encountered two separate problems: the central filler lid (right, the one that is not to be touched!) lost its pressure holding capacity some years ago resulting in a wandering needle. Fix was cheap and successful.
The other thing is more problematic, I admit: the metal expansion tank tends to rust through from the seam, even with functional coolant mix. Replacement parts are not cheap and will suffer from the same problems after approx. 10 years.
Good luck
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
The S3 radiator is of the newer “microfin” design. More fins per inch. also, the core is wider. This is made possible by the use of an external tank rather than tanks along the side. Or something like that–haven’t read about it, only my own observations. It’s also thinner–allowing one to move the AC condenser rearward, making more room for an oil cooler if desired. It is IMO superior to the S1. I know nothing about the S2 design. And I also like the plastic fan–black XJS type.
I don’t know if it’s standard or not, have seen a few like this, my radiator only has two rows and the rest is empty space, so there‘d still be a little potential in a recore I guess. S1 and 2 had a different style oil cooler, long and the full width instead of the large but compact box in the 3 that only uses a tiny fraction of the surface area.
Maybe the steel tank can be coated internally - my replacement is in great condition so I should probably worry about it before it’s leaking…
The S3 tank also streamined the engine bay because the reservoir and cap at the thermostat are no longer required for refilling. I‘d still recore of course.
The S1 six cylinder had no oil cooler AFAIK (at least I’ve not found one in two examples). Some V12s had an oil cooler like you describe–there are two types, full flow and partial flow. I have one of them but have not yet fitted it; probably will never get around to it. I do have the filter block fitted that accommodates a cooler, though.
I think I lied and the oil cooler only became optional for the S2 (police?) cars. Personally I don’t tow and rarely even reach 150 kph so I don’t want a cooler for my mostly shorter distance driving. Doesn’t the V12 incorporate a oil to coolant heat exchanger that’s neat and complicated?
Haven’t heard of that, David. But I know nothing of non-USA models, and very little about the 12 cylinder cars generally,
