Fitting A Barra I6T To Another Vehicle

[Woznaldo]

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum, but thought it the best place to start when thinking of using a Turbocharged Barra.

I have a Series 1 Jaguar XJ6 4.2 that is in great condition for its age but the standard XK engine is probably in need of a rebuild. That said, I think I want to take this opportunity to replace the engine with something a bit more modern.

Many people just throw in a Small Block Chevy or even an LS1-3, but I'd like to stick with a Six. I have been looking at Jaguars own AJ6 and AJ16 engines. The AJ16S (The S is for supercharged) looked like a good bet, but engines are hard to come by in Aus and when they do pop up, it's for silly money. There's also not many tuning parts available for these engines, and therefore little chance to improve in the future.

Which brings me neatly on to the Ford Barra Inline Six. From what I have read so far, these engines a pretty robust and in Turbo form, offer some serious bang for your buck. I've also got the basic gist on what engines are best.

BA - Good

BF - Better

FG - Best (but small turbo)

Another good reason for going to the Barra is the AUto Box that comes with it. The 4sp Auto will be better than my current BW Type 12 3sp clunker and the 6sp Auto in the BF II onwards would be delightful!

Now on to questions:

1. What parts will I need on top of the Engine and Transmission for a standalone conversion?

- All ancillaries, Alt, AC Pump, PS Pump etc

- Engine Mount Brackets

- Tranny Mount Brackets

- ECU and Loom

- Tranny ECU if different to Engine ECU?

- Propshaft (to adapt to new car)

2. Where's the best place to buy the above? I'm based near Liverpool, NSW and would like to know what wreckers are good to deal with and what prices I should expect to pay.

- Engine & Tranny conversion kit $$$?

- Front Cut $$$?

- Written off XR6T/F6 $$$?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Woz

[sexual harrassment panda]

have you checked the height of the engine.

This will be awesome. Find an fg if you can

[Woznaldo]

An FG would be perfect, but they seem to be a bit pricey at the moment.

Just to put thing into perspective, my Jag was supposed to have 245bhp (183kw) and 287lb/ft (389Nm) of torque in standard high compression spec. Even when the cars were new I'd say that was a bit optimistic, but now the car would be lucky to be making 150bhp (112kw) and 250ft/lb (339Nm).

Now lets say I fit a BA 240T (240kw and 450Nm), that's already a decent chunk of grunt in the right direction.

I'm not after crazy performance..... .....yet! I would like to make the car more reliable and more drivable.

The Series 1 is a beautiful car but, the XK engine was already long in the tooth when they fitted it back in 1968.

[spinr33]

All the ones I've seen converted with ls1's cost at least 10-15k is that really an amount you want to commit to an old car ?

[matsfgxr6turbo]

Do it mate it will be so awesome to a classic like the jag with the heart of xr6 turbo best of both worlds

[Henz]

The zf 6 speed would be a nightmare. Stick to the btr 4 speed.

As for getting it in, you could go with the standard ecu which is the best option but complicated. Or a stand alone ecu.

[tab]

I think the electronics would be the greatest hurdle.

You might find this thread useful... http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/topic/80531-barra-turbo-into-transit-van/

And I think there was someone who had whacked one in a pajero or something, but can't find that. Yet.

Best of luck with it as it'd be an awesome combo - and please keep us posted.

[Woznaldo]

All the ones I've seen converted with ls1's cost at least 10-15k is that really an amount you want to commit to an old car ?

This is a car I'm going to keep so I'm not worried about the value after, but I don't want spend anywhere near that! A lot of the cost on the V8 conversions is the price of the conversion kit, which is before you add the cost of the engine.

I'm an Aircraft Technician by trade and have taken on projects in the past, so I would plan to do most of the work myself and get a Compliance Engineer in as required.

The zf 6 speed would be a nightmare. Stick to the btr 4 speed.

As for getting it in, you could go with the standard ecu which is the best option but complicated. Or a stand alone ecu.

I'm assuming the ZF6 would be a nightmare due to its electronic control requirements?

I'd probably like to stick with the standard ECU where possible and maintain some OE reliability. I have built a Megasquirt ECU for another project that worked really well. The MS1 that I used only had batch fire, but the later MS2 and MS3 are big jumps forward, with MS3 being a very capable piece of kit.

[johno]

Sounds like an interesting project mate. Go for it. Maybe go with a C4 auto so its one less electrical issue you have to deal with.

Trying to get a wrecked complete car will make it cheaper, I just did an LS1 into a Chev pickup, and got hold of a complete wreck.

A lot cheaper, and its surprising what small bits you will use from that wreck.

Get some pics up of the car.

[Ralph Wiggum]

get a wrecked zf bf. Get the pcm flashed to disable PATS and run the stock wiring and trans looms. that would be a great conversion