The 'E' Type Forum

Hi,
I have to imagine this question has been asked a million times, but I've not been able to find any threads on the topic. What does it take to fit a V12 in an S1 FHC?

I realize the S1 birdcage is much narrower than the S3, but I know I've seen some V8's slung in so it's not obvious to me why a 12 wouldn't be possible.

Thanks,
Daniel

Hi Daniel. ....I have never heard anyone on this forum ask this question.....and there are no instructions here how to do it...or even to fit a V8........anything can be done as in custom shops...this forum is much more about keeping things fairly original.....S1 cars are quite valuable now with a standard engine........price will plummet with a V8 or V12.......Steve

Daniel,

Anything is possible, indeed Jaguar did it to the Series 2 2+2 coupe in development work for the Series 3.

But as advised - why would you?

Garry

Jason Len of xk's unlimited had a swb roadster converted to a v12. It involved changes to the bulkhead plus the frames from a series3 if I remember right. The car is now in Jay Leno's collection and he has produced a video about it. Definitely a deep pocket exercise.

TurboWood wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:04 pm

What does it take to fit a V12 in an S1 FHC?

Yep, you won't get much support for that idea among us on this forum.

Why not get a S3 and rather spend your money on fitting a 5-sp transmission ? (this is the S3's biggest issue after a modern ignition system)

I am the technical caretaker of a friend's S1 4.2 and was surprised by that car's low revving grunt and agility. Have you driven a well sorted S1 yet?

It has been done before. There’s at least 2 cars out there. One being the one owned by Jay Leno as already mentioned. The other being this https://petrolicious.com/articles/nicko-e-type

In the blue car, it seems the exercise involves grafting the whole series 3 front end and bulkhead onto the SWB shell. In the case of Jay Leon’s car, I think it’s a series 3 that’s been shortened using some SWB panels. There’s a video on the web about it somewhere that explains some of the challenges in making it.

Personally I like the idea of a SWB V12. Whilst I wouldn’t cut up a complete series 1 or 2 to make it, cars missing their original engines still come up for sale occasionally and could make a good starting point. I suspect the fact that this wasn’t a common conversion back when the cars were cheap means the V12 won’t easily fit in the SWB frames.

I wouldn’t follow any of the V8 converted cars as examples of how to do things. Some of them are horrific, with the front frames crudely cut and welded to get the engine in.

Thanks everyone! I know such an endever would not be terribly simple and there is risk of reduced value, but I'm not sure that's the case. I'm in the US and from what I can tell there appears to be a shift in what buyers of historic vehicles are looking for. Princibly I think the shift is away from museum pieces and into drivers. There is also more Terrance for restomod so long as the work is well done.

It's unwise to base everything on one auction but a '64 S1 FHC recently sold for 185k on Bring a Trailer with a more or less stock V8 crate engine from Ford. The work was well done and we'll advertised, but it's an indication of what I described.

I'm starting with a right hand drive '63 FHC that my Dad bought some 25 yrs ago or so, but was parked after he didn't find the motivation to fix a leaky brake caliper about 20yrs ago. I'm in the research stage now, but as most of the systems need refreshing (at minimum), the scope of the project can take almost any form.

Daniel

Hi Daniel....worth you checking with the guys in the US.....on the Jag Lovers forum. ...they have an E type section and some very knowlegable guys who know the current market.....may well be worth you selling what you have then buying another cheap badly converted E then doing your "Resto mod"...may even pay for itself.....Steve https://forums.jag-lovers.com/

If you want a V12, buy a Series 3

pm sent.

I cannot offer any details on performing such a swap, but I’m curious what you’re looking to achieve by doing this, Daniel. If you’re looking for more power, the V12 only had a few more HP than the 4.2 or 3.8 but added a lot of weight. You indicated you’re interested in a driver, but it seems this would take a very well-balanced car and seriously disrupt the weight distribution without much to gain. If HP is what you seek, it seems a better approach would be to build out a hotter 6 with pistons, cams, etc. This wouldn’t require all the extensive engineering needed to fit a 12.