Getting my jaguar painted...

[bmacd]

My jag is in dire need of a paint job. The car is an '85 and the paint looks like fiber glass resin with the way that it's all spider-webbed. I'm also looking to drop a chevy 350 engine into it near the end of summer/early fall. Should i wait until the engine is pulled so that they can do the engine bay as well? I also have some cancerous rust spots on the car, and some light rust. I think i'd need a full strip down to the bare metal, then primed and repainted for it to look even halfway decent. Is Maaco really as bad as everybody says it is? I don't want to drop a TON of money into this, but i'd rather pay a little more and get it done right. I don't know the color that i want either....pearl white looks sharp, as well as high-gloss black.

Help. I live in metro-detroit if anybody is willing to suggest a reputable shop.

color/style of my car

thanks

-=bmacd=-

 

[FrustratedUser]

A chevy 350 in a Jaguar. :frown:

No no no

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
A chevy 350 in a Jaguar. :frown:

No no no

what do you mean no no no? The stock 6 cyli sucks!!!! And i think i'm starting to develop tranny problems, and i certainly don't want to replace it with another same unit. Besides, it'll give me something to keep up with my friend's stangs and camaros

-=bmacd=-

 

[skyking]

Advice: Do not paint the car first. It will suck bigtime when you scratch the heck out of it doing the install. Pull the motor, do all the mods, paint the engine compartment after you get all the mount work done and know how it fits. Don't worry about a perfect paint match on the firewall, all that matters is the fender edges under the hood. I would even consider a contrasting color for the lower firewall.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: bmacd
My jag is in dire need of a paint job. The car is an '85 and the paint looks like fiber glass resin with the way that it's all spider-webbed. I'm also looking to drop a chevy 350 engine into it near the end of summer/early fall. Should i wait until the engine is pulled so that they can do the engine bay as well? I also have some cancerous rust spots on the car, and some light rust. I think i'd need a full strip down to the bare metal, then primed and repainted for it to look even halfway decent. Is Maaco really as bad as everybody says it is? I don't want to drop a TON of money into this, but i'd rather pay a little more and get it done right. I don't know the color that i want either....pearl white looks sharp, as well as high-gloss black.

Help. I live in metro-detroit if anybody is willing to suggest a reputable shop.

color/style of my car

thanks

-=bmacd=-

that is an old school jag

 

[amdskip]

I would wait until the motor is pulled and then just shoot the engine bay. Put the motor in and then paint the rest of the car.

A 350 is a very wise choice. I love mine but it loves gas more than me😛

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I would wait until the motor is pulled and then just shoot the engine bay. Put the motor in and then paint the rest of the car.

A 350 is a very wise choice. I love mine but it loves gas more than me😛

i'm already getting 14/16 mpg on this 6 cylinder. Something like 10-12/14 on my explorer. I'd rather have a sleeper than a creeper.

-=bmacd=-

 

[denali]

One of my former bosses did the same thing a few years ago spent several months getting a corvette engine installed and working. After he got it finished the car would really move.

 

[skyking]

I have seen older Jags with small block fords( 302,289) these are significantly narrower and lighter than small block chevs, so they fit into straight-engine spaces better. I am not dissing chev, but the ford is easier to shoehorn😉

 

[Ornery]

Awesome choice of ride, bro! I came this close to buying an XJ6 about 20 years ago, but the price for replacement parts scared me off. I think I will do it someday, though. Still LOVE that body style. "Old school" my ass! What a tard!

You've got plenty of support for that drive train swap. Well worth doing the paint right, too. I don't see how you could avoid stripping that old paint. I'd shop long and hard for somebody to do it right. Easy for me to say. I'm NOT paying for it!

Happy Motoring!

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Awesome choice of ride, bro! I came this close to buying an XJ6 about 20 years ago, but the price for replacement parts scared me off. I think I will do it someday, though. Still LOVE that body style. "Old school" my ass! What a tard!

You've got plenty of support for that drive train swap. Well worth doing the paint right, too. I don't see how you could avoid stripping that old paint. I'd shop long and hard for somebody to do it right. Easy for me to say. I'm NOT paying for it!

Happy Motoring!

Thanks Ornery! I've been to a lot of places online that offer the conversion kit, and they're certainly not cheap. I haven't tried calling locally to see if anybody will do it, but that's next on my list.

The Jag is awesome!! Personally, i think i should have opted for a body with a little less rust spots, but things will eventually work out in my favor and this car is sooo cool, so i'll be fine. Replacements parts are extremely expensive, and a new jag dealership just opened up about two miles from my house. A new antenna mast alone was $230, so i was forced to go aftermarket. I dunno...i'm gonna retro this car out and keep it for a while.

**Still looking for MI paint shops....**

-=bmacd=-

 

[Jeffwo]

I am in MS so I wouldn't know any paint shops in MI but if you had the car here, I could paint
it for ya. I would not trust some place like MAACO. It would come out looking like you paid
$199. for your paint job. Remember, the insides of the doors, the jambs and under your hood
or trunk must be painted too when you change colors. This is gonna cost extra. And, get your
motor work done before the paint work.

BTW, I have seen these cars with the 350 retrofit and they look real good. They sell a
complete kit for this change-over, including the wiring harness, motor mounts and all.

Good luck with it!

Jeff

 

[LethalWolfe]

Maaco is suck. My gf got her car painted by them and she had to have it repainted 2 or 3 times inside a 12 month period.


Lethal

 

[T2T III]

The car = champaign tastes
Small-block Chevy engine = beer budget

Actually, I remember listening to Pat Goss on the radio a few years back. He indicated that the earlier Jaguars had quite a few problems with the seals and gaskets leaking. I think going with a different engine as you have described sounds like the way to go.

Back in the day - about 22 years ago for me, a few friends were putting small-block (283 c.i.) Chevy engines in their Chevrolet Vega's. I don't think that a 350 c.i. would have fit as well, but I do remember those little 2,300 pound cars scooting - at that was with a 2-barrel carb.

 

[squirrelman]

Nice choice on the car. I really wanted a Jag myself, although I wanted the XJS. What scared me away in the end was the horrible gas mileage from the V12 and the high cost of repairs. So I went with a 1980 Mercedes 450SL instead hehe. Oh well at least I get like 18mpg on the highway.

 

[Ju1cyJ]

Originally posted by: wje

Back in the day - about 22 years ago for me, a few friends were putting small-block (283 c.i.) Chevy engines in their Chevrolet Vega's. I don't think that a 350 c.i. would have fit as well, but I do remember those little 2,300 pound cars scooting - at that was with a 2-barrel carb.

Weird, a 283 sb, should be the same size as a 350, as they are both sb's, and therefore have the same size short block/ long block.



Have fun doing the Bow-Tie in a Jag combo, but there are some real draw backs. Your resale value will be crap, maybe thats not true on 80+ jag's, but I know there are a few XK's and E's out there with a 350 under the hood that rn't worth more than 5 grand, even if they are cherry.

If you do drop in a 350, I recommend really going all out. Build the engine to be fairly mild so the rear end can take it, but atleast have it put out 350-400 horse. Mate it to TH400 that only costs 900 bucks, and can take anything ya can throw at it. I dont know what rear end that gen jags had, but the old ones could take quite a bit of horse and hooked up great (independent rear for starters...). You may wanna change the gears, they are prolly like 2.73's!

Happy driving.