PROSPECTIVE XKE BUYERs BEWARE, if you are much over 5′10″, you will be challenged getting out of a 6 cylinder roadster or coupe. Do not buy a car you will not fit in. The V12’s coupes and roadsters have longer doors and are much easier to enter and exit, and more comfortable to drive, especially with the power steering WHICH IS on all v12s, but rare on a 6 cylinder car. Plus, once you go V12, it is hard to go back to a six cylinder. The power on the highway is a THRILL! This Jaguar V12 2+2 is the 526th V12 2+2 made. 1971, the only year with the high compression 9:1 engine. I purchased this car a little over a year ago, knowing it had alot of improvements already performed on it, and it was an automobile with great potential and had the low mileage of only 46,466 miles. I was excited! I started with the necessities. I installed a new waterpump, and replaced the weaklink (pardon the pun) of the V12 engine, the timing chain. The V12’s are known to go 300000 miles. just keep them cool, and well serviced. Few engines enjoy this notoriety. The short stroke of the engine means less ring travel per stroke, hence the rings last much longer! With twelve cylinders and 7 main bearings sharing the load, the rod and main bearings last longer as well! The engine already had an upgraded aluminum radiator ($1000) and the SU carb conversion ($2000 installed). I tuned it up and it truely runs as perfect as a carburreted engine could, and replaced the cumbersome air filters with individual filters. I love to simplify great cars. It raises the level of confidence, drivability, and service ability of a car. Then I converted away from the heavy and complicated Butec alternator to a Delco (GM) alternator with an internal voltage regulator. This lightened the nose of the car, made it handle better, and it opened up the area in front of the engine for future maintanance and better air flow out of the radiator!. I cleaned up the top of the engine and removed any unnecessary plumbing, again, cleaning up the motor compartment, and making it run better and easier to work on… The gearing was not to my liking with the 3:31 ratio. I wanted taller gearing for the highway, to help fuel economy and help the engine run cooler and have less wear with the slower revs. The American cars came w 3:31 gears, and the European automatic 12’s with the 3.07’s. I clocked over 20mpg driving from San Antonio to Dallas! I purchased on ebay a NEW 3.07 posi diff for $1100 and installed it…what a rare find! When installing the diff I noticed what appeared to be rebuilt rear calipers and a resealed diff done by the previous owner. I knew this car had a heart of gold. The front calipers appeared to be rebuilt as well. This is a nearly 38 year old car, but oh so classy. Then to continue the program to make this a nice tourable Jag V12 XKe, I greased all the grease fittings and changed all the oils, and tightened all the hose clamps and replaced the fan belts. The Jag was now totally serviced, tuned up, blowing cold air, and ready for the 600 mile roundtrip road trip to the 2009 Jaguar Championship Challenge. The car was turning into the “My Jag” I knew it could be. We drove the back highways with the AC on and in a pack with the Jaguar Driver’s Club of North Texas. We ran the rallye, and conquered all but 2 cars in the slalom (an xke race car w slicks, and a new XKR). The koni shocks did their job as well as the added rear swaybar, and the upgraded front sway bar. The Superlite wheels and Yokohama tires were a winning combination also. The Jag came in 4th in the nation in it’s class (SPL) so far this year. http://jcna.com/scores/results.php?standyear=2009&type=13 class SPL. No one could believe it is an automatic ( can run the whole slalom in 1 st gear w the 3.07s)! It is one of the ten best slalom cars in all the JCNA slalom series. The drive home was a breeze, and now it was time to continue the upgrades! I had already installed my www.Jag-eyes.com headlight covers, and now I wanted to attack the roofline appearance of the 2+2. I had a dream, i removed the chrome spears from the doors, welded up the holes and had the car painted. I added cut door chrome strips from an MGB-GT and the kewl look was accomplished. This must be the best looking v12 2+2 on the planet! The roof now looks chopped without being chopped! The car can be put back to original if anyone so desired. I then added series one tailights below the bumpers and replaced the ever-so-ugly backup lights with pencil beam lights. They work better and look more appropriate to the styling cues of an XKE. How do you like the bumper guard conversions? It sets the styling of the this car back into the 60’s and the future, as a truely stylish car…….. Sir Earl earned a JCNA concours score of 99.72 at the last Dallas concours. http://jcna.com/scores/results.php?standyear=2009&showdetails=792 The door window mods and headlight covers drew a crowd of approval for the way Jaguar could have made this high speed touring car look to begin with, in 1971. Richard Wright 42 years of Jaguars! Also, call if you like: 214-718-0607 and leave a message if necessary. We also work opn Classic Jaguars Who says 2+2’s can’t be goodlooking! I love to see purists shake their heads “no”, when I know that can’t believe a 2+2 could look this sexy! Not a Mercedes 600sl , a Lamborgini, Maserati or Ferrari or Aston Martin owner can denigh your precense at a light, in this car! They will be taking your picture!!!! It is a numbers matching Jaguar!

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