Help-Proper V12 Firing order

Glenn,

I'm located in Northern New Jersey, not far from where you are. Our club, the Jaguar Touring Club, has an active racing program, running two slaloms a year, plus the Lime Rock trip in conjunction with the Empire Division. Pascal drives up from Florida for that one, then joins many of us at the Jag-lovers picnic in Somerville, NJ that Sunday. Our sister group, Jaguar Auto Group (JAG), also a JCNA affiliate club in New Jersey, also runs two slaloms, and several of us including Warren Hansen, travel up to Massachusetts for the JANE slaloms. It is great fun. There are many non-race event too, like our Spring Dust-off, fall concours, driving tours, picnics, etc. There is also a Delaware Valley club too, with many activities in your area.

BTW, there is an easy and inexpensive fix for the power steering "over-assist" problem. There is a valve located in the back of the power steering pump, with a hose coming out of it. Behind that valve, there is a rather heavy gauge spring. You simply unscrew the valve (with a large pan under it because a LOT of power steering fluid is going to pour out), remove the spring (long tweezers will help here), and replace it with a lighter gauge spring of roughly equal length and diameter. Some shops cut the original spring down, but it is easy and cheap to find a lighter spring of about the same size. Then you always have the original to put back in if you want.

Pascal's adjustable fix cost several hundred dollars. The "spring exchange" fix costs less than $5.00, for the spring and a bottle of power steering fluid. The whole job takes about 10 to 15 minutes, including removing the left front tire and putting it back, and requires no more skill than being able to turn a wrench and wipe power steering fluid off your hands.

Hope to see you at some of our functions. Check out the Jaguar Touring Club website (www.jtc-nj.com) for information on our club and activities, and check the calendar of events on this website.

Steve Weinstein,
JTC-NJ Slalom Chair
'72 E-type 2+2
'89 XJS Coupe

yes, good looking car !

we're not abusing our cars, just driving them the way they're supposed to be... legally... (I'm runnning at Sebring on sunday and cant' wait !) you may want to give Lime Rock a try late may, it's a lot of fun and not too far from you. Check the site HPDE section... :-)

Wilwoods are great if you're going to drive the car hard on track. For street use, stock calipers are enough. On track, the wilwoods run cooler.

Power Steering limiter, some people have removed the srping in the power steering pump. It reduce assistance. I have installed by pass valve on mine, but frankly I almost regret it because I never adjust it. I have it set at the maximum bypass seting and that's it. I don't feel the need to increase assist. try the spring first..

Pascal Gademer
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKRCoupe
99 XJR

Hi Steve,
I'm located in West Chester, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Unfortunately,
not too close to south Florida. I plan to relocate to Florida in the next 3-5 years so maybe I'll be able to help you and Pascal abuse your E type's
eventually. I am an avid follower of the S. Florida club and have followed Pascal's upgrades with interest.
Sorry to hear about your deer encounter...they are plentiful here and I hope I don't have the same fate. Thanks again to you and Pascal. I plan to complete my optical ignition upgrade, then on to Wilwood brakes and a limiter on the power steering. Good luck with your E!!! Glenn

Glenn Miskiewicz
1971 XKE V12 2+2

Glenn,

Glad to hear things worked out for you. Great looking car. Mine is pale primrose (light "mellow" yellow"), Pascal's is silver. Both '72s, built within a month of each other (mine is a month older than his). Mine is currently being refurbished and repainted after an unfortunate meeting with a deer. But since the insurance company is paying for a much needed respray, I'm not complaining.

Where are you located? You should definitely bring that car around for the rest of us to look at! And better yet, slalom it and race it on the track with us, so that Pascal and I aren't the only fools out there beating the heck out of our E's and loving every minute of it!!

Regards,
Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'72 E-type 2+2
'89 XJS Coupe

Steve and Pascal, Thanks for your help...I swapped the wires and the Jag
runs great...much more power and much quieter. Moved from a great car to an awesome one. Bought this car two months ago and have gradually upgraded
and fixed disconnected systems. Thanks again to all for the help.

Glenn Miskiewicz
1971 XKE V12 2+2

Glenn,

What should happen is, your car should run better. Right now, you're probably running on 10 of 12, not all 12. On all 12, it should be smoother, more powerful. Should not effect timing at all. And if you change the ignition, it is still the same firing order, so correct it now and make sure the car is running right before making any modifications.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'72 E-type 2+2
'89 XJS Coupe

Thanks for your help....my car has 5A and 5B reversed otherwise the same...I'm amazed it can run well that way...your view? What happenes if I correct the wires? Does it affect other setting such as timing etc??

Glenn Miskiewicz
1971 XKE V12 2+2

no that's right, this is exactly what I have in the Jaguar Service Manual

Pascal Gademer
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKRCoupe
99 XJR