The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Bench Racing → 1988 jaguar xjj6
I dont know why but we just bought a 1988 xj6 the car runs and shifts good interior is a l ittle rough but i had worse no rust spoted yet . brakes work but no power assit . the car was sitting for awhile but fired right up . i paid 300.00 for it now what do ido with it .
Light a match. Those cars were junk when they came off the boat. I would be scared to run one in a race.
RACE IT.....that would be super cool..... it probably won't run for long...but still it would be cool.....and I think the 6 cylinders are "more" reliable than the V12's.... they also run GM automatics...so make sure you put a mondo cooler on it
I can't remember whether '88 was the first year for the XJ40-body XJ6 or the last year for the original XJ6. Either way, I think a $300 Jag is an excellent choice for Lemons. Assuming you can keep the electrical gremlins at bay (and remember, at Lemons you won't care about the broken electric windows as long as you can keep the engine running... still, make sure all that Lucas wiring is in good shape) it's a fairly powerful car with good suspension. Even if the interior's pretty rough, selling pieces will allow you to recoup some of the money and lighten the car.
I say "go for it." But I'm a little weird, so take that with a grain of salt.
You should race that fine British machine!
I would be scared to run one in a race.
Any time you hear this phrase, you know you've got Lemons material.
We (The Rusty Nuts) bought our '87 XJ6 on Thursday. We've been diving into the research and the car and we've discovered a few things.
1) That rattling sound from the top of your engine that doesn't sound too bad and might just be loud injectors is actually loose tappet guides hitting the cam. I'm not sure yet if you can have that sound and last the whole race. I do know there's a fix involving sheet metal screws.
2) Ball joints and tie rod ends are horribly expensive, but one of my teammates tells me there are front-end rebuild kits on eBay pretty cheap.
3) The car weighs somewhere between 3800 and 4900 lbs. We're still not sure, but I did get a weight waiver from HRH Lamm just in case.
4) Everything salvageable in the interior is worth a lot of money, although I don't know why.
5) The intake and exhaust tracts suck. In fact the whole motor is detuned to the point of not having any fun. If you can fab up an intake manifold spacer you might get some more torque. The exhaust collects into a single 2" pipe right out of the manifold and the only o2 sensor is right there. I think the exhaust is gonna suck no matter what.
6) Apparently they only put two different cam sets in the XK motor, and the post '68 cam set is the "hot" set, so no, you can't swap with the earlier cam and get more power. Suck it up and press on.
7) You'll need a long, skinny T-40 torx bit to get the front seat frames out.
8) The rear brakes are inboard, so be sure and bring a tall jack and a nice set of jackstands to the race.
9) The Series 3 is in the back of the XJ6 Haynes manual.
10) Pry up gently on the "added on" back end of the console and you'll find those two last screws.
That's all I can think of right now.
will post pictures when it arrives in my garage
I had a 71 XJ6
HEAVY!!! Great comfy car at hiway speeds (when it ran) but it will be hard on bakes & tires in the twisties. Also look for dodgy lines in the trunk, the electric fuel pumps sit in a well and fuel can pool up and create a potential British BBQ..
We (The Rusty Nuts) bought our '87 XJ6 on Thursday. We've been diving into the research and the car and we've discovered a few things.
1) That rattling sound from the top of your engine that doesn't sound too bad and might just be loud injectors is actually loose tappet guides hitting the cam. I'm not sure yet if you can have that sound and last the whole race. I do know there's a fix involving sheet metal screws.
2) Ball joints and tie rod ends are horribly expensive, but one of my teammates tells me there are front-end rebuild kits on eBay pretty cheap.
3) The car weighs somewhere between 3800 and 4900 lbs. We're still not sure, but I did get a weight waiver from HRH Lamm just in case.
4) Everything salvageable in the interior is worth a lot of money, although I don't know why.
5) The intake and exhaust tracts suck. In fact the whole motor is detuned to the point of not having any fun. If you can fab up an intake manifold spacer you might get some more torque. The exhaust collects into a single 2" pipe right out of the manifold and the only o2 sensor is right there. I think the exhaust is gonna suck no matter what.
6) Apparently they only put two different cam sets in the XK motor, and the post '68 cam set is the "hot" set, so no, you can't swap with the earlier cam and get more power. Suck it up and press on.
7) You'll need a long, skinny T-40 torx bit to get the front seat frames out.
8) The rear brakes are inboard, so be sure and bring a tall jack and a nice set of jackstands to the race.
9) The Series 3 is in the back of the XJ6 Haynes manual.
10) Pry up gently on the "added on" back end of the console and you'll find those two last screws.
That's all I can think of right now.
Piece of cake!
SBC swap with a fine application of dirt, oil and spray paint petina.
It's like having a cloak of invisibility during BS. Judges won't even notice a thing.
KT
Yeah, but it's less reliable than the Jag mill.
We've seen a small-block XJ6 in Lemons. It was hella slow and generally terrible (i.e., we liked it a lot). The small-block Chevy has proven to be a very bad Lemons engine. You're probably better off with the Jaguar six.
If it's the XJ40 XJ6 with the twin-cam AJ40 motor, there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do performance-wise other than pray that it doesn't succumb to Lucas-itis. On a LeMonized version of those cars, an American small block could be a worthwhile swap. If it's an earlier car with the XK motor, though, you have so many things to play with that there's no excuse for swapping in an SBC. a little budget stretching (that is, cheating) will get you a Crane XR700 electronic ignition and a set of SU carbs from the junkyard, exorcising the Malaise-era Lucas demons from the running gear. You won't have to deal with the pain and suffering of an engine swap, and the good old XK mill ought to be just as reliable at Lemons as a junkyard 350... which, if previous Lemons races are a guide, will blow up anyway. Come on, wouldn't it be nice to have the Jaguar XK engine power winners at both Le Mans and Lemons?
If it's an earlier car with the XK motor, though, you have so many things to play with that there's no excuse for swapping in an SBC.
Care to expound more for those of us flogging an XK? A carb swap is unlikely (they might grow on trees in NJ or your state, but try finding a cheap salvage yard SU carb in Oklahoma), but a junkyard ignition upgrade isn't out of the question. What other things are there to play with? Are there any good XK websites that aren't trying to sell me $1000 part kits?
If it's an earlier car with the XK motor, though, you have so many things to play with that there's no excuse for swapping in an SBC.
Care to expound more for those of us flogging an XK? A carb swap is unlikely (they might grow on trees in NJ or your state, but try finding a cheap salvage yard SU carb in Oklahoma), but a junkyard ignition upgrade isn't out of the question. What other things are there to play with? Are there any good XK websites that aren't trying to sell me $1000 part kits?
Moss Motors has the Crane electronic ignition for $143.95 here:
http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProd … exID=80759
It might put you over the budget limit, but the 14 penalty laps it's worth would probably be more than offset by problems with stock stuff.
As for Jaguar carbs, I hadn't thought about geographical limitations. Here in California, you can sometimes find manifolds and carbs (most often the twin Stromberg CD175 setup from early XJ6s-- these are the same carbs used on the Triumph TR6 and some pushrod Volvos) in junkyards. Your best bet might be Ebay. I also found a book on power tuning the XK engine. Then my Jaguar-based team imploded in a spectacular fireball of Epic Fail, and I haven't touched an XK engine since.
1) That rattling sound from the top of your engine that doesn't sound too bad and might just be loud injectors is actually loose tappet guides hitting the cam. I'm not sure yet if you can have that sound and last the whole race. I do know there's a fix involving sheet metal screws.
Bloody brilliant.
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