Restomod 1964 S1

just details,details, its the best i have ever seen, no matter what!
this is easy, could you do better?
ron

Nicely done, but Ken Hiebertā€™s project is in another universe. There are seven parts to the storyā€¦this is Part sixā€¦ http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,61699

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I recall that: beautiful work, but really no longer a Jaguar.

At Cars & Coffee I would be unable to look any Aston Martin owners in the eyeā€¦nice looking car though

The V8 certainly didnā€™t sound right coming out of a beautiful machine. I do like the silver.
-SA

Kenā€™s project is incredible, agreed on a different level for sure.

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I was thinking the same, N54 or M54. The block and head by themselves are roughly the same shape as the XK, maybe a little taller with the pan. The hardest part would be the ancillaries. The exhaust manifold/headers go way out to the side. Maybe it could be gathered and routed straight down. If not though it wouldnā€™t work. The other components are all over the place too. The turbos are way off to the sides. If it could be done it would require a custom subframe.

Erica,

Since I own both an N54 and an M54ā€¦ The N54 is the used in the first-gen twin-turbo E90 335i. M54 is the predecessor, non-turbo, from the E46 series 325i and 330i. The biggest problem would be that both, like all BMW sixes, lean about 30 degrees to the exhaust side. Standing it up straight would require a custom oil pan, likely a dry sump would be needed, and would likely make the engine even taller. Leaving it tilted I suspect would require a complete custom frame set.

The exhaust manifolds on both are actually not very large at all - much smaller than the XK manifolds. Even the turbos on the N54 are surprisingly compact, and could be pretty easily moved a bit further downstream.

I suspect the intake side would be fairly straight-forward, as the (plastic) manifold is already quite high, and not extremely long. The stuff under the manifold on the M54 could be easily moved somewhere else, as could the accessories.

The N54 has an electric water pump, so that, and the external thermostat could be easily moved elsewhere, leaving a big hole on the front, lower exhaust side of the engine. The P/S pump on both could be deleted. With the N54, I think the biggest headache would be the two sets of intake ducts, waste gates, blow-off valves, and, of course, the big-ass intercooler. I have no clue HOW youā€™d get that in there, and provide adequate air to it. But if it could be made to fit, the N54 would be an awesome powerplant for an E! Iā€™m not a big fan of E90s, but the N54 engine is a work of art, and the performance is sparkling.

Regards,
Ray L.

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Just seems to me that the only practical way to ā€œimproveā€ the engine would be to put in an I-6 (because of the available space) with a shorter stroke but larger bore; elec. F.I and no push rods.
LLoyd

In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.

George Orwell

The one thing that needs attention on an FHC is the hot cabin. If a ā€œrestomodā€ doesnā€™t have AC, it misses the mark for me.

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It always tickles me when people pull the XK engine for whatever reason. These cars had a lot of flaws but that engine was not one of them.

I like restomods, and if the owner is happy that should be the end of it. However, allā€™s fair when itā€™s for resale :slight_smile:

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Agreed, thatā€™s the biggest thing for me, on par with manual g-box. A/C and an auto wouldnā€™t make me happy either.

Properly insulated a FHC or 2+2 gets hardly any cabin heat from the drivetrain. I have AC in the FHC that works well, I hardly use it. Same when I had the 2+2, I hardly used the AC in the 2+2; I was in Houston at the time.

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You must do better in heat than I do. Granted a lot of it is just radiant heat. TX sun is unrelenting. Even after fully insulating the cabin, wrapping the pipes, and muffler, I canā€™t take it for longer than 30 minutes right now. It will be worse in a couple months. Iā€™d say the same thing about any car, let alone an E.

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One of the advantages of the Rover: itā€™s nothing like the roasting pan of a standard E Typeā€¦ and thatā€™s in Colorado!

When in Laughlin, NV, during the inaugural Oil Leak, I was dying in traffic.

The description states it was subject to a tune up by a Jaguar specialist December 2019. Why, when it runs a Ford V8 ?

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ā€¦makes good ad copy??

Just spitballin,ā€™ here.

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Funny, you looked pretty cool :sunglasses:to the rest of us.
Cheers,
LLynn

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I only use the AC in any vehicle when The Boss is in the car. When Iā€™m allowed out alone itā€™s 260 air conditioning for me.

A friend of mine suffers the same pathology: no matter how freakinā€™ hot it is, he will not use the AC.