I was all set to roll my eyes and shake my head at the thought of morphing a perfectly good 1800E into a Franken-Ferrari, but after seeing the high level of thought and craftsmanship happening here, my hat's off to you sir. Well done. I'm right there with everyone else looking forward to what you do next.
Very impressive. I can't help but think that it may have been easier (or at least equally as difficult) to start from scratch though haha. Very interested to see how this progresses.
This looks really good. One thing to point out though about the V12. The Jaguar engine uses a vacuum advance system in the distributor, that's pretty common. What's not common is that the advance isn't lubricated by the engine. The correct procedure is to put a couple of drops of oil down the distributor shaft (under the rotor) ever other oil change. Most people don't know this, so the advance tends to seize up. This can cause some problems with performance, fuel economy, and overheating. It's a good idea to remove the distributor and thoroughly clean it and make sure it's working. Another thing that can happen is that someone does know about this and puts too much oil in there and it can turn to varnish and seize up.
I should have posted in this thread earlier.
I'm currently in the middle re-assembly on a 1965 275GTB at work.
If you need measurements of anything, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help.
Shawn
I love everything about this project.
Except for one thing: I wish that you had left the "Ferrari" mental image out of the picture.
It is apparent that you have the talent to build a unique car. I think you are beggaring your effort by associating the results with an existing car. It wont be exactly the same as the Ferrari, and few people will thank you for trying to make a Ferrari when it is clearly not. If you had just declared it your own vision,and stuck a bespoke badge on the nose, the same people would embrace the results.
Now, please carry on
Trans_Maro said:I should have posted in this thread earlier.
I'm currently in the middle re-assembly on a 1965 275GTB at work.
If you need measurements of anything, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help.
Shawn
Dude! We need pictures of one in pieces! I'd love to see that as much as the car itself!
In reply to Crackers :
The car just came apart for a repaint, not a restoration so there's not really anything other than interior out, glass out and doors, trunk and hood off to show you.
Unfortunately, the car does not belong to me so spreading pictures of it all over the internet is not something I can do.
This is the car before paint though (pic is public, from the auction company):
Disappointing, but totally understandable.
I know I haven't updated in a little while but there's no progress to report. Hope to have some soon since I do have some free space and time once again in my shop. While I could make my own '60s inspired body, to me there's nothing sexier than the 275gtb spyder so it's the only way to go. It will not be an exact replica, true, but I'm not planning to try and fool anyone that it's the real thing either.
I'm having trouble using the quote/reply feature but wanted to address a few other things
The jag v12 distributor- When I pulled it off to seal the valley cover I lubricated the springs with some 3 in 1 oil and installed a new rotor. Hopefully this is enough to keep it ticking. A new distributor is very expensive for sure! Perhaps there is an electronic ignition upgrade, to be honest, I haven't looked into it. If I go with a stand alone system I will ditch it altogether.
Shawn, I am going to send a PM to you. I do have a few requests since you have access to that car.
In reply to 275nart :
Here is someone who utilized a MSD 7A for a 12 cylinder Lambo. May be useful to you should you go that route.
http://www.countach.ch/MSD_injected/
In reply to 275nart :
Looks like system had been used on 12 cyl. Jags, too.
https://forums.msdperformance.com/showthread.php?7444-MSD-for-Jaguar-v12
Great project , I'm learning how to weld myself , those welds look pretty nice to me , is easier to mig or tig weld ? I'll be sure to follow your progress .
In reply to pizzaman1 :
TIG is like the zen of welding. The only thing people seem to find more difficult is oxy-acetylene welding... Mig is easier, but imho TIG is more versatile.
Recon1342 said:In reply to pizzaman1 :
TIG is like the zen of welding. The only thing people seem to find more difficult is oxy-acetylene welding... Mig is easier, but imho TIG is more versatile.
With my limited TIG experience: Agreed. perfect fit up, seated with ultimate control, The welds are so tiny and precise. You weld with your whole body, you TIG with your soul.
I am enjoying this build thread tremendously. Carry on.
MIG is just a metal glue gun.
Hell, even Mikey from Orange County Choppers can MIG weld.
Once again, you have to distinguish between TIG welding or Mig welding structural steel or sheet-metal.
TIG is a bit like parachuting in that you need to get a lot of things right or it all goes wrong. Good news is that it dont matter if you are doing tin or structural.
Mig is easy on structural stuff but tricky on tin.
You can MIG anything 4 times faster than you can Tig
All welds should be clean steel. TIG will punish you for any speck of smegma that you missed.
Tig is a lot more expensive for both purchase and consumables.
Tig requires that you grow a new appendage for when you have to weld on the actual car rather than the bench.
When all is going well, Tig is a very rewarding proccess. The rest of the time it makes you want to punch puppies.
My Tig welder is the world's coolest beer holder. I use the Mig all the time.
I've found the best of both worlds.
If it's not on the car, I tack it together with a MIG and then hand it over to a really talented TIG welder along with a case of beer.
Worth it every time.
I'm back from a hiatus with a much needed update. Firewall and tunnel construction...
Wire wheeled the floor pans while I was in there
I made the tunnel area purposefully high to make the stabbing the engine in easier.
tight fit
To finish the firewall I'm still unsure if I want to seam weld and dress all the welds or just tack it every inch or so and neatly mask and seam seal.
Really love this project, Glad you're back it!
As for the welding, I'll wager that you will end up fully welding the seems whether it's necessary or not. That's what I would do anyway.
In reply to mndsm :
Do yourself a favor, while the engine is that far apart fix the number one problem with the Jag V 12
nobody oils the distributor
with the distributor cap off grab the rotor and see if it’s free by rotating it back and forth. Chances are it’s frozen up. If it rotates about 15 degrees and snaps right back smoothly you’re lucky. Remove the rotor and in the center of the distributor is a screw. Remove that and drop 3-4 drops of engine oil. If you do that you have a wonderfully durable and smooth running engine. Yes that simple. It explains in the owners manual that should be done but they don’t tell you how.
If it’s frozen pull the distributor (if you aren’t sure just ask I’ll walk you through it easy so you don’t even have to check your timing. Which because the timing marks are on the bottom of the harmonic damper not real easy to do).
I’ve never run into a V12 distributor that can’t be cleaned up, re-oiled and made to work nicely again and I’ve worked on a few fire damaged ones. Don’t be afraid of working on one. If you take it apart it works like any distributor just more contacts. They are pretty simple really.
If the distributor is frozen the timing will be off causing it to overheat. 70% of Jaguar problems can be traced to that issue.
In reply to 275nart :
294 foot pounds of torque is stock on an HE engine So the T 5 will work but it is right on the very edge Also be extremely careful that you check the depth of your pilot shaft. Some of the aftermarket bell housings don’t have enough depth to them and shove the pilot shaft too deep into the crankshaft. That will ruin your thrust washers and quickly destroy the engine. Just ask the guy here with the MG V12
Headers on a V12 will at best gain you 5% if they are properly made!!!!!! Properly made means you need to put about 27 feet of tubing and collectors in that engine compartment. It’s only an inch and 5/8ths but still 27 feet! Not to mention the difficulty of making all twelve pipes the exact same length.
The reason is unlike a 4 or V8 adjacent cylinders don’t fire between 90 or 270 degrees a V12 fires 120 degrees apart so the exhaust pulse is even.
The stock cast iron manifold weighs 4 pounds and there are 4 of them so compare the weight of 27 feet of tubing to 16 pounds.
This is the exact point where my project took the big turn. Started to fill in that big hole and got to thinking that a Miata tunnel was known to clear a T5 and would save me a bunch of metalwork. Then I realized that if I just extended the cut a bit I could integrate the rear suspension mounting points for the Miata, and then....berkeley it, just jam the whole Miata under the car!!!
275nart said:I'm having trouble using the quote/reply feature but wanted to address a few other things
The jag v12 distributor- When I pulled it off to seal the valley cover I lubricated the springs with some 3 in 1 oil and installed a new rotor. Hopefully this is enough to keep it ticking. A new distributor is very expensive for sure! Perhaps there is an electronic ignition upgrade, to be honest, I haven't looked into it. If I go with a stand alone system I will ditch it altogether.
Shawn, I am going to send a PM to you. I do have a few requests since you have access to that car.
Oil the advance shaft too! Not just the springs and weights but the shaft it rotates on. That’s why you remove that central screw and put 3-4 drops of engine oil down there.
There is a distributor free Jaguar V12 from 1992-1996 they went to crank triggered ignition in the 6.0 V12 So all the parts are available, or you can just buy the later 6.0 V12 and get a better oiling system, more power, more torque, more modern computer , better seals.
If you stay with what you have make sure the vacuum advance mechanism is replaced. The rubber in it gives up the ghost usually after a decade or so and yours is what 3-4 decades old?
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