For those dreaming of the idea of big-block Mopar power stuffed inside a luxurious British grand touring icon, this 1976 Jaguar XJS might be right up your alley. With their V12 engines, these Jags were excellent performers in their own right, but the thought of installing some powerful U.S. muscle in the bay of one of these cars sounds like a really promising upgrade. If you’re already imagining what it would be like to get behind the wheel of a 440-powered example, this 1976 XJS is located in Cave Junction, Oregon, and can be found here on Craigslist. This one is priced at $18,500, and we’d like to thank reader Tony Primo for finding it and sending in the tip here!
Imagine the surprise on your friends’ faces when you lift the forward-mount hood and they see this 440 below with dual-quad carburetors, which the seller says delivers more than 500 horsepower. Some specifics mentioned are aluminum heads, Anderson headers, and an exhaust system with electric cutouts. It’s paired with a 727 Torqueflite automatic, and both the engine and transmission are noted as new. There’s also a line-lock valve in the brake system, which should be useful at the drag strip or for those who just want to do excessive burnouts whenever the urge hits.
In keeping with the Chrysler theme, the exterior has been painted in a shade the owner calls Crazy Plum, or Plum Crazy if you prefer to stick with Dodge terminology. There’s no information on what color this one started as, and no details on what body prep was needed before it was resprayed. It’s possible that the panels have always been this straight, and I’m certainly not spotting any obvious sheet metal issues anywhere outside. It’s unusual to find Cragar S/S mags on a Jaguar, but they seem right at home here.
No photos are provided of the interior, but the seller says a full roll cage and 5-point seat harnesses have been installed to provide protection in the unfortunate event that the 440 ever gets out of control, which will hopefully never happen. This seems like a fast and fun cruiser, and I’m guessing someone who appreciates Mopar mechanicals in Jaguar clothing will snap this one up fairly quickly. Any thoughts to share on this heavily modified 1976 XJS?
The Anderson aluminum heads (plus aluminum manifold?) dropped 100-125#’s off its weight, which initially started out weighing less than the V12 did anyway while gaining almost 2 liters with that HP jump.
That said, practically everyone loves the feel of a smooth V12 but as the Jensen Interceptor crowd came to appreciate the 440 really gets the job done and practically any small town old school mechanic can fix just about any drivetrain maladies with locally sourced parts.
IMO, this’d be more fun as a driver than a strip car, especially with EFI.
The new Jagrunner. Very low production of this model!!
Bet it runs damn good!!
I was never a lover of this model Jag, but this treatment is ‘kinda cool’! It’s now a muscle car. Quite a lot of work was put into this! Thumbs up! Boy…. if it had a stick, it would really be something!!