We manual-swapped our cheap supercharged Jaguar! | Project Jaaaag Ep.3

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In this episode of Project Jaaaag, the Japanese XKR grows three pedals and a gearstick!
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[@justwokup7021]

1st

[@bradley8187]

Please help us get hammonds workshop in the USA. It's the main reason I bought discovery plus

[@zewise1]

Can we appreciate that there is no episode 2 and no one noticed?

[@mrpink8951]

Four diamonds mysteriously hidden beneath the gear shift? Drive Tribe might be getting a visit from the Yakuza soom 😅

[@gykie-poo]

Former US Navy sailor here. Sounds like the Jag was owned by a sailor and that it went from Norfolk VA to Pensacola FL and then to either Sasebo or Okinawa Japan. Pretty cool story.

[@zloychechen5150]

did the army/navy pay for the import to Japan, or was there a special procedure in place?

[@holyslothgod3623]

@@zloychechen5150 They sometimes park the cars on the deck of carriers, no extra cost other than the bit more fuel

[@scottryan1989]

Brilliant this

[@pjotrtje0NL]

Ehm, carriers usually go with 70+ aircraft​ on them, @@holyslothgod3623 There’s very little space available. Further, normal sailors go to Japan for 6-12 months, after which they return stateside. It most probably was someone who was going to be there for a longer time, like base management?

[@zloychechen5150]

@@holyslothgod3623 i mean import duties and what not. the shipping, i'd imagine, is somewhat insignificant in comparison.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

It didn't catch fire, it was having a smoke. A proper Jag always loves a drink and a smoke.

[@ihathtelekinesis]

As long as the cigarettes are "borrowed" from a friend.

[@roodick85]

A true gentleman car 🍸

[@colapone1895]

needed a light flood of Scotch and a momentary smoke to think things through

[@Brasc]

But it was alright because it's a Jaaaaaag.

[@smonchie]

The sound of that V8 with no exhaust is glorious!

[@pjotrtje0NL]

It literally sounds like a Spitfire!

[@Games_and_Music]

Yeah, i wonder what it sounds like in the higher revs, but it sounded brutal so far.

[@Gordanovich02]

They should side pipe it.

[@JC-ln6on]

@@Gordanovich02 Gods above!

[@AnonymousAndy2]

Sounded awesome 😂

[@tomyunus3790]

Can you guys go into more detail about the manual swap? ECU updates? Flywheel, adapter?

[@bugattieb110ss]

Doubtful. They seem to behave like a bunch of children on Drivetribe, so I wouldn't hold your breath for any intelligent or in-depth detail.

[@GathersNoMoss]

Someone at Swallows Racing might respond to an email, if anyone wanted to know the finer details. A custom pedal box; propshaft and final drive from a 4.2 xk; ZF 6-speed gearbox from the 2.7L S-type diesel - were all mentioned during the video. Plus the clutch and flywheel. It would be interesting to know how much they would charge for a drive-in & drive-out swap service, or if they''d sell the extra parts as a swap kit.

[@ingrampowell9111]

ECU should be fine - just change the auto into neutral and switch off, then replace transmission. But I expected to see the flex plate modified to become the flywheel, while it sounds as if there is now no flywheel at all!

[@Yvolve]

This XKR is the perfect car to go ham with in terms of mods, in my opinion. It is a run of the mill XKR, so no heritage to worry about and it is somewhat rough already. Not many Jag's get seriously built, including a body kit, which would be cool to see, especially with Mike's love for Jag's. This made me think about the M5 wagon and other cars, where the comments were full of people pleading to keep them stock, including me. Mike lamented this a while back, but I think it is because you find all these gems. One-off's, rare models or pristine cars, which are too rare or nice to mod. Stock versions of great cars are becoming more and more rare, so people want to see them preserved, instead of modded.

[@jacobsaid6263]

Drivetribe, converting the worlds autos to manuals, one car at a time 👍🤣

[@jbethel65]

Definitely need to keep that sound 🤯, no one in the states modifies Jags that way. Sounded AMAZING

[@onefastboi14]

That’s because no one here in the US hardly has one. I’ve got a 07 XJ8 and have only met a handful of people with one. Love mine, have over 225k miles on it

[@jbethel65]

@@onefastboi14 I'm really tempted to start looking around just off of these videos. May make a fun track day sedan. Although they desperately need a diet to be competitive

[@onefastboi14]

@@jbethel65 well the years from 04-09 mechanically they’re pretty sound, the main trouble they have is the air suspension on the XJ’s. I did a BC Coilover swap on mine and haven’t looked back since. With the chassis being aluminum mine weighs around 3700 pounds. Fun car for sure, and the supercharged ones more so. My father has a Super V8 and it’s a hoot to drive.

[@jensenhealey907efi]

It is the same issue with the V12 XJS cars that had the GM TH400 transmissions. Swapping a manual into one of those makes a HUGE difference in the way the car drives.

[@joshuaowen6185]

*Alex's confidence drops slightly* Also what a noise without the exhaust.

[@AutoalexCars]

GAME ON!

[@bigmarc1008]

@@AutoalexCars Add some NOS Alex, that'll see 'em off!

[@ConnorHammond]

Gotta give props to the videographers and editors, as well as Alex for improving massively over time. Great stuff, lads

[@ZeeBri]

The plate on the X type being "FML" was perfect

[@TyinAlaska]

I'm SO happy there's projects on this page now.

[@marclangman4836]

He could have easily turned this one video into three if they showed more detail and explained the process. Would enjoy that a lot more.

[@michaelbolt4530]

Nice work, would be nice to see a little more on how they fabricated the stuff and put in any awkward bits they encountered

[@olliesadventures185]

Agree with this! I picked up my XKR last week and would love to see the work they do to tidy up the bodywork etc

[@muria64]

Yes agreed. Seeing all those junk jags in the back of their shop, I’d imagine they have plenty of parts to harvest in order to make things fit like OEM stock. While this is edited for dramatic effect, the details in parts and process to make it fit properly which was omitted would really be useful for enthusiasts who want to recreate this for their own jags. I have an 01 XJR and I would love to manual swap mine without butchering the car.

[@rssvss]

Betting they outsourced the work to a competent mechanic.

[@muria64]

@@rssvss absolutely!

[@tomazikov]

That’s a hella of noise . He was right it defintly sounds like a Spitfire ❤

[@jjaam66]

Let’s go, I can tell that this series is going to be so cool

[@jskatton7751]

A xkr owner here. I am so confused and thrilled at the same time 😂 Felt so sorry for that car left out alone to push koiranputki, great that you salvaged her ❤

[@fedorsamokhin4495]

The best Drivetribe series ever. I now look forward to next project episode more than new Grand Tour episodes.

[@MartinPittBradley]

Besides a concept car, I’ve only seen this on LS-swapped XKs, so thank you for fixing this car!

[@iainbagnall4825]

Yeah I want to know more about how this is done... my understanding was that you couldnt do this without going aftermarket on the ECU, which makes doing this in a lot of US states a non-starter due to emissions rules. Thus the LS swaps you see - they are easier to register for road use in the US. If there is a way to do this for under $10,000 that is smog legal, I would be all ears. Would need to be a reasonably light clutch though, half the point of the Jag for me was to have a nice convertible the wife can share the driving with me on (she's fine with manual trans but a very heavy/snatchy/race clutch with a teeny weeny bite point would be a problem for her). All told I would want to retain the Jag V8 at all costs for such a build... its a lovely engine and very different character to an LS, and lets face it, LS swaps are a bit dull and if I wanted an LS powered convertible manual GT car I'd just go out and buy one. That does lead me to the awful realisation though, that the Jag XKR is basically a British Camaro lol

[@user-ue6iv2rd1n]

@@iainbagnall4825 If you're building custom cars you would probably know somebody who will pass the car for you regardless of emissions. In the UK anyway, most modified cars would fail a genuine test.

[@Moparornocar74]

That Mercedes box is part of why I bought my XJR, because the Jag transmission was made of glass

[@russellb1212]

Great series so far, enjoy the hands on approach and how work is done

[@diegogobeti]

Yes !!! More manual conversions !!! #SaveTheManuals Cheers from Brazil

[@baileywebb6262]

Absolutely loving your work Mike. Have recently got back into drivetribe and you’re smashing it out of the park. Keep it up!

[@thejudge-kv2jk]

This is great I must say! Slight suggestion would be to show a little bit more mechanics please.

[@TheKriptikGamer]

Absolutely loving this series and this channel. So glad i found you guys.

[@GuvernorDave]

10:40 the colour grading, music and cinematography have great old top-gear vibes

[@arags2]

Excellent job as always Mike & co. The absolute best auto channel anywhere. Keep up the great work!

[@leobasra]

oh I'm so excited for this series, I got one of these, definitely would love to do the manual conversion one day, can't wait to see the mods!!!

[@DERKADERRR1]

Hey guys, loved the video. Just wanted to say thanks for also making the advertisement in the middle actually genuinely interesting, it was great to hear the history of the car.

[@cmcb7230]

Wow what an amazing story that car has. I’m glad it’s in the hands of someone that will appreciate it.

[@beermonster1234]

Loving this series already. That jag sounded nauuughty without an exhaust! Looking forward to next instalment

[@abg9964]

Now, these XKRs will be impossible to find……love the idea of a manual XKR and that deleted exhaust sounds like a beast

[@davidknowles2491]

It didn't sound like a Spitfire, it sounded like hellfire!

[@user-gc1zn5mn4p]

As a Mercedes-Benz owner-driver I'm not surprised this Jag had an M-B gearbox--they're bulletproof.

[@alexcocking7288]

Great video as ever. Loved the look on your face when you fired it up without the exhausts..!!

[@dlygrind]

Thumbs up for Mike! Awesome series. Really liked the camera work on when he was cleaning it.

[@u04pww2]

Awesome to watch the process, thank you

[@michaelbaines5970]

Don't care who you are 12:07 is the best bit!!! THE NOISE

[@paultaylor9652]

Lovely Jubbly, that sound was immense and so much better than someone else's before they has just had a custom exhaust made on a saloon Jaguar.

[@ljautozltd]

Always worth a watch look forward to seeing next one

[@jasonnkumbula6280]

You should try making it a XKRR replica like the one driven on topgear in season3

[@tombloos3996]

What ever happened to the mx5 with the tiny v10 engine?

[@danwylde8892]

Love the work swallows so, used to send my 2017 XFS to them for work, including performance mods!

[@PerdixDesignLtd]

Mike's a great presenter and this is a great build!

[@mtrevino8510]

Great work excited for the next video. IF you ever decide to sell it let me know . I'd love to spend a couple of weeks driving it around and then shipping back to the home..

[@rogerdickinson6944]

Great production on this!

[@jacobrumens9601]

Now that is what I call a Jaguar XKR! Left hand drive, and with a manual! 😊🐆

[@andydufresne8034]

I just passed one of these parked on the side of the road a couple hours ago and had to slow down to look at it. So beautiful.

[@elmofeneken4364]

Mike, loved this video and can't wait for the next part. Cool!

[@aimanazrie8944]

I can feel the sound 😂 I've worked on a Defender before with a V8, and the sound of the engine without the exhaust is just brutal.

[@inthemitch]

Hats off to whoever edits these videos! Also, straight pipe straight pipe straight pipe!!

[@cliveadams7629]

I'm definitely going to get me one of these and the manual gearbox conversion is very tempting....

[@ponpon55ponpon96]

I am of the same opinion as you.😉

[@TyphloRanitar]

Yeah, love these Jaaaag-isodes!

[@benpenagonzales6014]

The AJV8 engine is proper awesome! .. I asked Tom lenthall jag about doing a manual conversion but sadly my coupe was too rot!

[@jjefferyworboys8138]

Interesting choice of gearbox, makes sense.

[@bghoody5665]

To Mike and everyone at DRIVETRIBE, if you buying cars all the time means we get to see you work on/restore them, then by all means, by more cars. This is awesome.

[@Yahboishaboss]

Ohh yesss this is such an exciting build!

[@yobgodababua1862]

Very snappy salute there to send of the slushbox.

[@benji4840]

This manual conversion thing is a awesome idea,

[@MK1astranut]

it might be the first XKR with a manual box but its not the first time that engine has had a manual box added to it,my mate has a morris minor pickup running the same 4.0 V8 engine (AJ26 SC) with a ford 6 speed box running a Speeduino ECU i built, and another mate has the same engine and auto box (722.6) in another moris minor drag car running the same speeduino ecu but we added a SPItronics TCU to run the box, i did the wiring and ECU's for both

[@clintizzo7693]

Love this stuff!!! More please.

[@ivangoat]

What a beauty! The 80s and 90s had some gems

[@bicyclist2]

Great Job!! I just wish this car would have had a manual transmission when it was new. I was very surprised to see that the automatic trans was a Mercedes unit. If I had a Jag XJ8 or XJR I'd send it to this shop for a manual conversion. I hope to see a dyno test of this in the near future. Thank you.

[@charliegoodwin8949]

The Rs had the Benz unit all the normal ones had a jag trans which was less reliable

[@edwardboba8860]

MVP: that X-type's windscreen!

[@eevee_p]

How many high fives were shared around the office when you worked out the Jag's history? What a great way to do the CarVertical brand thing. Utterly fascinating tale!

[@jondavies1500]

My new favorite video of 2022… I was actually fist pumping in the air when I saw it drive forward

[@Journey2scratch]

Love a manual swap project

[@michaelclose7756]

This was an awesome video!! subbed with notifications now lol

[@filipegil8752]

The sound of that thing without exhaust... Wow! 😎

[@sardav160479]

Loving Project Jag

[@kenxiong6830]

Simply amazing!!!

[@ishmael4489]

I'm not even a Jag fan, but I really like the look of these xkr's.

[@Kelo7]

I'm enjoying this series

[@setusername8275]

I swear Drivetribe's content gets more enjoyable with each video they upload.

[@mistreku]

can't wait for this!

[@54mgtf22]

Love your work 👍

[@claudiodelbalzomoreno2860]

Lol the transmission "sendoff" scene was pure gold.

[@andrewwhite1305]

Nice form with the "hammer"-throw

[@bob6383]

Great story boys… keep it up

[@CalumRaasay]

Being a jag, those diamonds probably came from the previous owners last house robbery

[@המכונהשבאופנוע]

Your video editor is great!

[@kabongpope]

This is definitely going to be a monster when it's fully sorted

[@hrob123]

very appropriate number plate for the Jaaaaag taking the impact from the 'slush box'

[@johnjoseph911]

Really keen to see how the extra punch switching the auto out delivers. Is it a game changer like it is in the Porsche 928?

[@ravager890]

awww,, to think that this jaaaggg was originally from Japan 😅😅 but it certainly circumnavigated the globe, having returned to where it was build.

[@SergioFonseca-or3go]

I know where one of these is rotting away too bad I don't have the funds to aquire her but I can watch on here seeing Mike have fun and smile is alright

[@Googlencraptubesuckabandonship]

I dig the grill on that thing.

[@davidnichols9286]

Thanks for getting rid of the Yankees cap 👍🏻

[@EchoAlpha_x5]

Sir. In the beginning of the video, when you welcomed us to Project Jaaaag, you said Jag. One must say it as it is! Jaaaaaag!

[@sparky4878]

Couldn’t that old box be sold to recoup some of the manual conversion costs?

[@juanmaldonado3281]

THE PEDALS PART. WE WANT TO SEE. IS GOIN TO BE. INTERESTING. AND. TNKS

[@gearyofwar]

Manual Swap Mike at it again

[@AnonymousCaveman]

My jaw litterally dropped when you revved that V8 😯😯😯

[@okeyezeilo6187]

Best looking Jag of all, outside the e-type...

[@blondeboi]

That noise 😍

[@biboKralle]

9:57 Go-go-gadget-o-manual!!

[@f-u-nkyf-u-ntime]

I use Swallows for my Jags, they are an excellent specialist. I wouldn't take my cars anywhere else. Highly recommended.

[@rafaeldasilva6247]

Thanks for clarifying that the X-Type was already going to be cubed anyway the next day (at 11:16). Sounds silly, but wanton destruction of cars for entertainment (even unloved cars) bums me out, and I'm glad I could enjoy guilt free that slushbox bouncing off the windshield - in an awesomely underwhelming way!

[@spiv]

i would love for the original owner who had this shipped to japan find this video

[@Satchm00]

Let’s see that SV8 in the background running ❤