Work Starts on the Engine

We have used a 1955 block and kept to 3.4 litres.
However, we have used Venolia forged pistons (ex USA) giving a 9:1 compression ratio.

You can also see that we are using "wide blade" rods in the interests of reliability.

This meant we had to do some fettling at the botoom of the cylinder bores in order to ensure adequate clearance.

Another practical modification is the use of a modern oil seal at the rear.

Below is a picture of the special front main bearing cap required for the dry sump installation - more of that later!

The Monocoque Nears Completion

The previous posting showed the monocoque being built on a jig.
The frame that carries the engine has now been completed.

Here it is prior to installation in the monocoque.
Whilst it may look like an E Type frame, its not the same!
Great attention has been paid to using the correct size of tubing.













Here you can see the monocoque again.

Further Work on Rear Sub-Frame

These pictures show some components of the rear suspension prior to painting or plating.

The single torsion bar can be seen clearly together with the special bushes to fit in the suspension arms.

Note the detailing








Bushes

Progress on Rear Sub-frame and Axle

Whilst the moncoque is being built, we are working on other parts of the car. Here is a picture of the rear-sub-frame, rear axle and some of the axle links.

Building the Monocoque

The monocoque is designed as an 18 gauge aluminum eliptical tube with two "holes" cut in it for the driver and passenger, and both ends of the tube having bulkheads.

On the rear bulkhead, the rear suspension is attached via a subframe. At the front, there is a tubular frame projecting out of the eliptical tube and this carries the engine and front suspension.

Construction of the monocoque started in July and here are some pictures:

The Production Cars

The Jaguar D-Type has a very special place in most enthusiasts hearts.
Why?
- because of its outstanding looks
- because of its design and engineering excellence for its time, and
- because it was so successful in its day

The cars were built between 1954 to 1957. Records show that 17 Works cars (in various guises)were built, 54 Production cars and 16 XKSS models. (These are my records and this is not meant to be a definitive history of all the cars!)

Justifiably, most publicity has been given to the Works cars and their International successes. The XKSS has also had more than its fair share of the limelight - probably because of its rarity and the ultimate "hooligan" image it had - where are you Steve McQueen?

But the Production cars were the backbone of this legend. Based on the 1954 Works specification but "productionised" (eg removable steel front subframe as opposed to integral magnesium alloy one) - here was a car that you could buy from your Jaguar Dealer, drive away and race (competitively) wherever you wanted!

This is our inspiration for our undertaking - and here are some pictures of Production cars which were still being used in this way in historic racing in the 70's and 80's.

Recreating a dream – building a copy of a D Type Jaguar

This is a story about a group of friends setting out to build an exact copy of a 1955 Production D type. The story started early in 2005 but right now, we don’t know the end of the story as the car is not finished! We want to share the progress with as many people as possible so that you can live the dream too by following our trials and tribulations and by contributing your thoughts.

The first thing to get straight is that our story is not about building a "look alike" car. We are setting out to build an exact copy of what the Jaguar factory produced in 1955. Our aim is to get an Historic Technical Passport (HTP) for the car when completed, as issued by the FIA.

So how will we know that the car will be correct in every detail?

For aficionados of all things Jaguar and D Types in particular, you know that there is a mine of information in all sorts of books, period publications etc. But you will also know that a D Type has virtually no standard Jaguar parts and so will be a complex and expensive project to re-create.

So, over the years we have collected some original parts, some remanufactured parts but most importantly we have acquired a comprehensive set of drawings of those parts unique to the D Type.

Rear subframe / drawing