Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Jaguar half-breed restoration

This is topic Jaguar half-breed restoration in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-12-2011, 04:05 AM:

Hey guys.

So, I've decided to take on restoring my moms 1978 Jaguar XJ6.
It's been rotting for 11 years or so in storage due to the fact it was not allowed to pass smog after she'd had it a couple of years (carburator doesn't have EGR).

It's a full-on restore for most of it so any reputable sources for original Jag parts are welcome.

What I'm really interested in right now is fixing up the power train.
It has a 1970 Chevy 350 and T-series transmission in it. Very few miles on it. I think the previous owners bought a conversion package.
Currently it's got an Edelbrock 1405 carburetor. The manifold is fine to swap over to a 1400 which will pass California smog inspection (It's essentially a 1405 with EGR).

However, I'm wondering if anyone's got experience doing a conversion over to throttle body injection on a motor this old and have it still be CA street legal.
I'm guessing the answer is no; I couldn't find much in google. But then swapping out the carburetor would be a whole lot easier...

Anyhow. Thanks in advance for the info!

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 09-12-2011, 11:23 AM:

The Jag is probably old enough to qualify for antique registration.
Here the vehicle qualifies as antique when it is 25 years old and it no longer is subject to annual inspections though if driven it must be maintained in a safe drivable condition and emissions checks are no longer done. Any chance a similar exemption exists in Ca.?

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-12-2011, 11:32 AM:

In California, antique cars are 39 years old or more.
The grandfather date for emissions inspections is 1975.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-12-2011, 03:07 PM:

Interesting: in Britain a 'classic car' is defined as one registered on or before 1 January 1973. That exempts you from the annual road tax (typically around £150 for the average car), but not from the annual safety inspection that all cars over three years old have to pass in order to remain road legal. That having been said, I believe that the exhaust emissions (smog test) part of the test is less stringent for older cars than it is for more recent ones.