Jag XJ13
- Thread starter CESLAW
- Start date
The Rebuild
Rebuilding is a time consuming project that should not be undertaken by amateurs. Nonetheless we wanted to give it a try. So we set about gathering the parts and components necessary for the build. Our goal was good quality components that would hold up well for years to come, without going crazy about horsepower and torque.
A length of 1 ½ aluminum rod was acquired. Four lengths each 2 ½ inches long and four lengths each 1” long were cut. Each was center drilled for a 5/16” bolt. The longer were drilled so the bolt could be counter sunk. These eight pieces were then polished to an amazing level of shine using fine sand paper followed by billet polish. The longer sections were then bolted to the bottom of the block.
A 24” x 36” section of half inch polycarbonate was carefully cut to size and the corners rounded with a 1 ½ inch radius. This was bolted to the top of the block using the 1 inch polished aluminum spacers, sandwiching the polycarbonate between rubber washers. Chrome bolts and washers were used for appearance.
The engine rebuild is complete. We now have a coffee table gracing our living room. Jeremy Clarkson, eat your heart out !
Rebuilding is a time consuming project that should not be undertaken by amateurs. Nonetheless we wanted to give it a try. So we set about gathering the parts and components necessary for the build. Our goal was good quality components that would hold up well for years to come, without going crazy about horsepower and torque.
A length of 1 ½ aluminum rod was acquired. Four lengths each 2 ½ inches long and four lengths each 1” long were cut. Each was center drilled for a 5/16” bolt. The longer were drilled so the bolt could be counter sunk. These eight pieces were then polished to an amazing level of shine using fine sand paper followed by billet polish. The longer sections were then bolted to the bottom of the block.
A 24” x 36” section of half inch polycarbonate was carefully cut to size and the corners rounded with a 1 ½ inch radius. This was bolted to the top of the block using the 1 inch polished aluminum spacers, sandwiching the polycarbonate between rubber washers. Chrome bolts and washers were used for appearance.
The engine rebuild is complete. We now have a coffee table gracing our living room. Jeremy Clarkson, eat your heart out !
Attachments
Major excitement in the Neville Household 
After two years of painstaking research I am finally ready to press "go" on the manufacture of my 1966 XJ13 body buck.
It's been a long time coming but it is important to me that the car is exactly as Malcolm Sayer envisaged it back in 1965/66. Many replicas claim to have used "original plans" but no such things actually exist and I believe I am the only person to have tracked down original dimensions, plans and drawings - some in Sayer's own hand. Hopefully things will move much faster now and I will be mating the car with its rebuilt engine before the end of the year.
Had an interesting meeting with Sam Sayer recently (Grandson of Malcolm) who has set up a "Malcolm Sayer Foundation". The family have expressed interest in my project and I hope that, even in a very small way, it can help celebrate the memory of Malcolm Sayer's genius. There is some more detail about Sam and the Sayer Family's project in the link below. He has produced a superb series of posters including the Lindner-Nocker Lightweight ‘E’ type and S1 OTS.
About E Type 50
After two years of painstaking research I am finally ready to press "go" on the manufacture of my 1966 XJ13 body buck.
It's been a long time coming but it is important to me that the car is exactly as Malcolm Sayer envisaged it back in 1965/66. Many replicas claim to have used "original plans" but no such things actually exist and I believe I am the only person to have tracked down original dimensions, plans and drawings - some in Sayer's own hand. Hopefully things will move much faster now and I will be mating the car with its rebuilt engine before the end of the year.
Had an interesting meeting with Sam Sayer recently (Grandson of Malcolm) who has set up a "Malcolm Sayer Foundation". The family have expressed interest in my project and I hope that, even in a very small way, it can help celebrate the memory of Malcolm Sayer's genius. There is some more detail about Sam and the Sayer Family's project in the link below. He has produced a superb series of posters including the Lindner-Nocker Lightweight ‘E’ type and S1 OTS.
About E Type 50
I much prefer your table to Clarkson's. For one thing, their's has some rather tasteless "boy-racer" blue lights fitted!
I have a friend who has almost finished a table with all the pistons still in place (rings removed). Turn a handle on the flex plate and the pistons all go up and down - sad but true ....
I much prefer your table to Clarkson's. For one thing, their's has some rather tasteless "boy-racer" blue lights fitted!
I have a friend who has almost finished a table with all the pistons still in place (rings removed). Turn a handle on the flex plate and the pistons all go up and down - sad but true ....
Thanks Neville.
We have t gotten around to adding the blue lights yet . . . .
Table with crank and pistons? Would need an engine lift to get it in the house.
Your pics of the bucks for the XJ are stunning. Keep the updates coming.
Neville....
that is quite spectacular....look forward to seeing the progress...
that is quite spectacular....look forward to seeing the progress...
Re- 1st April
The trick is to get in early .... a rather nice (and harmless) prank is to buy a leek (the vegetable, the kind you eat) and place it under a friend's prized car.
Tell him to go look because there is a leek under his car somewhere below the engine and then retire a safe distance ...:laugh:
The trick is to get in early .... a rather nice (and harmless) prank is to buy a leek (the vegetable, the kind you eat) and place it under a friend's prized car.
Tell him to go look because there is a leek under his car somewhere below the engine and then retire a safe distance ...:laugh:
That vegetable trick sounds a bit corny.
When it's over, do you take the leek under your friend's car?
Great one! My neighbor has a new Corvette, and was going to a local car show today. Car was in his driveway being prepped. I did it! Called him and said he had a big leek under his car. He ran outside and cracked up. He took the leek over to another neighbor that has a restored 1965 Mustand conv. and did the same.
They were atttending the same car show. The Mustang owner almost had a heart attack at the news. Good sense of humor too. He took the leek with him to the show. No word yet.
They were atttending the same car show. The Mustang owner almost had a heart attack at the news. Good sense of humor too. He took the leek with him to the show. No word yet.
Two countries separated by a common language
In England, if someone accuses someone else of "taking a leak", it could sound as if they are accusing them of vegetable theft.
I'm still here! Beavering away in the background on my own project and I thought some of you might be interested to see progress so far? Here's a couple of YouTube videos.
As you may know, my aim is to exactly recreate the XJ13 as it was in 1966 and before it was rebuilt following its crash in 1971. The dream is to see it carry on where Jaguar left off and see it on a track with the GT40s, Ferraris etc. There is still an enormous amount to do but here's the first two videos of its build. A lot has happened since I took these videos and as soon as I can make time and get my a**e in gear I will continue the series.
Part One
Part Two
One of the "problems" of using modern CAD/CAM/laser-cutting etc is that a replica can end up being truer to the original plans/dimensions than a 1960s hand-made original can be. However I don't plan to introduce any assymetry of the one-and-only original! The original was at JD Classics recently and Jaguar Heritage presumably gave permission for it to be measured to help with a new post-1973 body for the "Walter Hill" replica they have there (a bit strange when Jaguar Heritage have always asserted they will never allow for this to happen). It seems the "original" differs right-to-left by as much as an inch in some dimensions. I'm sure both mine and the RCR replica will be much better than that!
The monocoque you see in the video is the first all-steel "trial" version. Once we are happy all is as it should be we will set it aside and make the aluminium/steel final version. While this is going on, the body outer surfaces are being fabricated in original-spec aluminium so they can be fitted to the "trial monocoque" just to verify all is as it should be.
As you may know, my aim is to exactly recreate the XJ13 as it was in 1966 and before it was rebuilt following its crash in 1971. The dream is to see it carry on where Jaguar left off and see it on a track with the GT40s, Ferraris etc. There is still an enormous amount to do but here's the first two videos of its build. A lot has happened since I took these videos and as soon as I can make time and get my a**e in gear I will continue the series.
Part One
Part Two
One of the "problems" of using modern CAD/CAM/laser-cutting etc is that a replica can end up being truer to the original plans/dimensions than a 1960s hand-made original can be. However I don't plan to introduce any assymetry of the one-and-only original! The original was at JD Classics recently and Jaguar Heritage presumably gave permission for it to be measured to help with a new post-1973 body for the "Walter Hill" replica they have there (a bit strange when Jaguar Heritage have always asserted they will never allow for this to happen). It seems the "original" differs right-to-left by as much as an inch in some dimensions. I'm sure both mine and the RCR replica will be much better than that!
The monocoque you see in the video is the first all-steel "trial" version. Once we are happy all is as it should be we will set it aside and make the aluminium/steel final version. While this is going on, the body outer surfaces are being fabricated in original-spec aluminium so they can be fitted to the "trial monocoque" just to verify all is as it should be.
Neville,
enthralling, thanks for providing such good access and level of detail. I'm looking forward to seeing it all coming together. I'm sure there will be different challenges in the aluminium version mono so loking forward to seeing that too.
Dave
enthralling, thanks for providing such good access and level of detail. I'm looking forward to seeing it all coming together. I'm sure there will be different challenges in the aluminium version mono so loking forward to seeing that too.
Dave
Coming along nicely now
Building The Legend - Part 3 - The Engine - YouTube
Because I used a bit of Pink Floyd as a backing track for the first video, YouTube decided to make it unavailable to viewers in Germany. If anyone from Germany reads this it is a shame you will miss the beautiful dancing girls ...epper:
Making a Bellhousing - YouTube
Building The Legend - Part 3 - The Engine - YouTube
Because I used a bit of Pink Floyd as a backing track for the first video, YouTube decided to make it unavailable to viewers in Germany. If anyone from Germany reads this it is a shame you will miss the beautiful dancing girls ...
epper:Making a Bellhousing - YouTube
Re: New Jag XJ-13 replica in production
OK, hi everyone. It looks like this thread has been somewhat dormant for awhile, so I'm not sure how many folks are following the XJ-13 dialogue at this point. But I am jumping in...... Hopefully some of you are still out there!
I have recently ordered a replica from Fran at RCR--several weeks ago. (Just sold my '71 Pantera and am embarking on my next automotive adventure.) He has just undertaken production and I have yet to see any pix, but I am informed that the fabrication process has commenced. So now I have some decisions to make. Relatively few, it turns out, which is probably good. I already decided that, since I have zero aptitude or capability, I am having RCR do the entire assembly, meaning putting the parts on the chassis, the paint on the body, the body on the frame, the interior inside the car, installing the steering, brakes, cooling, AC, glass, lights, controls, wiring, latches, etc., etc. A turnkey-minus/rolling chassis/whatever-you-call-it. All that should be left to do is the drivetrain, and there lies the basis for this post.
So allow me to think out loud with you here for a moment: My current issue is what to use for the power train. I am all over the map on this—some have recommended that I put in a new GM crate engine (like a Corvette V-8—i.e., the LS3) and top it off with a cool-looking EFI stack induction system like Inglese or similar; others consider that idea an abomination and insist I need to find a Jag V-12 and get as close as possible to the original machine. That seems to be the principal divide. Obviously transmission and clutch questions lie out there as well.
To begin, this IS a replica—let's be honest. It will never have the real engine -- or the real anything! It's fiberglass, not metal-bodied. The brakes, steering, cooling, chassis, etc. will all be different from the original car. It will have AC, unlike the original. On and on. It simply is not a faithful recreation of the XJ—that was never the goal.
So is a Jag motor important? What about a V-12 versus a V-8? And I need to bear in mind that I am not Donald Trump, so cost is a factor.
In light of everything, I'd be very interested in others' thoughts. The original XJ-13 motor is very mythologized and was a one-off creation built to race. My aim is different. I am seeking very scaled down performance, since I don't plan to ever race this car and am looking for a fun and reliable car to drive that won't be a pain to maintain, tune, repair, find parts for, etc. And hopefully with somewhat decent fuel efficiency. I can't worry about what purists will say—they'll write the thing off before they get within 20 feet anyway. But if I'm going so far as to get this replica built, it seems like there should be serious consideration given to this final element of the project.
Any input you may have as to how you think the drivetrain on this project could or should be approached would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance!
Scott
OK, hi everyone. It looks like this thread has been somewhat dormant for awhile, so I'm not sure how many folks are following the XJ-13 dialogue at this point. But I am jumping in...... Hopefully some of you are still out there!
I have recently ordered a replica from Fran at RCR--several weeks ago. (Just sold my '71 Pantera and am embarking on my next automotive adventure.) He has just undertaken production and I have yet to see any pix, but I am informed that the fabrication process has commenced. So now I have some decisions to make. Relatively few, it turns out, which is probably good. I already decided that, since I have zero aptitude or capability, I am having RCR do the entire assembly, meaning putting the parts on the chassis, the paint on the body, the body on the frame, the interior inside the car, installing the steering, brakes, cooling, AC, glass, lights, controls, wiring, latches, etc., etc. A turnkey-minus/rolling chassis/whatever-you-call-it. All that should be left to do is the drivetrain, and there lies the basis for this post.
So allow me to think out loud with you here for a moment: My current issue is what to use for the power train. I am all over the map on this—some have recommended that I put in a new GM crate engine (like a Corvette V-8—i.e., the LS3) and top it off with a cool-looking EFI stack induction system like Inglese or similar; others consider that idea an abomination and insist I need to find a Jag V-12 and get as close as possible to the original machine. That seems to be the principal divide. Obviously transmission and clutch questions lie out there as well.
To begin, this IS a replica—let's be honest. It will never have the real engine -- or the real anything! It's fiberglass, not metal-bodied. The brakes, steering, cooling, chassis, etc. will all be different from the original car. It will have AC, unlike the original. On and on. It simply is not a faithful recreation of the XJ—that was never the goal.
So is a Jag motor important? What about a V-12 versus a V-8? And I need to bear in mind that I am not Donald Trump, so cost is a factor.
In light of everything, I'd be very interested in others' thoughts. The original XJ-13 motor is very mythologized and was a one-off creation built to race. My aim is different. I am seeking very scaled down performance, since I don't plan to ever race this car and am looking for a fun and reliable car to drive that won't be a pain to maintain, tune, repair, find parts for, etc. And hopefully with somewhat decent fuel efficiency. I can't worry about what purists will say—they'll write the thing off before they get within 20 feet anyway. But if I'm going so far as to get this replica built, it seems like there should be serious consideration given to this final element of the project.
Any input you may have as to how you think the drivetrain on this project could or should be approached would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance!
Scott
