Jaguar E-Types were a beautiful car, sleek lines, long bonnet, good looks from every angle. The engine in the Series one and Series two was an overhead cam straight six that looked very British and sounded very nice, as did the V12 in the Series three, but sometimes they missed the mark on the reliability scale and the V12s had a rather nasty habit of overheating. Well, over here in the States, those issues can be solved quite easily. We have a reputation for swapping engines in these tweed jacketed British cars, a gentleman by the name of Shelby comes to mind, something to do with the old AC Ace, but in the case of Jaguars, a small block Ford serves exactly the same purpose.
This 1969 Jaguar E-Type has been re-powered with a Ford 289 which slips into the engine bay like it was supposed to be there and it’s backed up with a 3 speed automatic. Jaguar purists will look down their noses and sniff about sinful degradation or some such nonsense, but, as a previous E-Type owner, I can see the advantages of doing this. The swap appears to be very well done.
The original 4.2 liter engine was replaced with a completely rebuilt Ford 289 engine, custom headers and exhaust system, MSD fuel injection, vintage Air, custom dash, epic wheels, and much more. Original Jaguar body, subframe, torsion bar suspension, and rear end are intact and unmolested.
So, if you really want to put a Jaguar six back in there you could, but after enjoying the rumble, reliability and performance of the Ford V8, why would you? This Jaguar looks like a fun driver that will get a lot of attention and then get you back home.
Felipe Zapata says
This is the most beautiful motor vehicle of all time. When I was in high school in 1961, my girlfriend’s father owned one, and he was insane enough to let me drive it alone a time or two. A teenager! On one of these excursions, after passing by a friend’s house to show off and lift the hood so we could admire the motor, I continued on my freewheeling drive. And then this happened:
I was angling down off a high bridge, and approaching a red light. I braked. On doing so, I noticed the forward-hinged hood start to inch up, slowly, slowly, slowly. I had not snapped it shut correctly. I had to stop for the red light, but additional braking sent the hood up even more. It was a Catch 22, damned if I did, damned if I didn’t.
I stopped for the light, and the hood flipped up entirely, just like in the second photo here. My heart was in my throat. I jumped out to see what damage I had done. Miraculously, there was no damage, apart from that to my soul. I pushed the hood down, connected it correctly, and drove straight back to my girlfriend’s father’s garage. I never asked to drive it again. I had scared myself half to death.
Insensate says
Great story Felipe!
The body on this thing is wonderful, but those wheels are horrendous!
todd says
I doubt a custom Ford install is going to be any more reliable or trouble free than a properly fettled Jag-six. I think the only thing the motors suffered from was neglect and excess weight.
Though this person obviously invested a lot of time/money/effort into this build, I’m afraid the only thing he achieved was turning a $100,000 car into a $20,000 car.