Jaguar V12s

[Ron Earp]

So what V12 do people use for their XJ13 replicas? Just curious. Middle 80s V12 are available here and there, but I don't know sqaut about any of these motors. Which ones are heaviest? Which ones are desirable? About the only V12 I can see being available are the Jaguars, to a lesser extent BMWs and MB. Obviously one would want to use a Jaguar unit in a Jaguar replica.

 

[Steve Toner]

I thought everybody swapped out their Jaguar 12-cylinder engines for Chevy 350s because the Jaguars are a nightmare to work on & keep in tune. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

For example, I understand that you have to use shims to set the valve clearance on a Jaguar (at least those older ones). I suspect that once you've gone through the exercise once, you'll not be too anxious to do it again...

Not much aftermarket in Jaguar V12 engine parts either...

 

[Ron Earp]

Agreed, one of the engines I'm bidding on from Ebay is a 350 take out!

I'm sure later models do do the shim and bucket thing, at least I hope to hell not. As far as parts, well, I don't think they'd be that necessary. I mean, these things are large in displacement, are built beefy, and should respond to normal tricks - larger valves, head porting, etc.

R

 

[Ron Earp]

There is some stuff here: Jaguar V12 Info
Look at the bottom for the whole series of pages. Looks like they can take some serious boring and stroking!

 

I have rebuilt a few Jaguar engines years ago and it was no big deal. There is much more info available now then there was when I did those jobs. Parts a even cheaper with E-Bay shopping. One of the engines I did ended up in a replica cobra. I see the owner quite often and I will get a few pix of the install. A few special tools are needed but no great problem for some one who has been into a couple of engines. Once the valve shims are set right the engines seem to stay in adjustment fairly well.

Vic