XJ13 in EVO

[Job38]

Did anyone see the article about the XJ13 in EVO, this month.



I was honeslty open-mouthed at how utterly perfect it was.



THE most beautiful race car, that never raced.

[a8hex]

Job38 said:

Did anyone see the article about the XJ13 in EVO, this month.



I was honeslty open-mouthed at how utterly perfect it was.



THE most beautiful race car, that never raced.

I've always thought it was the most beautiful car ever full stop end of story!

[Carsie]

Stunningly beautiful - see my profile of fantasy garage.

[cardigankid]

They could still build something like it.

[bobthemonkey]

If you can get your hands on a copy, there was a far more i-depth article in Octane a couple of months ago on it. They got to work on the re-build as well as taking it for a spin.

[lowdrag]

I think I first saw this car about 30 years ago at Browns Lane and actually got to drive it around the factory before its previous rebuild at the beginning of the 1990's. It was at Stellenbosch last year for the launch of the new XK and here are a couple of photos I took of it. Hope you enjoy yhem. I wonder if you know that there are actually two XJ13's in existence? It's quite a story too.

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

I think I first saw this car about 30 years ago at Browns Lane and actually got to drive it around the factory before its previous rebuild at the beginning of the 1990's. It was at Stellenbosch last year for the launch of the new XK and here are a couple of photos I took of it. Hope you enjoy yhem. I wonder if you know that there are actually two XJ13's in existence? It's quite a story too.

I knew that there was more than one engine made (even before the excellent article in Octane) but I wasn't aware that there were two XJ13s made by Jaguar themselves. There have of course been lots of replicas even some highly detailed recreations (apart from using production engines rather than the 48valve design of the original), including 3 made by Rod Jolly that Norman Dewis reckoned were pretty much spot on (I still don't really understand how I managed to resist buying one of these - hey the wife can only kill you once, how bad can it really be?).

[Carsie]

LowDrag, I've managed to find the missing XJ13! Its down in Kent I can't wait to see it, I'm so excited!apparently it was created by apprentices at the factory!......Oh how my sides ached.....in pain.... when I saw this! I didnt know that Abbey Panels were based at Browns Lane or that Apprentices were allowed such unfettered access to a valuable prototype even if they were drunk at the time and climbing over it with pots of resin!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JAGUAR-XJ13-REPLICA_W0QQitem...

Anway, more seriously, a second XJ13? are you referring to the one in the back of Supercar Classics using the genuine engine? wasn't it painted in Ecurrie Eccose Colours? built by the GT40 man who's name escapes me or is there something I'm missing?

Anecdote: In my Profile I describe the Mk10 needing a new engine and dad ordering his new XJ12- thats when I first saw XJ13- such elegance!

[lowdrag]

The second XJ13 wasn't built at the factory of course, but a certain person went to the museum on behalf of an american and photographed and measured very carefully the original. Anyone can build a body but where do you get a 5 litre quad cam engine from is the real crux of the matter. I have hours of tape talking to Walter Hill about his collection and apparently, if he is telling the truth (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) they had a mole at Jaguar who created a part number for the two spare quad cam engines sitting on the shelf. The person who built the body then just sent in a part order in the normal way and - presto! - out of the factory came gold dust. Walters collection of Jaguars included a D type, 2 C types, 2 XKSS, XK120 chassis no. 1, the Bob Tullius group 44 XJR's, SS90, commemorative and outside lock E types, and so on. Sadly all sold last year.

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

The second XJ13 wasn't built at the factory of course, but a certain person went to the museum on behalf of an american and photographed and measured very carefully the original. Anyone can build a body but where do you get a 5 litre quad cam engine from is the real crux of the matter. I have hours of tape talking to Walter Hill about his collection and apparently, if he is telling the truth (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) they had a mole at Jaguar who created a part number for the two spare quad cam engines sitting on the shelf. The person who built the body then just sent in a part order in the normal way and - presto! - out of the factory came gold dust. Walters collection of Jaguars included a D type, 2 C types, 2 XKSS, XK120 chassis no. 1, the Bob Tullius group 44 XJR's, SS90, commemorative and outside lock E types, and so on. Sadly all sold last year.

OK, so that's how the engine got out.
This sounds like where I heard about the 2nd engine being (there was an article in either the JEC or JDC mag a year or so ago, they were talking about trying to recreate a set of Lucas fuel injection kit for the D-Type, since it was always returned to Lucas and has been lost).
There were actually more than two of the quad cam V12s built. One was fitted into a MkX test mule, but only 2 of the engines had the gear driven cams that were intended for the XJ13. The second engine appears to have made it back to JDHT. The article in EVO NO I meant Octane talks about them. It sounds like parts of the two engines were used to build one good one for the XJ13 to run with.


Edited to fix Magazine name

Edited by a8hex on Wednesday 30th May 09:58

[lowdrag]

Not quite right there. When Walter Hill took one of XKSS's apart to recreate a copy of the Cunningham D type he spotted a cutaway version of the original Lucas fuel injection on Tom Wheatcroft's wall at Donington and "half inched" it. He had aerospace engineers remake the system in California and his engineer took over a year to get it running properly. Here is a photo of his XKSS after the conversion. That car is now back as a proper XKSS with its original body.

Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 30th May 11:53

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

Not quite right there. When Walter Hill took one of XKSS's apart to recreate a copy of the Cunningham D type he spotted a cutaway version of the original Lucas fuel injection on Tom Wheatcroft's wall at Donington and "half inched" it. He had aerospace engineers remake the system in California and his engineer took over a year to get it running properly. Here is a photo of his XKSS after the conversion. That car is now back as a proper XKSS with its original body.

Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 30th May 11:53

OK, so I'm in Edinburgh and the article is at home in Berkshire
In the article I seem to remember them say that they were having problems getting it to work properly, it either ran well at the low end or at the high end. Good to here it managed to get it working right in the end.

CLK was mentioning that they'd recently returned an D-Type -> XKSS -> D-Type car back into a XKSS, they are even rarer than D's after all.

[lowdrag]

Well, the XKSS they have been working on is one from the Walter Hill collection. He had two and for his own pleasure turned one into the Cunningham D type as I mentioned above. It is that car, complete with all original bodywork, that was transformed back into its correct form. Here is a rare photo of a quad cam 5 ltr V12 engine:-



The car, having been rebuilt as an XKSS, set off on last years Mille Miglia and was turned upside down and badly damaged. If you go here you can follow the rebuild

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis...

Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 30th May 13:19

[Le Mans Visitor]

Tony, Is that JB?

Dave