My buddy bought two XJ6s for the rear ends, he's building a Cobra kit. One engine has a bad head gasket but since he paid little for them, I think I can beat him out of a drive train for a pack of Coors Light.
My limited experience with these is that they're heavy underpowered seives; I do like the look of the big valve cover though. Jammed into a smaller car, can they make power?
A local guy has one in a Midget, I don't think I have the skills for that one. 
Dan
Why not share a little bit more information, like the year this thing was originally sold...
I'll ask.
A pack of Coors Light for a whole drivetrain? Sounds a little cheap... If he refuses, offer a pack of High Life. 
1983 and 1984.
RossD wrote: A pack of Coors Light for a whole drivetrain? Sounds a little cheap... If he refuses, offer a pack of High Life.
well it fits. Living the High Life with your Jaguars... 
I'm sure there are other sources of info, but I have always found that the guys at AJ6 Engineering (www.jagweb.com/aj6eng/index.php) seem to approach the topic of Jaguar performance with a lot of solid data and a refreshing readiness to make things better -- none of this "yes, my sump is full of sludge, but it's authentic, correctly date-coded sludge" stuff.
They won't be able to do much about the weight of the thing, though.
....i'm pretty sure there's a good reason for guys swapping SBC's into jags
the rear end on them is pretty neat though :)
donalson wrote: ....i'm pretty sure there's a good reason for guys swapping SBC's into jags the rear end on them is pretty neat though :)
those were the v12's iirc, since they supposedly needed to be rebuilt every 60k or so.
i had a guy come into the zone when i was working there who had swapped a camaro 6-speed onto the v12.
I've seen a lot of the I6'ers replaced with SBCs as well. I understand the allure of easy speed, but that is always a big let down for me when I see it.
The Jag inline six was an incredible engine in its day. But its day was a long long time ago.
Yeah, but cleaned up, with triple Webers, they sure look cool.
How much juice does the stock I6 make?
A couple monthes ago I saw a Jag up in Frisco and could hear it had the Chevy engine in it. I could see doing a conversion if the original engine was unrebuildable or unavailable and you wanted to keep the car from rusting away like only Jags know how to do.
benzbaron wrote: A couple monthes ago I was a Jag up in Frisco...
Damn, that is a hell of a way to start off a story! 
Oops the fingers are faster than the mind!
They were bleeding edge in their day and are still one of my favorite engines. Having said that, yes they are underpowered porkers by today's standards.
The engines get swapped not so much becasue they are bad, but becasue everything connected to them is. Starters suck (though spending the coin on a Bosch gear reduction unit is money well spent) the Lucas OR Motorola alternators are crap. The trans is suspect at best. On the injected cars, the Bosch injection seems to have recieved the Lucas touch.
Oh, and on the emissions equipped versions, the tappet guides tend to rise up, hit the cams, and shatter sending broiken metal bits all though the engine, which tends to be a Bad Thing. A $45 stakedown kit cures that tendency, but you have to be prepared to drill into the head right next to the water jacket by the valves far enough for a metal screw to hold good, but not far enough to go into said water jacket.
And as mentioned, they are heavy beasts. a hundred lbs heavier than a cast iron small block Chevy, taller and longer, as well.
As I have heard it said the straight six is a good engine. I would take an SBC swap over stock any day, though. An XJ6 isn't rare or collectible, and I would want to drive it and do little else to it. I love Jaguars, but I've never seen the later sedans to be anything to bend over backwards for. They are one of the prettiest four doors ever made, no doubt, so why suffer with problems when you can drive a great looking car with a trouble free engine and just enjoy it.
I see an SBC swapped XJ as similar to a stock diesel W123, except prettier. You've got dead reliable transportation that looks cool and isn't too expensive. They sell for peanuts anyway, I can't see it hurting the value. Now if you can just keep the power windows and AC working.
I think an early Jag six with the polished cam covers would look great in a hoodless hotrod.
Drove a corvette swap when I was 18. Lots of fun and more power than I expected. Remember, the original car is british with electronics by the Prince of darkness (Lucas).
Last, how do you know when your Jag is out of oil? It stops leaking......
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