V12 Engine Installation in the XJ13

This XJ13 will be equipped with a worked 6.0lt V12 engine and is mated to a new Oerlikon Graziano 6-speed transaxle as used in the Lamborghini Gallardo. A bare block was used to begin the design and fabrication of the engine mounts. Due to the tight clearances of the transaxle and the mounting constraints a rigid mount system was required.

This rigid mount setup is similar to the mounts on the GT40 and it is surprising how little vibration there is with such a setup.

First step was to install the adapter plate to the block to allow the Jaguar to bolt to the transaxle.

The engine block could then be lowered into the rear of the car.

Once installed the space available for the engine mounts could be established.

Careful measurements allowed the chassis and engine block to be modeled in CAD and a simple engine mount concept developed.

The engine mount was developed with features to assist in alignment during engine installation. A mock-up was then made to ensure all was OK before laser cutting the parts.

The mount components were positioned for TIG welding.

After cutting an access hole in the chassis for the chassis backing pates for the engine mounts it was felt that the chassis needed bracing were the mounts were bolted to the chassis. A large brace that triangulated the side and base of the chassis was fabricated and installed.

This effectively distributed the engine mount loads over a larger chassis area to unsure that chassis deflection was kept to a minimum.

After torquing both sides of the mounts it was good to see that the main bolt could slide out on either side of the chassis. Everything was aligned well without residual stresses.