There have been some new and not so new members of this forum that have been inquiring about installation of the Jag XJ IFS in their trucks. Unfortunatley the suspension alternatives article was written without info on the Jag IFS. It has been popular in the UK and down under for quite a while just not so well known in the USA. In the interest of providing others with a way to find pictures and those of us on the forum that have been/are going down the Jag IFS route could we get everyone listed that has been there and done it or going there. Hopefully there is a way to reference the listing to the "front suspension alternatives" article (MODERATOR HELP!) so that this listing is not lost. If we could keep the list to those who have either done the installation or are committed to the extent that they own a Jag IFS and a truck that it is going in would be the most helpful
I will start it off with a least some of those that I know about. I apologize in advance for any errors or omissions.

Category 1 48-52 trucks:

49willard
rhopper
Rusty50F1
Com49F1

Category 2 53-60 trucks

Aussie53
Holmsey
54F100

Please add to the above listing. Hopefully with some moderator help we can get the list saved in some way

 

Great idea; Anything I can do to help let me know.

 

I have seen VERY limited interest shown in this thread which has surprised me. Am I off base here guys? Is this a bad idea?

I started this thread thinking that the information in the suspension alternatives article would tend to keep members of the forum from considering the Jag XJ IFS. In the suspension article the info on the Jag is in the 11th and final chapter. It shares that chapter with the Corvair IFS which IMHO based on doner car weight and age of the components would certainly be a less desirable alternative. The below text is from that chapter discussing the Jag alternative as follows:

"Jaguar � In the �70�s this was the hot set up. Nobody really made kits to install any IFS suspension in street rods, so you were on your own. XKE front suspension was adapted by fabricating attachments to the frame for the XKE A-arms and spindles. The A-arms were very sexy looking - similar to the Corvette pieces used today. You don�t really hear too much about people using it today though. There is a bit of use of the later Jag sedan IFS in which the �K-member� style assembly is adapted to your vehicle in much the same manner as the Volare unit is. However, this unit doesn�t have the �sexiness� of the earlier XKE components. The Jag sedans of the �70�s and �80�s are really not very collectible , so donor vehicles (especially in the northern climates) should be relatively cheap. However, replacement parts will not be. As Ford now owns Jaguar, you can tell yourself that you�re staying pure. As mentioned, there is not a lot of Jag being done, so you�re largely on your own with this one.

If you�re a somewhat inexperienced rodder, be prepared to tackle any of these alternatives on your own. You will have difficulty finding anyone nearby or on the web who can help you. You�ll be on your own trying to figure out steering geometry, etc.

I would suggest that the benefits found in the range of alternatives covered earlier � some pretty, some not, some cheap, some not � would easily outweigh any reasons you might have for considering one of these last two "


In time it seems like it would be appropriate to update this chapter. I think at the time that this chapter was written the use of the Jag XJ sedan IFS was not well known by members of this forum. When I did my research leading to use of the Jag this chapter had not been written and I would agree that the info was not readily out there. I was feeling a bit like the Lone Ranger. In time I located others that had done it particularly rodders in the UK and the Aussies. That helped me. Since that time a small but growing group of guys have done or are looking at the Jag IFS. I am concerned that reading the above without the benefit of input from others that have btdt those readers will eliminate the Jag option from consideration.

My intent behind this thread was to get a way to provide a listing of members that have been there and done it to ultimately bring about some addition/changes to the write up on the Jag alternative. When the time comes it will deserve its own chapter IMHO.

 

This is an EXCELLENT idea IMHO!
I have bookmarked all the topics dealing with the Jag for my own info, but I have to wade thru a lot of discussion to find the facts I need.

 

This is a great thread; I would think that anyone who is considering an IFS swap would be all over it. The JAG is so simple to put in. and only takes ONE day to put in. I think that if people would read and study this install there would be a lot more of these units under the old trucks. All the upgrades you want are already there. Large disc brakes, power rack and pinion. I drove a JAG to see what it felt like as far as the ride and handling and I was very impressed. That's why I am using the IFS, and IRS under my 50F1. But that's just my own opinion. For what it's worth. I have a 54F100 that I will start on when the 50 is done. It will have the same setup as the 50. It's just to easy to do to over look it. And IT LOOKS GREAT when finished.

 

Well I decided to do it based on how cheap the jag was to get as a whole car in my area and asking around about how it is done. This spring I will start on mine. Will take lots of pics. Anyone want to come by and help feel free

 

I agree with 49Willard, Rusty50F1 and AXRacer i have put the xj front under my 49 and it was simple, and it beats the cost of MII hands down and repair parts are readily available and not as expensive as I thought. Updating the information would be a great idea it took a lot of hunting to find all the different posts/articles/pages concerning this upgrade but with a lot of help from the people on this site I was able to find the information to complete my install. Thanks to all!!

 

Hey All , That text looks pretty broken up to me , and looks out dated , I do remember seeing alot of those early "XKE" set-ups in alot of early rides..(am I giving my age away?..) But the later models I think would be easier AND safer ,and there is some 1st Hand experience from this site...sounds like agroup effort Go For It !!

 

I'm going to be doing a jag irs front change just as soon as I can on the F3. I'm doing it for several reasons ,
1- I use the truck everyday, and although the brakes are pretty good I really want to upgrade to discs
2- the ride quality is soooooooo much better (my mate and fellow club member has done it with his 49 ch--y and it has transformed it.
3- Being as I'm in the uk, jags are plentiful whereas suitable american donors aren't. Parts are also available off the shelf.
4- I'm probably going to end up with a 302 in the truck so its going to hopefully be a fair bit quicker, therefore it will need to handle/stop better.

Any info I can get that has been tried and tested can only be helpful.

I'm with the others who have previously said that Holmseys site - http://www.uk-hotrods.co.uk/ has a superb write up on how to go about this swap. Holmsey openly explains about the do,s and donts that he experienced.

Paul

 

I just added "48 steel" to our listing. I apologize for missing. Anyone else out there?

 

Bill, I'm thinking, maybe, Texan? Btw, any help I can give you, just ask. I recently rebuilt the front end, ball joints, bushings for $125. Front brakes, caliper kit, new pads and rotors, and grease seals, $158. My front end is assembled and painted, ready to bolt back into the frame. Looks great.

 

I have the parts to redo the Jag IFS-soon to be done. You did well on parts from the sounds of it-congrats. Did you R&R the rubber busings in the crossmember? Did you burn them out?

I seem to remember texan2004, Carl Gustefson?, talking about going Jag but I do not see it in his gallery so I don't know.

 

Here's some bookmarks I have on this subject, hope it's helpful!


The big, in-depth, fascinating discussion thread about Jag suspensions started by "av8Ford" (Mike Bishop) way back in 2004:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/2...ghlight=jaguar

'48 front Jag install (Rhopper's):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=24453

'49 front Jag install (49Willard's):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=21703

'50 front Jag install (Rusty50F1's):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=24834

'55 front AND rear Jag install (forgot user's name):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...4&albumid=7337

'48 front Jag install (forgot user's name)
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=30130

'55 F100 full buildup with Jag front and rear installs (Holmsey's website):
http://www.uk-hotrods.co.uk/v2/garag.../me/page_1.php

If anyone has any others, please add 'em to the list!

- Jay

 

Jay, thanks for your posting. I added 55 F-100 PAUL to the listing and Scrape also. I do not know if Paul has done anymore with his 55. He has not posted in over a year. His gallery has his Jag installation however in his 55. We hear from Scrape every so often. The early guys that helped me were Holmsey, Scrape and Paul which is one Brit, one Aussie and one US respectively.

 

Willard,

You were exactly right - At the time we wrote the multi-part front suspension series - there was no one participating in the forum that had done it or was familiar with it. While we wanted to try to cover ALL the alternatives, we certainly couldn't do a proper write up on it without any first hand experience to draw from.....nor was there much to be found anywhere on the net about it either.

While trying to gather all the info you can into this thread is a great idea, eventually this thread will fade down in the list of pages in this forum. I strongly encourage you or a group of you Jag users to write another section for the front suspension alternatives focusing on the Jag setup. It would be nice to see it follow a format similar to what we used for the series, but whomever puts the effort into writing it certainly has the right to do it in whatever manner they see fit.

Go for it!

Later,