Those of you who may recall my long-drawn out sump saga, may also recall this was destined for a BMW V8-powered Capri. You may further recall that, at the end of last season, said Capri ended up taking a bit of a hammering against the pit wall at Oulton Park.
The Capri is being rebuilt as a space-framed out-and-out special, by Dad. The engine/gearbox (and all-important sump
) survived the crash (even the radiator made it through unscathed!) - but I am moving on. I don't want to have to share a race car again (the feelings of guilt when you crash it are just too much), and I feel that 8 cylinders is not enough any more.
So.... a Jag XJS V12. What could be less sane?
Naturally, the starting point for any sensible build would be either an existing XJS race car, which would need only moderate tinkering to convert to a howling banshee for our championship (which encourages insane engineering projects).
But this is me, so as you might expect, MY starting point is a 1977 road car that's spent the last 13 years stored in a puddle. In Cornwall (which is about 300 tortuous miles from where I live).
Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pics of the whole car handy, so you'll have to make do with what I've found lying about...
The car (well, the front of it anyway):
Time has not been kind to the interior:
Or the exterior:
Classic British engineering: Stuff it in there chaps, we'll work out how to hook it all up later!
So, full of the joys of spring, I chose the hottest day of summer to go collect. After ~5 hours of driving, starting at very dark o'clock, I arrive onsite at around 9am. It's then that we discover the car is stuck firmly to the spot.... and the winch on my trailer isn't strong enough to drag a recalcitrant cat across the driveway... So; jack up each corner, and set to the brakes with a large hammer. Eventually, all four wheels are persuaded to turn, and the Jag is unceremoniously plonked on the trailer.
No pictures of this herculean effort exist, thank goodness.
5ish more hours later, the Jag arrives at base, and is temporarily dumped outside while room is made for it indoors.
So, here it is, bonnet removed, and that V12 with all of its plumbing on the outside bared for the world to see. At this point, I have no idea if the engine will even turn or not (although I am assured it does):
Time has ravaged the backside alright:
Some time later, after a LOT of sweating, cursing, and spilled vital fluids (both man and machine types), all 3 radiators are removed, the fan is out, and the front of the engine (with, count 'em, FOUR drive belts):
Finally I can get a spanner onto the front pulley - it turns! Hurrah! 1st possible major disaster averted!. It's pretty brown though:
(note the blue tyre spanner on the front pulley, used to test it!)
Inlet manifold/airbox/throttle removed from one side. Nice cam covers, I can see some CNC engraving going onto that...
I have decided that I won't be running any of the original inlet, ignition or exhaust systems, which will make life much easier for me. The Megasquirt ECU originally purchased for the Lexus trackday animal will be re-purposed to run the Jag.
Meanwhile, inside, all is not well:
The other side is even worse!
In fact, some early repair work was required even before the car could be lifted on the ramp, so bad was the rust around the jacking points:
The front looks a bit forlorn, without the mighty V12 lurking within:
Speaking of the V12, it is now stripped of its exterior plumbing, ancillaries and gearbox, and has just received a nice jetwash to get rid of years of crud:
Next job, stripping down the cams & removing the heads.
I plan to totally dismantle the engine, right down to its core components. The pistons/rods will all be fettled to make sure they're all exactly the same weight. Crank will be dynamically balanced. I may replace the pistons with forged ones (or I may not... undecided as of yet). Heads will be mildly ported/flowed and smoothed to improve airflow. Cams will probably be stock for now, I may get a more aggressive cam ground at a later date, depends if I need more horses or not after the initial build. Valve springs will be replaced (and maybe slightly uprated in anticipation of a wilder cam). Every bolt & stud will be replaced with new. Naturally I will be making a dry sump for it...
This is a long-term project, as you can probably guess. At least a couple of years I reckoned, back in August when I started. I'll keep putting sporadic updates here, as & when interesting things happen...
Meanwhile, this is the sort of sound I want it to make when it's done:
Or this (1st car):
So... on a scale of 1 to insane, how mad
