This 1962 Jaguar MK2 is hiding a secret beneath its clean exterior and otherwise stock appearance in the form of a modern drivetrain swap. It’s also equipped with the preferred manual gearbox, making this stately saloon a compelling alternative to bread-and-butter sedans if you can tolerate the idea of daily driving a vintage car. The seller provides limited info on the swap itself, but pictures provide a convincing story that the Jag has been loved and in the care of an enthusiast. Side note – I dig the front bar that allows you to mount vintage car club badges. Check out the Jag here on eBay where bidding has reached $8,300 and the reserve remains unmet.
The MK2 looks clean front and back, with handsome paint that certainly looks like British Racing Green. The chrome bumpers and other adornments are in very nice shape, saving the next owner the cost of costly re-chroming. The exhaust is brawny, and while somewhat obtrusive, I’d love to hear this thing fired up. The Jag sports Tennessee license plates and is listed for sale in Memphis, and hopefully, it’s lived there most of its life – the rust-free bodywork would certainly seem to speak to that. To me, the best part of this swapped Jag is the completely stock outward appearance. Nicely done.
The interior is in decent shape. Not perfect, but decent. It looks like a car that’s been used, which is not a bad thing. The wood trim could stand to be freshened up, but it’s such a costly job that I personally wouldn’t worry about it. The “Biscuit Tan” interior is in very nice condition, with clean carpets in the cabin and in the trunk. The Jaguar retains LHD steering, so it was evidently a U.S. car from birth. Looking at it from the outside and sitting inside the cabin, you would have no reason to believe it had anything but a stock drivetrain under the hood.
So, here’s where I turn to the Barn Finds audience to confirm the identity of the motor. The listing calls it a V6, but which one? A quick search about popular engine swaps for the MK2 Jaguar is pretty much entirely focused on V8s that can be modified to fit, which makes sense to me if you’re looking to go through the trouble of shoehorning a domestic mill under the hood. Still, as our eagle-eyed readers point out, it is indeed a six-cylinder under the hood – now, can they tell us the origins of the drivetrain? Regardless of its true identity, this Jaguar MK2 is a compelling answer to the challenges of maintaining a vintage British car.
Look at the exhaust manifold. It’s a V6.
Right you are. I’ve amended the post. Man, that seems like a LOT of trouble to go through to drop a six-cylinder in.
Agreed they coulda had a V8
I “think” it appears to be a 4.3 Chev. V-6. Probably not a bad choice, a little lighter than a SBC but plenty of torque and most likely decent mileage. And a pretty bullet-proof engine. That being said, given the space in front of the fan a SBC would bolt right in, same engine mounts if I recall correctly.
I “think” it appears to be a 4.3 Chev. V-6. Probably not a bad choice, a little lighter than a SBC but plenty of torque and most likely decent mileage. And a pretty bullet-proof engine. And if the engine is adapted to the Jag transmission, less worries about over-taxing the OEM driveline. Makes it a nice, practical driver.
That being said, given the space in front of the fan a SBC would bolt right in, same engine mounts if I recall correctly.
Boy that stick is far back and offset to the left, You’ll grab your leg with every shift.
I have always wanted to do this with a SC Jag 4.2.
Love these cars.
I’d love to pull up in this to the valet at the door of the Peabody Memphis-just in time for the duck march!
The Mk ll body style has been a favorite of mine ever since they came out. I don’t have any issues with the swap, especially if you plan to daily drive it. Add AC and you really have a nice cruiser. If the V6 isn’t enough power, one of the smaller 5.3 LS series aluminum engines would be a perfect candidate.
Got a ’66 3.8 S-Type. Very similar to this one. Have the stock motor which I am happy with. Have seen mention of rebuilding the XK motor in the $10k ballpark. Never done it myself so not sure how close that is to reality. HP and torque should be about the same as stock. The XK is very smooth, look great and sounds wonderful. Does take a good amount of upkeep to have it run right. Carbs take a bit of fiddling around like all British cars and the working area is quite tight. Valve adjustment is way more work than it should be. Mileage is terrible. Had a Duster with a 340/six pack that had twice the power and got better mileage. Am sure this lump weights less than the original.
In short if you like to look at them then stay stock. If you like to drive them this is not a bad way to go. Know a few guys that put V8’s in theirs. Man is it a tight fit. Difficult to work on and cool. You also should upgrade the suspension, breaks and a few of the bits in the driveline. These are small cars, smaller than my girlfriends Camry so this V6 will move it right along.
The conversion dropped the value by 50%. My friend had a 3.8S which had been converted to a V8, and switched back to a Jag engine. He sold it to a dealer in the Netherlands, who stated he had no desire for or market for V8 converted cars.
Ben, I agree with your comment about losing 50% (or more!) value.
Soapbox ON:
Never understood why people ‘lump’ these precious cars. I’m a longtime XJS owner and seen many SBC’s where the original V12 once resided. Lumpers: If you can’t afford or stomach the time/effort involved in properly restoring a Jaguar, buy a Chevy!
Soapbox OFF.
The first thing that jumps out is the apparent lack of any battery hold down and what appears to be an awkward positioning of the battery. This gives me serious reservations about the quality of the V6 conversion. A well executed conversion to a domestic engine makes sense for some but the quality of the work is often questionable.
John’s Cars in Dallas has made a GM 4.3 V-6 conversion for these for probably 20 years.
Yes. John’s Cars in Texas would be the way to go for a V-6 installation, and they also offer other mechanical improvements for the car as well. Firm has a good reputation.
Pete, the guy at the end of the telephone number provided on ebay, says it is a 2.8 chevy.
I’ll add. If you want a V8, the Ford 260/289 (and I would assumed 302) will fit with a tad bit off effort. John’s Cars when they first started making the kits for these (Mk1/2 3.4/8S 420, etc) did offer a kit to put the Ford 260/289 in them (I almost bought a 58Mk1 with said kit installed).
The other route you can go is a factory install – the Rover 3.5-4.0 (aka Buick 215) was installed at the Daimler side of the factory. With a 4 speed behind it it will scoot.
As for the 2.8 Chevy V6, John’s is fairly insistent about NOT using that engine. Past that, I too will never understand why you take out a wonderful engine to put in some piece of crap no matter who else made it.
The Daimler engine was in fact Daimler’s own (it was Rover that used the Buick derived version in the P5 coupe in 1965, later also in the P6). The Daimler engine started life as a 4.5 in the Majestic Major – 1958 – 1967 (the fastest saloon car at the time), and the 2.5 started in the SP250 (Dart) sports car, launched 1959. The Daimler v8 2.5 saloon (same body as Jaguar, more upmarket trim) was launched in 1964. Brilliant engines, if a little prone to requiring a very good cooling system.
That does not look like a 2.8. Chevy did have a 3.8 version of the cut down small block that was later increased to 4.3. my 1981 Impala had one.
Trading a Jag 3.8 straight 6 for a GM V6 is like trading your Ferrari in for a Vega. The car looks great! Let only hope he still has the Jaguar engine to go with it. Otherwise the value went from a 10 or 12k car to a 4K car regardless of what somebody pays for it.