The Hunt
I think I inherited my passion for cars from my brother. He taught me to identify every car built in the 50s, 60s or 70s by make, model, and year. But my passion for Jaguars probably began during the seven summers I was a caddy at Hillcrest Country Club, a private golf course in Saint Paul. The members were doctors, lawyers, and grocers--the leaders of our business community. Most arrived in Cadillacs and Mercedes, but a few drove Jaguars. I remember the first XJ-S that I saw; it was the most elegant car I had ever seen. And who couldn’t love a car with a color named “British Racing Green”? I was hooked on cars.
After starting my career, getting married, and buying my first house, the itch to find a classic car got stronger and stronger. A hot-rod would be cool, but I knew it had to be a Jaguar. But which one? An XKE would be out of reach, but what about XJS or XJ6? I knew that some car guys put Jaguar suspensions in their hot-rods, and I knew that some people put Chevy engines into their Jaguars. Maybe, I didn’t have to decide between buying a hot-rod and a Jaguar. With the Chevy conversion, I could have the best of both worlds!
During the spring of 1999, I started looking and looking. I scoured the ads and my wife Ellen and I looked at several in the Twin Cities. Ellen would cringe at most of them, like the one that didn’t have reverse or the one with the broken door handles or the one with the leaky gas tank or the one where the back doors didn’t open or the one with the sagging doors or the one where the seller was fiddling in the engine compartment when we arrived to look at it. None of these would do. So I expanded my search.
That year Ellen and I drove to a conference in New Orleans. It was a great opportunity to look at some out-of-town Jaguars. In Ames, Iowa, we looked at a 1972 XJ6 that came with its own parts car. Neither of them ran. On the way home, we looked at a 1980 XJ6 in a seedy part of Chicago. To my wife’s delight, we didn’t purchase either of them.
Identifying My Prey
That same summer, however, I found an advertisement for a 74 XJ6 in Kansas City. I happened to have a friend, a mechanical engineer, working in Kansas City. He gave the car a test drive and emailed his report. It sounded like a great car, and the price was right. The previous owner had already done a Chevy conversion, although it was a six-cylinder. I was excited, and I drove right down to Kansas City, paid cash on the spot, and towed it home.
I learned a few things with this car purchase. First, it is a long drive from Kansas City when you’re towing a Jaguar behind your Ford Crown Victoria. Second, a mechanic might perform a more thorough used-car inspection than a guy who designs buildings for a living. Third, in my excitement, it seems that I may have overlooked some of the problems that my friend noticed. I guess I read his report with rose-colored glasses.
My Kitty’s First Years
I drove my XJ6 a lot those first few years, and it was a lot of fun. I started to prioritize the upgrades and repairs: suspension, interior, engine, electrical. I started with all new shocks, springs, and tires. Wow, the car drove nicely! I can’t say how many miles I drove each of those years because the speedometer and odometer didn’t work; and, well, let’s be honest, nothing electrical worked. However, I would bet that I drove it a couple thousand miles each summer.
I especially enjoyed taking it on road trips. Lacrosse and Waseca were pleasant and uneventful. However other trips started to highlight the car’s problems. Driving home from Eau Claire, I was fidgeting with switches on the dash. I pressed a button and the cabin filled with smoke. Because the power windows didn’t work, all I could do was coast onto the shoulder and open the door to clear the smoke. It was just a burned up relay; and I drove the rest of the way, nervously, but without problem.
Injured Cat
As I was returning from a trip to Detroit Lakes, MN, in the spring of 2003, the engine overheated. Luckily, I was only a couple miles from home. The engine had been making a lot of noise, smoking like a chimney, and leaking oil faster than the Exxon Valdez. I admit that’s an exaggeration, but it was time for an engine replacement.
I found a posting on the Internet that detailed how a guy name Bruce Bowling had done a Chevy swap in his XJ6. He talked about different kits that were available and their differences. It all seemed pretty straight-forward. This was just the kind of project for me and my brother. All we needed to do was pull the motor out, install spacers under the motor mounts, and bolt in a bracket to mount the transmission. So, I ordered the parts from Jaguars That Run, and we were on our way.
But I started to have doubts. I considered selling my Jaguar and buying one that was already in working order. I found a 77 XJ6L in Madison that had a Chevy 307 V8 with a four-speed automatic transmission with an overdrive. I really liked the car, but unfortunately it had been stored in a barn. It had the unmistakable stink of chicken coop. The seller acknowledged the smell and told me that as an auto detailer even he was having a hard time. Surprisingly, six months later he called to tell me that he had finally gotten the smell out of that car. It was too late; I had started my rebuild.
It’s Research Time!
I started my research on Chevy motors and transmissions. There was terminology to learn: big block, small block, short block, and long block. But the most interesting thing I learned was that Chevy engine parts are mostly interchangeable. As long as I found a V8 from the 1960s, 70s, or 80s, whether it was a 283, 305, 307, 327, or 350, the parts would be compatible. Then I learned that Chevrolet only had a few different automatic transmissions. I could choose between a three-speed (TH350 or TH400) or a four-speed with overdrive (200-R4 or 700-R4), and any of them would work with any of the engines! This was awesome!
I wanted to pick an engine and transmission that would provide a great driving experience because I planned to drive my car as much as possible. This meant the overdrive transmission was a must. It would dramatically reduce engine RPM—and noise—at highway speed, and I didn’t want to waste gas with a big motor. That test drive in Madison had shown me that the 307 (5 liter) had plenty of power. I figured I could find one of the smaller V8s, rebuild with some performance parts, and hook it up to an overdrive transmission.
I found a Chevy 307 motor in the newspaper that someone had taken out of a 69 Camaro. Then I found a 700-R4 transmission that came out of a Corvette. They were both in pretty rough shape. I planned to have the engine rebuilt and use the transmission as a core-deposit on a remanufactured tranny. I ended up with the same engine and transmission combination as the car I saw in Madison.
Building The Engine
I brought the engine to the machine shop at Kath Auto Parts in Roseville to be cleaned, bored, and checked for cracks. They also rebuilt the heads and installed hardened valve seats in order to support unleaded gas. I brought it all home and put it all back together.
The birth of my first son, however, slowed my progress. After reading books to my son at bedtime, I would assemble pistons and rings, install the lifters, camshaft, and timing chain. I spent a lot of evenings on the Internet searching for the other parts I needed. Since my motor came without any accessories, I had to hunt down a water pump, oil pump, alternator, alternator brackets, pulleys, distributor, valve covers, etc., and the instructions said that I needed a specific oil pan so it would clear the steering rack.
I found that E-Bay was a great research tool. Most sellers described their parts in much greater detail than auto parts stores, and since all the Chevy parts were mostly interchangeable, it was pretty easy to find everything I needed. I was always excited when UPS and FedEx delivered a new package!
I Missed My Jaguar
It was spring of 2005, and my engine-less XJ6 has now been sitting in my garage for two years. I missed driving my Jaguar, and I needed a new daily driver. I wanted to find a newer Jaguar, and I did. It was a six year old Vanden Plas in Chicago. The price seemed too good to be true, so I bought a one-way plane ticket to Chicago, bought it, and drove it home. I was surprised how many questions airport security asked me when I bought one-way airfare and flew the same day, but I guess airport security was still pretty tight after 9/11/2001.
Again, I learned some lessons. There was a reason the price was so low. I’ve never owned a car with a broken shift interlock, or a car that needed new wheel hubs and bearings. I remember going to a Jaguar Club meeting, and someone said that nobody else in the club was brave enough to own TWO Jaguars. I loved the car, but saw their point. With two small children, I could not afford the time commitment and inconvenience required to deal with the maintenance issues. I sold it after two years. I still miss it, but my wife doesn’t!
The end result of the second Jaguar was that Ellen now encourages me (her word is “requires” me) to have someone else inspect any used car before I buy it.
Cold, Cold Winters
Then, in 2006, my second son was born, and my progress slowed down even more. Ellen and I had been parking our daily drivers outdoors for five winters. Yes, she is very understanding! The new assembled engine was on the engine stand, and it was ready to install. I needed to get back on track.
So, I ordered a rebuilt transmission over the Internet. They asked whether I wanted it painted a particular color, and they warned me it would arrive in an unconventional crate. Well, I must admit that I was somewhat surprised. It came stuffed into a Rubbermaid tote packed with pillows and it was painted purple! But it was the 700-R4 overdrive transmission that I wanted. This was the first FedEx package my wife was excited about, we have made use of the extra pillows which were brand new and still wrapped in plastic!
I borrowed an engine hoist, rounded up a few friends, and we installed the new engine and transmission. It dropped right in place. The motor mounts bolted right to the spacers. After mounting the transmissions I had to have the drive shaft shortened. This sounds complicated, but it was probably the easiest part of the whole project. I made one measurement, and I brought it to Universal Driveline in Hugo, and they had it shortened in a day. Since the Jaguar driveshaft uses the same u-joints as Chevrolet, it hooked right up.
It was the spring of 2008, and I was getting close, but there were still a lot of small things in order to finalize the installation. I reattached the shift cable, reinstalled the radiator, electric fan, oil pressure sensor, gas line, and distributor. Unfortunately, I could not get the car started. I needed help.
Learning From The Jaguar Club
Does anyone remember the final Jaguar show at Har-Mar Mall? My car was there! I don’t remember how I was introduced to the Jaguar Club, but it was very soon after I bought my first Jaguar. The club has been a valuable resource. When I first bought my Jaguar, the club referred me to GT Cars when I needed a repair shop.
Again I looked to the club for a referral. Elaine Brahms pointed me to Ron Nordwall who pointed me to Century Auto/CA Performance in Oakdale. The folks at CA Performance helped me finish the project. It was my first big car project, and it was no surprise to me that I made a few mistakes. They identified and fixed my mistakes, completed some wiring, and found an exhaust shop that would hook up the exhaust.
By late fall of 2008, my Jaguar was drivable for the first time in over five years. One of my first trips was to the fall Jag Club Tech Session at David Meek’s garage. I almost ran out of gas because the gas gauge didn’t work. Thanks, Dave, for pointing me to the nearest gas station!
Lessons Learned
There are a few things that I could have done to make my project go smoother. Next time, I think I would choose to buy a crate motor. This time, I chose to build a motor and assemble it myself so I could learn how engines work. I don’t regret my decision because I learned a lot, but if I had purchased a crate motor, it would have saved money and time—probably years.
I also decided that some things, like the transmission, are better left to the professionals. I bought my transmission on EBay, and when it arrived, I just put it in the garage. I didn’t install it right away. It turned out that it had been shipped to me without any fluid, and because I let it sit for so long, the internal parts began to corrode and rust. It would not shift. Kennedy Transmission in Oakdale identified the problem, and they rebuilt it. They also solved the problem I had with the bracket that attaches the kick-down cable to the carburetor. I had ordered a couple different brackets that were supposed to be correct, but none of them fit quite right. Next time, I will buy a transmission locally where I can talk with an expert.
A few of my errors caused inconvenience. For example, I bought three sets of exhaust manifolds before I got ones that fit. The instructions told me exactly what I needed, and I thought I bought the right thing. Oops! I also had a difficult time with the air cleaner. The first one hit the inside of the hood. So did the second one. The third hits the distributor cap. It’s not too big of a problem, but I’ll be ordering my fourth air cleaner very soon.
I learned that when buying a car, it would be smartest to buy the nicest car you can afford. Although a low-end car may cost less up front, any savings will be offset by the time and money it takes to fix all the little problems. From the club events I’ve attended, I also learned that Jaguars have some special issues, from the door handle issues on the XJ40 to the Lucas wiring. I even had difficulty finding someone that could do a front end alignment due to the special equipment required.
My Jaguar still has plenty of projects, the biggest one being electrical. In retrospect, it would have been better to rebuild the motor that came in the car, and I should have tackled the wiring project first. The fuel gauge doesn’t work; the speedometer doesn’t work; the defroster fan doesn’t work; the power windows and locks don’t work; and there is no interior lighting—even on the dash. A complete electrical re-wiring may be the best way to exorcise the Prince of Darkness. I should have done a better job of prioritizing my repairs. Oh, well.
When springtime comes, I’m looking forward to getting my Jaguar out of storage and driving, driving, driving! See you on the road!
And remember, driving is never better than when you’re looking over the leaper’s left shoulder.