Modified Jag XJ40 6 litre V12
Discussion
Hi all, have posted this up before but I have finally found a unit available to rent and got my teeth into it with heaps of pics.
She is a 1993 XJ12, 6 litre which I have got a little carried away with and begun a pretty serious restoration with a fair few mods. I've been accumulating bits for the last 3 years and am at last able to get on with it!
I have worked out how low she can reasonably go and have settled on -40mm 20% stiffer custom springs from 'coil springs 1989 Ltd.' , highly recommend them, they can make any springs for any car circa £200 incl vat and postage and have experience in F1, WRC, etc.
Springs will be kept in check with Gaz adjustables.
I am replacing all suspension ball joints and track rod ends, polyurethane wishbone bushes, ARB bushes and drop links, subframe bushes (rear subframe bushes are v8 XJR items which are a straight swap and are stiffer).
I am removing both subframes from the car and fully stripping and re-furbishing every last thing as i go, removing and treating any rust with ferrozinc primer/paint/underseal etc.
I am replacing diff seals, wheel bearings, discs, pads, re-furbing calipers, goodridge braided brake lines throughout.
I am currently weighing up options for front brake mods without spending much cash at all, as I have actually set them on fire twice and frequently have the discs glowing! I am looking for some bigger discs which can be made to fit using a custom made caliper bracket to space the already massive caliper further from the hub. After much trauling through the 'brakes international' website looking at specs of discs the best option so far are some 350mm x 34mm grooved discs from a cayenne turbo, the offset and stud pattern is about right and a big step up from the 291mm discs as standard.
I have a rather tasty AJ6 engineering straight through de-cat tuned length extractor exhaust set up with silencer substitute pipes, big bore back boxes and 3" rolled tailpipes.
These coupled with their super enhanced ECU, k+n filters in modded airboxes and port-matched cylinder heads should see around 365bhp+ and a very fruity noise!
Engine is in need of valve stem seals so I am going to have to remove the heads and will be port-matching and replacing timing chain while I'm at at. I will also be replacing lambda sensors, leads, dizzy cap, etc. and having the injectors ultrasonically cleaned to ensure she is running sweet as.
She is wearing freshly re-furbished Aston Martin DB7 wheels with new tyres 235/40/18 front 245s rear which required some arch mods with being lowered.
I've also made custom frames to take late model XJS seats and have all electrics fully working.
A smaller old-school momo steering wheel will complete the interior until I start on the little ICE install.........
At this stage I am getting her mechanically purrrrrrfect, immaculate and rust free underneath, MOT'd and tearing up tarmac. Next step will be complete respray in her original colour, hopefully in the first half of next year. Body mods are restricted to simply flushing a couple of ugly seams, fitting an infill panel between the rear lights and removing one or two bits of unnesesary chrome
Anyway, check out the pics. any comments appreciated, and if anyone needs any advice I have become a bit of a xj40 v12 boffin!
Loads of pics of restoration work here, i've been doing 2-3 hours on it most days so will keep updating as i go:
http://s842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/oversteer...
She is a 1993 XJ12, 6 litre which I have got a little carried away with and begun a pretty serious restoration with a fair few mods. I've been accumulating bits for the last 3 years and am at last able to get on with it!
I have worked out how low she can reasonably go and have settled on -40mm 20% stiffer custom springs from 'coil springs 1989 Ltd.' , highly recommend them, they can make any springs for any car circa £200 incl vat and postage and have experience in F1, WRC, etc.
Springs will be kept in check with Gaz adjustables.
I am replacing all suspension ball joints and track rod ends, polyurethane wishbone bushes, ARB bushes and drop links, subframe bushes (rear subframe bushes are v8 XJR items which are a straight swap and are stiffer).
I am removing both subframes from the car and fully stripping and re-furbishing every last thing as i go, removing and treating any rust with ferrozinc primer/paint/underseal etc.
I am replacing diff seals, wheel bearings, discs, pads, re-furbing calipers, goodridge braided brake lines throughout.
I am currently weighing up options for front brake mods without spending much cash at all, as I have actually set them on fire twice and frequently have the discs glowing! I am looking for some bigger discs which can be made to fit using a custom made caliper bracket to space the already massive caliper further from the hub. After much trauling through the 'brakes international' website looking at specs of discs the best option so far are some 350mm x 34mm grooved discs from a cayenne turbo, the offset and stud pattern is about right and a big step up from the 291mm discs as standard.
I have a rather tasty AJ6 engineering straight through de-cat tuned length extractor exhaust set up with silencer substitute pipes, big bore back boxes and 3" rolled tailpipes.
These coupled with their super enhanced ECU, k+n filters in modded airboxes and port-matched cylinder heads should see around 365bhp+ and a very fruity noise!
Engine is in need of valve stem seals so I am going to have to remove the heads and will be port-matching and replacing timing chain while I'm at at. I will also be replacing lambda sensors, leads, dizzy cap, etc. and having the injectors ultrasonically cleaned to ensure she is running sweet as.
She is wearing freshly re-furbished Aston Martin DB7 wheels with new tyres 235/40/18 front 245s rear which required some arch mods with being lowered.
I've also made custom frames to take late model XJS seats and have all electrics fully working.
A smaller old-school momo steering wheel will complete the interior until I start on the little ICE install.........
At this stage I am getting her mechanically purrrrrrfect, immaculate and rust free underneath, MOT'd and tearing up tarmac. Next step will be complete respray in her original colour, hopefully in the first half of next year. Body mods are restricted to simply flushing a couple of ugly seams, fitting an infill panel between the rear lights and removing one or two bits of unnesesary chrome
Anyway, check out the pics. any comments appreciated, and if anyone needs any advice I have become a bit of a xj40 v12 boffin!
Loads of pics of restoration work here, i've been doing 2-3 hours on it most days so will keep updating as i go:
http://s842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/oversteer...
Edited by oversteerxj12 on Sunday 1st November 21:01
Nice motor for a 19 y/o scotty_d!
Gotta say, I think lowering with nice wheels is the key for these big cats, nothing else needed looks wise.
More pics added on photobucket now, have got some nice shiny top-coat on a few suspension bits and have got the rear calipers nicely painted up ready for new seals now....
Gotta say, I think lowering with nice wheels is the key for these big cats, nothing else needed looks wise.
More pics added on photobucket now, have got some nice shiny top-coat on a few suspension bits and have got the rear calipers nicely painted up ready for new seals now....
Yeah fair enough. I just got custom springs made up for mine, 40mm lower but also 20% stiffer to aid handling and stop bottoming out. I am goin to be fitting a fairly heavy ICE install soon though so may have to pack the rear up again a bit then!
LPG would be good but it's not really the aim of the car, it's a second car for special occasions and nice drives so mileage isn't too much of an issue despite averaging about 10mpg!
I am tempted to look into converting to bio-ethanol in the future if I can get the same power of it, possibly supercharged?
LPG would be good but it's not really the aim of the car, it's a second car for special occasions and nice drives so mileage isn't too much of an issue despite averaging about 10mpg!
I am tempted to look into converting to bio-ethanol in the future if I can get the same power of it, possibly supercharged?
Edited by oversteerxj12 on Saturday 7th November 15:03
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