An XJ Coupe with European flavor, modern handling upgrades, and a 400 hp LS2 + 6 speed manual trans surprise under the hood.......

Hello all. So I wanted to introduce you to a new project we have going on here at Jaguar Specialties, and that is our XJLS-C, a 2 door XJ coupe. Before I get into the details, there is one thing nearly every Jaguar enthusiast will agree with: The XJ6C and XJ12C (2 door) models made from 1975-1977 were one of the most attractive designs produced by the company. Despite limited budgets and significant engineering challenges, Jaguar finally brought the cars to production and they have remained popular since.  The entire manufacturing run was limited but a surprising number of the cars still exist, I think, because owners knew they were special and should be looked after a little more carefully. And I’ve always liked them too- back in 2007 when we started the first development work on LS engine conversions for Jaguars, the very first car we used was a 75 XJ6C. The project went very well, the XJ6-LS conversion became very popular, and I still have the car. That car, however, was very very custom - full body kit (it was on the car when I got it), big wheels/tires, special interior, of course the LS conversion (this one with an automatic). I always thought about doing another one, but something more under-the-radar: standard appearance/body, more period upgrades (Euro bumpers, Euro headlights, etc.,.), with LS power but this time a manual trans. So I kept an eye out for a good candidate and went off to work on other things…..

Fast forward through the next 13 years: we developed LS conversions for the XJS, XK8, and XJ8 models (with automatic or manual transmissions), worked with a supplier to reproduce the 7” European headlight conversion for the S1-2-3 XJ6, tooled up to make manual pedal boxes for XJS and XJ6, and more. Then, in late 2021, in the middle of the Pandemic, a local hot rod shop (that had actually built up a 76 XJ6C with LS power using one of our packages a year or 2 earlier) announced they were closing. The owner had liked the XJ6C they built so much he bought another one (a 1975 version) to do for himself. Now with the place closing, that project was never going to happen; he called me to see if I would want the car. And there it was: my chance to do another XJ coupe, the way I wanted. Overall the car looked pretty straight and was a Southwest car (Arizona, more details on the ups and downs of that later……). It had been converted to a Chevy 350 and T350 trans years ago (with a Mundorf kit- do you remember those??), but hadn’t run in forever. The body was pretty decent, it had a very faded tan velour interior, and the windshield had been removed and used on the other car the shop had built. For us in California the fact that the car was a 1975 model was a special bonus as it would be emissions exempt (not a small deal).  Here are some pics of it as it arrived- not spectacular, but good bones.