Jaguar MK2 | XK Engine Tear Down

We head up to see our Jaguar straight 6 3.4 XK engine stripped on the bench and find out the damage.
vics.projects
Music: bensounds.com
Special thanks to Chip and the team at P&K Thornton
www.thorntonrestorations.com/
pkthorntonrestorations
/ channel

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Hi Vic, I do E-Types quite regularly. A word of caution about a fast-road setup. Uprated valve springs and lobe heights can cause considerable valve clatter in the engine bay. In some cases the fix is a louder exhaust!

[@withheld566]

I dont understand what the guy is saying about missing piston rings ? He holds a piston and saying "on your engine it had three or four piston rings fitted on the bottom while on the top you didn't have any". But he's showing a piston with three gaps the top two being piston rings and the lower being a oil ring. Where are the missing rings from "on the top" supposed to go ? and how has a single piston got four rings "on the bottom" Then he says the other piston has the right amount of rings but shows a piston with exactly the same two rings and an oil scrapper configuration ? All i can think is he's talking about *all* the pistons in engine and some individual pistons were missing bottom rings and all were missing top rings... but if that is the case then the piston he's showing us should have no right on the top but you can see one. Also that would leave the ones without bottom rings with zero rings other than an oil scrapper, how did those cylinders have any compression ?

[@rob19632]

Top hat liners would be the correct terminology. For the cylinder sleeves.

[@loupb9539]

I'd think twice about the piston upgrades. Many people will buy what ever the latest hype is. We've seen this with Healeys, get the super high compression pistons, just because you can. Then you need expensive rods, etc. The car never runs right or smooth again for very long - lots of internal stress. Many of these racing components are for racing engines that are torn down regularly. No harm in the head upgrades - that's usually the area of most deferred maintenance. Most of us will never make use of many of these 'mods' For me, I wouldn't mind a high-flow oil pump, we all get nervous at the Jag oil pressure at idle. Thanks for the video, hold onto your wallet.

[@john-paulthompson4932]

The guys at Thornton seem to know their stuff. I’ve enjoyed watching your Jag build. Mine is 1966 originally a 3.4 that had a 3.8 block fitted in 1990, long before I bought it in 2007. Apparently the 3.4 and 3.8 heads are the same. Is this not an easier route to more power? It would be good to know the final engine build cost, as mine needs doing soon. The good thing is that you have a nice family car there

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

He already has the best B-Type head before going straight port with the more expensive intake system. Easiest route to more power is 4.2.

[@samueljohnclark]

Hey Vic, what’s happening with the engine. Is the rebuild complete??

[@vicsprojects]

The video won't be out for awhile, best bet to stay up to date is via my Instagram, lots of good pictures of it coming together on there

[@samueljohnclark]

@@vicsprojects ok ta

[@AllenManor]

It's a shame it wasn't rebuilt correctly, but whoever did it probably did the best they knew how. Sometimes it's best to pay an expert though.

[@vicsprojects]

Well said Allen! Whoever had the car before me loved it to bits and did everything to the best of their budget and ability, that's the reason it's in good overall shape today 60 years after it left the factory.

[@DAVJULART]

I wouldn’t slate the previous mechanic owner too much as I doubt they did much wrong when servicing the engine. That said, it does sound like the lower timing chain guides being loose is down to bolts not being correctly torqued at some point (or after 50 years perhaps they just thought it time to slacken off a bit). If this is the cause of recent noise then it's a very new problem. However, it seems like the 2 thou valve gap has probably closed up from when set. I bet they had the feeler gauges way too tight when last checking the gaps and so used the wrong shims. But the timing chain was positioned correctly or it wouldn't have run. It sounds like the damage in cylinder 2 was possibly caused by a broken spark plug electrode which might account for the main bearing scoring (likely due to something small and metallic being carried in the oil and I’d be interested to know if the camshaft journal bearings were similarly scored). Or something metallic dropped into the open spark plug hole. It doesn't sound like a broken ring as the damage wasn't too extensive. The carbon deposit on the valves and cylinder wall glazing or possibly burnishing was probably down to the driver running with an over rich mixture. Anyway XK de-coke, valve lapping and tappet shims adjustment timing is certainly no more difficult than most that Vic has done. Much fun ahead to had maintaining the refurbished engine.

[@oldjaaag9804]

It's good to have a deadline!

[@JokerUK1963]

Really enjoying your videos, I’m currently trying to restore a 3.8 stype not too far from you over in Calne

[@olenielsen6246]

Nice video, but if you leave out the rock music it is easier to hear what you are saying.

[@dougwernham5209]

Very interesting.

[@hueyhoolihan582]

interesting... i'm in the process of having the 3.4l engine in my '67 mkII replaced. expected cost about $20,000. i've wasted four months with an outfit that doesn't seem to have the ambition or know-how to do the job, so i'll soon be having the car and engine hauled from there, ohio, across the U.S. to idaho, where i've found, hopefully, a reputable establishment that can do the job. sounds like the block on your engine, maybe the head, crank and cam can be reused. ...i'll be getting, at LEAST, a new block as it is cracked and unusable., although i managed to drive it 3000 miles across the country from california to ohio last summer with that crack in the block and a blown head gasket. ...tough old engine, that... :(

[@vicsprojects]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Glad you're enjoying the videos, I'll let people know the final costs in the end....

[@gbhoday7160]

Great video as always Vic! A few things for your consideration. 1. High torque starter motor & 2. 123 tune + ignition… Bluetooth controlled timing, no weights and springs to deal with! It’s excellent. That in combination with a choke sys makes a huge difference to cold starting, my Xx engine jumped off the starter in -1c a few weeks ago. Keep it coming mate. I can only imagine the time and effort that goes into your production. Top notch!

[@vicsprojects]

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to getting it all back together! In one of my first episodes I fitted a 123 ignition, who makes the choke system you mention?

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Hi torque starters chew up original flywheel ringgears. Nothing wrong with the original unit.

[@gbhoday7160]

@@vicsprojects ah just saw this mate. The choke sys will be on your carburetors. Ah yes I do vaguely remember you fitting the 123 . I’ll recap sometime.

[@gbhoday7160]

@@RichardMichaelOwen ‘hello everybody, Richard Micheal Owen from Owen Automotive!’ 😃 I’m a long time subscriber, and Huge fan of your work and your Channel. The hi torque starter is working well for me but your advice definitely holds more weight. I’ll monitor my ring gears in future inspections. ❤

[@hartingtonbear]

Great video! would be good to see a cost breakdown if possible. Id be interested to see the cost difference between getting the problem parts machined your self and the cost of this full top quality job