Cats in a Cage: The Unexpected XJ Wonderland

About a week ago, after a couple rounds of skeet in North Dallas, I was cruising around a few industrial back roads when I stumbled upon something quite incredible. Ensconced in the heart of an industrial warehouse and workshop complex, a fenced in lot holds untold wonders, primarily of English persuasion.

Upon first glance, my eager eyes could barely register what I had stumbled upon. Within the relatively well manicured lot were rows upon rows upon rows of classic Jaguars that lay dormant and silent behind lines of chain-link.  The bulk of the rusting saloons were composed of every generation of Jaguar XJs, from the revolutionary styled Series I, the unreliable-yet-charming Series II, to the clean Pininfarina penned lines of the Series III. Thrown in among the XJs was a smattering of XJSs, their swooping, graceful lines slowly rusting and fading in the hot Texas sun. Normally, such abandonment of British classics would raise my ire, but as I moved around the fence, I realized something. The rows were too orderly, too neat, too caring for a junkyard. The grass was somewhat maintained, the glass blissfully unbroken, and the tires inflated. How odd, this seemed, to leave rows of traditional British saloons exposed to the elements, yet to care enough to ensure that the cars were not in a complete state of disrepair. This also was not a parts yard, as the headlights, trim, glass, and hoods were all present on most of the Jags. What was going on here???

It was not until I visited a nearby shop that I learned the purpose of the decaying beauties. Apparently, the lot is a holding pen for Jaguars awaiting a small-block conversion from the adjoining shop. How fantastic! Many late ‘60s and early ‘70s European and Japanese cars were blessed with sumptuously designed bodies, yet cursed with limp engines choked by restrictive emissions systems, weak transmissions, and hapless performance capabilities. Rebuilds are costly, and often maintenance can be painfully complicated. With a small-block transplant, these aged classics gain a new lease on life. The Chevy 350 Small-Block is the tried and true workhorse engine of America. It combines bulletproof reliability with immense performance potential. Parts and components are plentiful, with over 90,000,000 small blocks produced since its introduction in 1955. These days, the 350 has found itself crammed in every engine bay imaginable, from MGBs all the way to Porsche 944s. This Jaguar conversion shop makes perfect sense, as both XJs and XJSs are vaunted for their styling, availability, and cheap prices. With a 350 beating under the hoods of these stately sedans and voluptuous coupes, they become a classy alternative to brutish and heavy American metal. So the next time you hear the legendary rumble of a Chevy, look for the source. What you find may surprise you!