Weird engine time!

[Tom]

I thought y'all might get a kick out of this thing. The back story: Jaguar has a 5.0L V8. Power wise, its a mighty fine engine. We won't go further then that about it So they thought to themselves, chevy chopped 2 cylinders off a V8 and made a sweet V6, we should do the same. So they did. Kinda. (They also de-bored it so it would be a 3.0L].

The thing is, they didn't chop the cylinders off. They just blanked them on the block. So you have a V8 block, de-bored, with the rear two cylinders not machined out. But they didn't stop there with the weirdness. Oh no. Because it still uses a v8 length crank, the blank cylinder spot get a little counterweight balancer (not in photo).

At this point your thinking, wtf mate? But the best is last. They gave it [V8 doesn't use this setup, its normal] a SPLIT PIN CRANKSHAFT!!!!!! I've never seen that before. And the icing on the cake, offset connecting rods.

[Ol Blue K20]

Strange, they can keep it.

[yuccales]

For some strange reason I thought of the 4-Cylinder Comanche Engine by IH. Besides, everyone knows Jags are supposed to have SBC's in them.

[Getter-Done]

Is this where the Engineer jokes are going to start

That is just Messed Up. IMHO

[special-K]

Is this a current design?

As if Jaguars weren't unreliable enough already. "Let's really test our luck with this one". My statement comes from the opinion I formed in the '60s long before I was driving. My dad's best friend ran an exotic/Euro car repair shop. As a kid I was a big fan of the Euro sports cars, especially Jags. This shop was in Annapolis, MD where it was sailboats and fancy Euro cars. He had them all in there, Marcos, TVRs, etc. I'd go with my dad and hang out on the weekends and I soon learned these beloved cars were maintenance nightmares. Always Jags in there with any assortment of issues. I came up with, "Nice cars but you need to keep a screwdriver in your pocket". My dad's buddy liked that. I have no knowledge of them beyond those days. Could be different, but I'm not so convinced seeing this manufacturing mistake. They could take lessons from Chevy, and not sleep through half the class!

[truckster]

Weird, indeed. It makes you appreciate the simple elegance of the SBC design.

[Stocker]

Applying British understatement, that engine does seem a bit odd.

[57taskforce]

Those rods remind me of the 5.9/6.7 Cummins, with the exception of the jag rods not being fractured and having a lot less meat on them

Definitely a dumb setup, however those cylinder squirters are pretty nifty.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by yuccales

everyone knows Jags are supposed to have SBC's in them.

You got that right. My XJ may not look like a Chevy until you pop the hood or hear it running. It's a Chevy in a fancy suit.

[special-K]

Jagulet

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by yuccales

For some strange reason I thought of the 4-Cylinder Comanche Engine by IH. Besides, everyone knows Jags are supposed to have SBC's in them.

Right? They also need painless wiring...

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Right? They also need painless wiring...

Let the Lucas jokes begin!

[Ol Blue K20]

He invented the short and warm beer!

[Tom]

Originally Posted by special-K

Is this a current design?

Yes. This is the 3.0L Supercharged V6 in every Land Rover and Jaguar out currently. It will soon be replaced by an inline 6 cylinder.

Reliability wise they aren't terrible with the exception of overheating. If [actually when] that happens the head gaskets are toast at best, the entire engine is dead at worst. Same thing with the 5.0L V8 its based on. They put the temp sensor on a plastic crossover tube between the heads. It splits, and looses coolant. So the sensor doesn't read anything. By the time you know the engine is overheating, its way beyond saving.

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

He invented the short and warm beer!

A warm beer and this, all is good!

[RustyPile]

I was a shop owner in the '80s and friends with the local Lincoln/Mercury dealership service manager.. The dealership was also the Jaguar dealer.. He had his Jaguar sitting in the back of the shop where he worked on it.. He had removed the engine, transmission and COMPLETE wiring harness.. He had installed an SBC/TH400, and was installing GM electrical system.

I don't know if he ever finished it. A consortium of people/investors came in and bought the Lincoln Mercury part and the "other lines" were sent elsewhere...

[LS short box]

I think Buick V6's had off set crank/rods to make a 90 degree V6 run smoother. Chev had a 229 cube V6 in the early 80's. It was a total POS.
There is a company called "Jaguar's that run" that will sell you every part you need to put a small block in your Jag.
Lucas the prince o darkness.

[special-K]

You guys know why Brits drink warm beer, right?

Do you need the punchline?

Originally Posted by Tom

Yes. This is the 3.0L Supercharged V6 in every Land Rover and Jaguar out currently. It will soon be replaced by an inline 6 cylinder.

Reliability wise they aren't terrible with the exception of overheating. If [actually when] that happens the head gaskets are toast at best, the entire engine is dead at worst. Same thing with the 5.0L V8 its based on. They put the temp sensor on a plastic crossover tube between the heads. It splits, and looses coolant. So the sensor doesn't read anything. By the time you know the engine is overheating, its way beyond saving.

Cheap out on a part protecting an expensive engine. I never knew about these engines. I'm sure I'll wind up seeing one now.

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by special-K

You guys know why Brits drink warm beer, right?

Do you need the punchline?

Got to be a refrigerator joke in there somewhere.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by yuccales

Got to be a refrigerator joke in there somewhere.

Lucas did the refrigeration too....

[special-K]

Hey, Lucas refrigerators. Now that's funny. I'll change it to that !

[Accelo]

Got me going:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
>Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.
"I have had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never had any trou..."
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.

[joedoh]

i had a wire wheeled mga once and my date was very impressed by riding in a convertible, until twilight when i turned on the lights and the dash erupted in flames. i dumped my tea to extinguish it and drove her home. the next day I took it to a british garage and after describing the issue to the little guy in a tweed flat cap he said "AHA LUCAS! THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS!" after that i only understood a few of the words, so thick was his accent. i asked him what went wrong and he just looked at me as if the question was unexpected and preposterous. he said "what do you mean?" very flatly, as if you should expect a wire fire now and then

my last british car.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by joedoh

i had a wire wheeled mga once and my date was very impressed by riding in a convertible, until twilight when i turned on the lights and the dash erupted in flames. i dumped my tea to extinguish it and drove her home. the next day I took it to a british garage and after describing the issue to the little guy in a tweed flat cap he said "AHA LUCAS! THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS!" after that i only understood a few of the words, so thick was his accent. i asked him what went wrong and he just looked at me as if the question was unexpected and preposterous. he said "what do you mean?" very flatly, as if you should expect a wire fire now and then

my last british car.

They are good looking cars. I had a red 69 MGB and it looked great even standing still. Which is mostly what it did.

The tail lights never worked for long. I would get them working and that lasted about a day. My wife had a TR8 and had so much trouble with it she finally sold it for peanuts and had it towed away.

But she missed her TR8 so I bought her a low mile TR7 because I couldn't find a TR8 and we had no problems with it at all.

I sold it to a guy I know who is from England and collects British cars and then never heard from him again. I thought that I had sold him a lemon and he was mad but it turns out that he died about a month after buying the car.

[special-K]

My dad was into Land Rovers. He had two 109s ('59 & '62) and two 88s ('65 & '68). So only the '68 with wide headlights. All were 4cyl. The '62 was our first. I used to drive it to HS sometimes...and other times. Never had electrical issues with any. But dad always wanted to swap a Chevy straight-6 into one. That was a very common swap. I really liked those and wanted to Chevyfy one (Chevy drivetrain) but I was heavy into 67-72s by the time he was ready to let them go. He had four Land Rovers and I had four 69-72 K/5s. Got me realizing I was more like my dad than I thought

Here's another not quite as weird engine. The Laydown Offenhauser. I found pictures from Hemmings Motor News but it seems I'm not allowed to share them. Not a weird engine as much as it's configuration. A dohc inline laid on it's side, low and wide