The mythical Jaguar XJ13
Discussion
Martin Keene said:
NevSwales said:
The one and only "real" XJ13 did appear at Goodwood last year so it is possible this is what you saw? I say "real" because the original was pretty much destroyed in 1971 and then rebuilt in 1973.
Hasn't it been sizeably crashed since then as well. Or am I getting confused with Aston Martin DBR 1/2...Edited by Martin Keene on Tuesday 23 March 19:26
Martin Keene said:
It was damaged again a few years ago resulting in them needing to rebuild the engine, I seem to remember it was dropped off a curb or something.
Despite these accidents, I think we should really applaud Jaguar and the JDHT in allowing the car to be regularly seen around the country as well as abroad. As I write this, the XJ13 is returning from yet another trip to the States. I firmly believe that these cars are meant to be driven and should not be allowed to moulder away in a museum.If enthusiasts were not given the chance to experience the vibration, see Sayer's beautiful lines and hear the bark of the XJ13, perhaps projects such as Jurgen's may not have been inspired at all?
This video may be of interest, taken at Sebring 2010
http://www.youtube.com/user/whipteachr1#p/a/u/1/XS...
http://www.youtube.com/user/whipteachr1#p/a/u/1/XS...
NevSwales said:
Despite these accidents, I think we should really applaud Jaguar and the JDHT in allowing the car to be regularly seen around the country as well as abroad. As I write this, the XJ13 is returning from yet another trip to the States. I firmly believe that these cars are meant to be driven and should not be allowed to moulder away in a museum.
Indeed. For me, that fact that XJ13 and DBR1 have both been crashed through being used properly adds to the value of them.NevSwales said:
Martin Keene said:
It was damaged again a few years ago resulting in them needing to rebuild the engine, I seem to remember it was dropped off a curb or something.
Despite these accidents, I think we should really applaud Jaguar and the JDHT in allowing the car to be regularly seen around the country as well as abroad. As I write this, the XJ13 is returning from yet another trip to the States. I firmly believe that these cars are meant to be driven and should not be allowed to moulder away in a museum.If enthusiasts were not given the chance to experience the vibration, see Sayer's beautiful lines and hear the bark of the XJ13, perhaps projects such as Jurgen's may not have been inspired at all?
It seems that Jaguar were perhaps not completely logical in their identification of engine blocks used in prototype engines - like Jaguar Heritage themselves, I had assumed that a block stamped ''3'' would logically belong to ''engine number 3'' etc. According to Peter Wilson who worked in the Jaguar Competitions Department at the time, this may not have been a valid assumption. If so, my engine may have had a much more interesting, important and varied life than I first thought - I will publish details on http://www.xj13.eu when I am certain of the facts - watch this space!
NevSwales said:
It seems that Jaguar were perhaps not completely logical in their identification of engine blocks used in prototype engines - like Jaguar Heritage themselves, I had assumed that a block stamped ''3'' would logically belong to ''engine number 3'' etc. According to Peter Wilson who worked in the Jaguar Competitions Department at the time, this may not have been a valid assumption. If so, my engine may have had a much more interesting, important and varied life than I first thought - I will publish details on http://www.xj13.eu when I am certain of the facts - watch this space!
Anything is possible where Jaguars are concerned Neville. A friend sold a very early outside lock E-type but when the new owner took it apart to rebuild it as a concours car the shell was certainly earlier than the chassis number would indicate; in fact probably one of the first five chassis built looking at the bare shell. My E-type, a flat floor of October 1961, has an XK150 distributor, not an E-type one for example. Jaguar used parts as they were available, that's all. It doesn't surprise me that your engine wasn't, in the end, the third engine built even though the block is the 3rd. It probably sat on the shelf for a while."Anything is possible .." - yes, certainly seems to be the case!
According to Peter Wilson, my block (although stamped "3") was actually used for the second prototype built - engine number 2. As well as being used in at least two Mkl0s (one of which was possibly driven by Jenks) it has the ultimate development of cylinder head design. It had been believed that these final heads went with the engine in the "Walter Hill" replica but it seems they were fitted to my engine in 1969.
The plot thickens ....
According to Peter Wilson, my block (although stamped "3") was actually used for the second prototype built - engine number 2. As well as being used in at least two Mkl0s (one of which was possibly driven by Jenks) it has the ultimate development of cylinder head design. It had been believed that these final heads went with the engine in the "Walter Hill" replica but it seems they were fitted to my engine in 1969.
The plot thickens ....
lowdrag said:
NevSwales said:
It seems that Jaguar were perhaps not completely logical in their identification of engine blocks used in prototype engines - like Jaguar Heritage themselves, I had assumed that a block stamped ''3'' would logically belong to ''engine number 3'' etc. According to Peter Wilson who worked in the Jaguar Competitions Department at the time, this may not have been a valid assumption. If so, my engine may have had a much more interesting, important and varied life than I first thought - I will publish details on http://www.xj13.eu when I am certain of the facts - watch this space!
Anything is possible where Jaguars are concerned Neville. A friend sold a very early outside lock E-type but when the new owner took it apart to rebuild it as a concours car the shell was certainly earlier than the chassis number would indicate; in fact probably one of the first five chassis built looking at the bare shell. My E-type, a flat floor of October 1961, has an XK150 distributor, not an E-type one for example. Jaguar used parts as they were available, that's all. It doesn't surprise me that your engine wasn't, in the end, the third engine built even though the block is the 3rd. It probably sat on the shelf for a while.If so, both my '62 Roadster and my '63 Fixed Head had those distributors; but so did most Jaguars of that age. It was a far better distributor than the later, smaller ones with "Quickfit" points.
Yes, it is certainly possible it was changed.
Although I was only the second owner of the car there were signs the body was "restored" (brown quilted vinyl ... luvverly ...) One addition made by the previous owner was a little beautifully-trimmed cubby hole hidden under the passenger seat. When I stripped the car for its first restoration I found it contained a handful of condoms still in their wrappers - presumably 1960's vintage.... do you know of any contraceptelists who may be interested in adding them to their collection?
Although I was only the second owner of the car there were signs the body was "restored" (brown quilted vinyl ... luvverly ...) One addition made by the previous owner was a little beautifully-trimmed cubby hole hidden under the passenger seat. When I stripped the car for its first restoration I found it contained a handful of condoms still in their wrappers - presumably 1960's vintage.... do you know of any contraceptelists who may be interested in adding them to their collection?
Edited by NevSwales on Friday 9th April 08:36
lowdrag said:
I needn't go on about this car since I guess we all know about it and it's history - but I will nevertheless! Built by "The Saturday Club", a group of Jaguar engineers who gathered together in their spare time to create , if you like, a Mk 2 D type to reincarnate Jaguar's glorious racing years.
I think you are confused with projects here - the 'Saturday Club' were responsible for building XJ220 some 20+ years later than XJ13... XJ13 was a fully sanctioned official project to design a new Le Mans car for the 1965 or 1966 race. It used Competition Dept. and other staff on an official day-to-day basis..Perhaps you need to read Peter Wilson's comprehensive new book on the XJ13 due out in November? He was one of the project team working on the car in the 1960s.
Edited by jagdrag92 on Tuesday 18th October 17:02
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