Mpls/StPaul. Want to drive the challenge/ Champcar?

I'll build a nice solid reliable JaguarXJSV12  you help, We should have fun.  That's my goal.  
No experience required. Hopefully I can share my knowledge and not only will you get some seat time  but have fun doing it.  

I'd take you up on that if I lived a bit closer.

Let's talk....

Ok. 
    I live on lake Minnetonka. Is that reasonable distance?  

Wow, I'm very local and interested. If you are an autocrosser and going to MOWOG1 I'd love to talk with you there about your plans, otherwise I could drive over in my own project cat at some point. 
 

a few years ago I built a mk3 Jetta  for the challenge but never went (there is a link to part of a build thread on here somewhere)   I have since sold that car and don't have a long drive to FL high on my bucket list, but very interested in Champ or WRL or similar.

 I also appreciate the XJS as a starting point. the group 44 jag race car should be an inspiration and homage for the build!

In reply to kingbeann :

I PM'd you yesterday. 
    

In reply to jungle :

Did you get my PM?  

frenchyd said:

In reply to kingbeann :

I PM'd you yesterday. 
    

I do not see any messages or even a place to view a pm on this site. I may not be looking in the right spot?  Regardless, I sent you a message on here with my cell # so you can text back. 

In reply to kingbeann :

I'm not sure if I am totally failing in the private message department. You can also send me an email to my username at hotmail dot com. Still interested in a  build. 

In reply to kingbeann :

Sorry left my phone at work.  I'll contact you today via E mail. 

E mail sent. 

Frenchy, it was nice to meet you over the weekend.  You have a solid foundation and an incredible inventory of "stuff" in the garage. 

For this to work we still need to find a few more people interested in joining the team who can work on the build, in exchange having a ride for budget friendly wheel to wheel racing.

Tentative game plan would be a Champ Car build using the car pictured below as a foundation.  Frenchy has extra engines, transmission, and god knows what else in his garage.  Would need to strip the interior, cage it, maximize weight savings, likely swap to outboard brakes in the rear, maximize wheel/tire width, and make it reliable.  Decisions would include run as automatic or manual, power vs manual brakes, paint (potential to revive with patina), turbos, etc.

By Frenchy's description he has many years of experience campaigning and building Jaguars and a healthy inventory of stuff and knowledge to share. 

By my description I have been years of experience wrenching and minor fabrication including a challenge-worthy turbo ABA Jetta I built to bring to Florida but never went.  I have no experience with Jaguars.

Anyone else local to the Twin Cities interested?

In reply to kingbeann :

This would likely be done in stages.  Get it cleaned up and running.  And do the Northern version of the challenge.  Everybody drives. 
 Then prep it for Champcar  and run it at the local track night in America event  to sort it out and prove its reliability. Plus give everyone the chance  to try it out at a higher speed. 
     Finally enter the Champcar event at Road America.  Where you get to enjoy the scream of that big V12  down those long straights.  What Road & Track called thundering elegance? 

If you have any champcar specific questions, hit me up.  

Make that thing go on a diet.

Or better yet, if you want to stick with the v12, swap it into something lighter...  

A 3rd gen camaro with that engine would piss off all the purists!

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

My first version was an early 1975 which I got down to 2700 pounds.  Robert Knodt's version is around 3000 pounds so it's really not that heavy. 
       I actually want to put a last version of the Monte Carlo body on the XJS chassis , paint it black with a white#3 to Really offend  the Chevy boys. 

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

OK if I reverse engineer the EFI and replace it with the earlier carbed version do I take a 50 point hit?  
 I mean the early carbed version had 18 less horsepower than the EFI  shouldn't I get points?   
   On the other hand the EFI was created by the prince of darkness, Lucas. But really shouldn't SU  carbs be enough punishment?   

frenchyd said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

OK if I reverse engineer the EFI and replace it with the earlier carbed version do I take a 50 point hit?  
 I mean the early carbed version had 18 less horsepower than the EFI  shouldn't I get points?   
   On the other hand the EFI was created by the prince of darkness, Lucas. But really shouldn't SU  carbs be enough punishment?   

It's 50 pts to swap from or to a carb.  It's also 25 or 50 pts to swap intake manifolds.

2700#s is actually pretty heavy for champcar.  Most cars are sub 2500#.  There are a lot right around 2000#.

My car is 2350# (2nd gen rx7 with gm 3500 engine).

Edit to add...  if that engine was available the way you want it, just claim it as whatever year had that setup.  You will need to make sure the trans, rear end, and fuel capacity is the same as the year you claim.  

The vin doesn't matter.  Actual year doesn't matter.  As long as the main components are the same as the year claimed.  

 There are detail differences from 1975-1992 engine size is the same. 5.3 liters or 326 cu in.  Some years had chrome this  or wood dashes,  HE with dots or without. Some had a hyphen between XJ-S and some didn't. Etc. 

    The year the intake & carbs (4) would be 1971-1974 the engine would be 1981-1992 the transmission would be 1977-1992 the rear end would be 1992-1996.  The VIN would be 1984 And that's just USA specs.  World specs get better. ( and more powerful).  
   Bottom line the V12 makes more power than the same era Chevy 454 by 32-79 net horsepower. 
   All the XJS's had 24 gallon fuel tanks. The EFI started out using Bosch components and gradually switched to Lucas over a 3-4 year period. Then changed ECM's periodically and then distributors  from Lucas to Marelli.    Parts pretty much interchange from any year. All the sensors were analog until Ford bought them then they went digital like the rest of the world. Ford. Eliminated the distributor and went to crank triggered ignition using Ford coil on plug. In 1993 Ford increased the stroke 1/4" and it became a 6.0 liter or 366 cu.in.  Compression dropped from 11.5-1 (USA spec) to 10.5-1  Horsepower went to  318 USA spec 334 world spec. 
    However Jaguar never made all the changes at year end.  Sometimes they were made in mid production. Or when new models were announced which rarely was in the fall like most companies. More typically in the spring or whenever they ran out of something. 
Realize Jaguar was a very small company in those days. Some years only 1000 XJS's were made for global sales .  Just because A car was made in 1976 doesn't mean it was called a 76 it could be a 77- or even a 78. 
Everything was batch made. A windshield in one car would go right in but the next car a lot of adjustments had to be made to get it to fit.  

I am Local. Might be able to help. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

You would be welcome. Monday night we're having another session.  Stop over just to check out the progress. Meet us, confirm that none of us have actual horns or are drooling idiots.  
    This whole project is about fun.  We keep the sessions short, no pressure, I try to have people do what they are comfortable with and I really work hard to keep from micro managing others.   
   Our focus has changed a bit.  Instead of endurance racing, we will do vintage racing.  Basically 30 minute sessions three times a day.  Tracks like the 4 mile long Elkhart lake and 3 mile long Brainerd.  Blackhawk is also a possibility  but it's better suited to smaller cars.  
     The real reason is cost.  Not only are entry fees expensive for endurance racing.  The consumable costs associated endurance racing  are very expensive.   Tires,  brakes, fuel, etc for one endurance race are likely higher than a whole season of vintage racing. 
   Once a year I'd like to do a bucket race.  A long distance  track to a track such as Watkins Glen Or Mid Ohio?   
 

Success !  We pretty well finished stripping the car.  The final battle was removing the HVAC unit. After removing 9,372 screws, nuts, and bolts,  on the inside and still having it rigidly stayed  in place.  We finally went into the engine bay and removed two nuts and gave it a pry. Out it popped!   
   Luckily Erik is stronger than I am and he was able to drag it out of the car. Now the car honestly sits more than a foot off the ground.  Where before we started the ground clearance was about the thickness of a well worn dime. Now it's honestly a foot. A good portion of that is due to sound deadening.  I'm not kidding at all about this.  There was foam stuffed in the oddest places. Great big chunks of it  just randomly stuffed in various cavities.  
    And  wire!!!!  It's been reported that the wiring Loam alone is well over 100 pounds.  And having chopped chunk after chunk of it out I can believe it.    
   Our goal is 2700 pounds with 465 horsepower.  Giving us about 6 pounds per horsepower. 

   Maybe not very impressive in today's world but for a car 45 years old that only cost $500 it's. Darn decent. 

In reply to jungle :

Are you interested ? 

Our goal has shifted.  While the weight goal is still  2700 pounds ( dry)   We are going to race vintage.   Group 6

          We will sort it out using local track days  to dial in handling, brakes, getting everybody licensed.   We will do so with a lightly modified stock engine.  
 Once a comfort level is achieved for everyone. The engine will be replaced with a modified one. Putting out north of 600 horsepower. Or about 4.5 pounds per horsepower.   
    While vintage racing is honest wheel to wheel racing, the standard is no contact.  None!   Any contact has immediate consequences so you are required  to drive within your abilities at all times. Race as hard and fast as you can control. 
    You'll be in company with former Trans Am Cars. Corvettes, real Cobra's other Jaguars etc. running in SVRA, VSCDA, SCCA,  etc.  
   That allows us to invest in a  quality  finish.  To that end I have arranged to buy Fender flairs from the guy who built Group 44's.  Also some other appearance enhancements.  I want everyone to feel  pride In the car they are racing.  
   The cost for this is your time.  No "rent"  Other than your own entry fee and costs.  I want everybody to have pride in the car.  Scream down that straight knowing you built it.  Work done to this point is top quality and that will be reflected in the car as it sits on the grid as a tribute to Group 44.  
    Want to see what the finished car will look like?  Look up Group 44 Jaguar XJS V12 

In reply to frenchyd :

We still have room to add a team member.   If in the Minneapolis /St Paul area stop in and check us out.  The shop is cool in the summer and warm in the winter so it's pleasant working conditions.  I try to make it fun for teammates.   We don't thrash or work too long/ hard. Stuff comes up and we try to be flexible.   The car is on a rotisserie so we can make the working height whatever is best.   
     Right about now someone will get at least 35% of the track time, probably more.