Jaguar Super V8 Project

[alec.e]

Some last minute changes in preparation for a X350 only Forum meet at Tan Hill Inn, organized by a good friend:

Colour coded mirrors:


At 8pm before the meet, I decided to wrap my windscreen trim black, to update the car a bit:


On the hills to Inn, really beautiful scenery:


At Britain's Highest Inn:




Another facelifted X350, retrofitted with every extra available:


Bad news on the way home:




Running lean on Bank 1 & 2. After much searching turned out to be a very small (vacuum?)line behind supercharger has come off, reattached, all good so far

[alec.e]

I got the dreaded Restricted Performance message on the way back from the Tan Hill meet. Car goes into limp mode and wont go past 3k rpm

These were the codes I got:



I few things I noticed, the earth behind the headlight sheered off when I touched it, so this was renewed. MAF sensor was dirty, this was cleaned.



Still getting codes coming back. I got my local mechanic to take a look, he spotted a very small hose had popped off:



Re-installed and secured with a cable tie, so far so good!



Also my new display panel arrived for testing



I have disassembled my spare head unit, new screen just placed it to see how it looks with an old laptop connected.
Touch-screen works too with Windows, but now my Android box sadly.

[alec.e]

Finally made an improvement I have wanted to do since buying the car, remounted the DAB controller. Before, the ashtray lid was permanently jammed in the open position, due to the way the controls were mounted. Immediately after buying the car, I disconnected the mount and shoved the controller loose into the ashtray, meaning the lid could close. Today I figured out a way to mount the controls and still close the lid, basically a plastic piece that slots in for a interference fit.
Before (as bought):


Test fit with cardboard template:


Mount cut out 2mm styrene:


Lid now closes:


Finally all done:


I also had a issue that FM stations did not work, meaning no radio when the DAB signal drops out. Turns out the FM signal is disabled by the Alpine unit, after going through the installer settings, I have enabled it to have the choice of DAB and FM . Happy now.

[steve-5snwi]

Nice

[alec.e]

LED lighting installed:





Inspired by the X351 XJ, I painted my window switches/ashtrays piano black
Before:


Rubbed down to remove texture:


Painted black, then lacquered:


Reassembled:




Improvement I think

[CharlesdeGaulle]

I'm continually impressed both by the work that you do and the attention to detail in the execution Alec - terrific job.

[Freds]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I'm continually impressed both by the work that you do and the attention to detail in the execution Alec - terrific job.

+1 Love your enthusiasm....

[alec.e]

Thanks you both, very much appreciated

[RC1807]

Oh, my .... I just had a "crisis"!

[macajc88]

Fantastic project! Really like the improvements you're making.

My dad had an '07 XJR and the performance was mind-blowing. Made a great sound too. It was the press car used by Fith Gear (vid is still on YouTube) so had all the bits on it.
I always preferred the X358 facelift as I think it's just more striking looking from the front.

[alec.e]

Cheers!

macajc88 said:

Fantastic project! Really like the improvements you're making.

My dad had an '07 XJR and the performance was mind-blowing. Made a great sound too. It was the press car used by Fith Gear (vid is still on YouTube) so had all the bits on it.
I always preferred the X358 facelift as I think it's just more striking looking from the front.

Yes, the Supercharger is what makes the driving experience on this car, I love the whine and so do my passengers .
The performance is good for such a large car with 'only' 400 or so horsepower, but would love to get 600 out of it, but too expensive for me.

Would your Dads car have the same wheels as mine? That review I thought was very bias, why he felt the need to dress like a old man... I love the X358 Facelift, but also miss the sleeker, classy lines of the original X350. Ideally, I would have kept them both!

[monthefish]

Amazing project.

Can't believe someone would (successfully!) retrofit the twin rear seat option (my personal favourite) - incredible skills

Glad to hear of some love for the X358 facelift - that was one of my projects whilst at Jaguar. I can see that it still divides opinion (as it did at the time). I still think it was a success given the limited scope/resources of the project (most of the budget was being routed towards its replacement, the X351), and the sill covers were a particular success - subtle, but gives the car a much more modern look. The full-width rear bootlid finisher (chrome plinth) is also a highlight.

I've always loved the pace of the XJR/SV8 - the way they relentlessly pile on the speed is a great experience, and loved the vid of you showing the S2000 a clean pair of heels.




Here's your next 'tribute' project:

[alec.e]

monthefish said:

Amazing project.

Can't believe someone would (successfully!) retrofit the twin rear seat option (my personal favourite) - incredible skills

Glad to hear of some love for the X358 facelift - that was one of my projects whilst at Jaguar. I can see that it still divides opinion (as it did at the time). I still think it was a success given the limited scope/resources of the project (most of the budget was being routed towards its replacement, the X351), and the sill covers were a particular success - subtle, but gives the car a much more modern look. The full-width rear bootlid finisher (chrome plinth) is also a highlight.

I've always loved the pace of the XJR/SV8 - the way they relentlessly pile on the speed is a great experience, and loved the vid of you showing the S2000 a clean pair of heels.




Here's your next 'tribute' project:

Thank you very much! Very interesting to hear about your involvement in the X358.

Ah, yes the Concept 8, love the center console, ideas are forming At least I have got the alloy vents and gear surround.

[macajc88]

alec.e said:

Yes, the Supercharger is what makes the driving experience on this car, I love the whine and so do my passengers .
The performance is good for such a large car with 'only' 400 or so horsepower, but would love to get 600 out of it, but too expensive for me.

Would your Dads car have the same wheels as mine? That review I thought was very bias, why he felt the need to dress like a old man... I love the X358 Facelift, but also miss the sleeker, classy lines of the original X350. Ideally, I would have kept them both!

I was only ever a passenger (17 at the time he wouldn't let me near it!) but it really shifted for something so large. I think the supercharger failed not long after he sold it too; dodged that bullet!

His didn't have the same wheels, but striking all the same:



Looked the part with his private plate too (now resides on Ford S-Max):

[designforlife]

Lovely car, must be like driving around in a posh living room.

I can't help feeling it could do with either slightly wider/low offset wheels or some hubcentric spacers...the wheels look great in profile but there's definitively a lot of arch width you could fill. Would make it look that bit more planted and purposeful, without being ridiculous.

Edited by designforlife on Friday 19th August 12:47

[LeighW]

Lovely car Alec, same colour interior as my Sovereign. I'm really interested in the upgrades you're doing with the touch screen. Can you get it to control everything correctly (heating/stereo/nav etc)?

[alec.e]

macajc88 said:

I was only ever a passenger (17 at the time he wouldn't let me near it!) but it really shifted for something so large. I think the supercharger failed not long after he sold it too; dodged that bullet!

His didn't have the same wheels, but striking all the same:

Lovely car and nice plate, those are the same wheels as mine (Cremonas), just mine are diamond cut.

[alec.e]

designforlife said:

Lovely car, must be like driving around in a posh living room.

I can't help feeling it could do with either slightly wider/low offset wheels or some hubcentric spacers...the wheels look great in profile but there's definitively a lot of arch width you could fill. Would make it look that bit more planted and purposeful, without being ridiculous.

Edited by designforlife on Friday 19th August 12:47

I agree the fronts are a bit inwards. The rears are almost at the limit of rubbing on the inside of the arch, due to the 285 tyres, if I fitted much of a spacer, then the arches and liner would need to be modified.

[alec.e]

LeighW said:

Lovely car Alec, same colour interior as my Sovereign. I'm really interested in the upgrades you're doing with the touch screen. Can you get it to control everything correctly (heating/stereo/nav etc)?

The screen upgrades enable you to still control all of the original screen functions, like heaters and radio, but also allows to switch to Android (or whatever) and operate from the same screen.
The work of this chap:
http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.php?t=89210

[alec.e]

I booked the car into VR Dyno Tuning for the 1st of September to have 200 cell cats fitted & the rest (bar rear mufflers) changed with a central X-Pipe. Can't wait to hear the result!

Ordered some new tips also, think they should suit nicely (5" by 3" oval)
A quick photoshop of what they should look like: