Moss Motors, Ltd

I had an XK120 when I was a youngster, and more than anything, I lpved the sound. I was watching an old movie The Fast and The Furious, done about 1955, that featured a couple of XK 140's. And I heard that sound again. Wow. I don't have a Jag at present, but I would like to have my two other cars (straight 2.8 six and 3.8 V8) sound like Jaguars. Heresy? Perhaps. But -- how do I go about it? Would it be enough to somehow find an XK muffler?

I doubt it! I had a XK120 back in 1965 and an XK 150 in 1974. The 120 had the stock exhaust and the150 had glass pack "cherry bombs". The Jaguar sound came from the engines. You know, bore, stroke,headers, I've got a TR6 now which is awfully nice but not the purrr and growl. You will NEVER forget it! Ken the poolboy. 

I think part of it was the smaller diameter pipes and straight through mufflers. Most exhaust on modern cars are a single big pipe which sounds deeper, but doesn't have the same growl.

I agree though, the design of the engines, manifolds and pipework all has to balance. I remember my best mate in highschool had an XK140 laid up in the garage with a bad clutch. His dad was a buyer and seller of classics and this one was being stored for a few weeks. We would sneak out to the garage and fire it up just to hear the growl. It's a good thing we knew about carbon monoxide, or we might have become statistics.

 

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Kelvin Dodd
Global Sourcing Engineer
Moss Motors, Ltd.
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roadster, I'm really glad you brought this subject up! I've been reminiscing about my cats. A sound that keeps conimg back is that 150 slipping into overdrive at about 85. BAAAROOMMMMMM. Thanks,poolboy.

I'm in hopes to hear that sound in a few weeks... I have my first Jag, a XK120 M FHC and I am in the process of replacing the fuel tank and exhaust and hope to let that sound out after 34 years of silence in a barn!

 

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Mike Newton
Buckfield, Maine
1953 XK120 SE FHC 1965 AC Cobra replica
BMW R1150 RT
"so many hobbies, so little time"

Hi Mike(mainiac),

                        I have absolutley nothing to add to the technical end of this post, but I just wanted to tell you that" she's" Drop Dead Gorgeous, what a beautiful car!! The sound she makes will be a bonus. I am green with envy...lucky you!...Cheers  Rita

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Alive to drive British

Ooooh yeahhh!   Is that grill as good as it looks?   Ken 

Yes...  the grill is very nice.  I was very fortunate to aquire this car.  I will be the second registered owner.  I bought it from the daughter of the first owner.  It is all numbers matching.  thanks!

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Mike Newton
Buckfield, Maine
1953 XK120 SE FHC 1965 AC Cobra replica
BMW R1150 RT
"so many hobbies, so little time"

Mike, I love that XK Coupé....if you don't want it....

I don't want to sound too "smart" or anything like that, but in your signature, the word "hobby's" should be spelled "hobbies", (Plural for hobby). I know, I'm a Spanish and English teacher among other things like car restorer, tax preparer, translator, musician since the 1960's. (never put all the eggs in the same basket!,  OR "so many jobs, so little time!"     

 

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1984 Jaguar XJ-6
1965 Jaguar 3.8 'S'

<>Ok Jose...  for that "smart comment about the XK, now I'm not going to give it to you!  ;-)  I'd much rather be corrected that perpetuate the mistake, thanks.  I've always wanted to learn Spanish but i guess I had better nail down English first.  I still haven't found much time to work on the 120.  I have been spending all my spare time helping my daughter and son-in-law finish up their new house before the newest grandchild arrives in three weeks. 

There are times when I think I should sell the car.  I always tend to overestimate my spare time by at least double when I take on a project.  My Cobra replica I just finished took me two years.  I had thought that would be one year, so if I think this one will be two...  I guessing it will take four!  c-ya  Mike 

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Mike Newton
Buckfield, Maine
1953 XK120 SE FHC 1965 AC Cobra replica
BMW R1150 RT
"so many hobbies, so little time"

Mike, with the many responsibilities that you have, I concluded that you should sell your XK.....to me..!!

Just kiddin' amigo!! By the way, Spanish is very similar to English, I could write a book about all the words that have the same spelling or "roots" in both languages, makes me wonder how, why, and when that happened. Only trouble is, I don't have time!

All Jags start out as a 2-year project and by the 3rd year we realize that 2 more years is all we need to finish it.

Like my friend Clark said: "I'll soon be on the 5th year of my Two Year Project". 

regards,

Jose

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1984 Jaguar XJ-6
1965 Jaguar 3.8 'S'

Blame it on the Romans. You know "veni vedi vicci" or something like that.

yeahh, that's what they said...(and did all over the place).

in Spanish: (the words of Columbus in 1492)  Vine, Vi, y Conquisté... 

in English: (the words of the pilgrims in 16??)  I arrived, I saw, I Conquered...

now: notice the similarity between the Italian (Roman) and the Spanish...

and: notice the similarity between the Spanish and English word for "Conquest" 

-the same "root" for the same word in both languages-, the only difference is the ending. 

the same is true for zillions of other words. If I could write a book about this I could make enough money to rebuild my 3.8 Jaguar engine....it's making an awful noise.

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1984 Jaguar XJ-6
1965 Jaguar 3.8 'S'

Yeah....So many hobbies.  At 54 I say that I'll never live long enough to finish all the projects, plus the older I get the slower things seem to go.  A friend says.."A lifetime gaurantee has a different meaning when you're 60!"  LOL

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

Underdog:  I'm 54 too and I haven't slowed down, in any case, age and "experience" allows me to work on two or three projects at the same time!!...I want to get them finished, I get impatient, I don't want to wait, life is short...

don't get discouraged, and don't THINK about your age or how long you will live or not, it's bad Karma. I realize that 50 is the time when we start thinking about the inevitable, but the way I see it, if I'm going down, I go down busy, I finish what I start, and I start to finish what I started. Stay busy!  Forget the lifetime guarantees, they never last.

 regards,

Jose 

 

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1984 Jaguar XJ-6
1965 Jaguar 3.8 'S'