Suspension and Driveline

I had originally decided to use a Holden HG front end, modified Holden Commodore steering rack and a VH Holden Commodore diff with LSD and purchased all these parts ready for when I start to build. The steering rack needed modifying to suit the front end and my choice of Commodore 15x7 steel wheels weren't going to fit without modifications.

My steering wheel choice is a British Moto-Lita but trying to match these to an Australian steering column was proving difficult.

I shopped around for a Jaguar steering column but they were few and far between on eBay. I phoned a Jaguar spares place and they wanted $450 plus postage for a complete Jag steering column. :shock: So there were a couple of challenges to overcome with the Holden front end.

Then a 1984 Jaguar XJ6 4.2 came up on Ozrodders and eBay. After difficulty communicating with the seller things finally worked out and I got the vehicle for just over $700. My plan being to use the steering column, suspension and look at what else I could use and sell/scrap the rest.

The car was the result of a botched restoration job and had been left with the windscreen removed in the weather for years. But on the good side, it has only done 130,000 km so the mechanicals should be in reasonable order.

The Jaguar design is a popular choice with rodders, modifiers and racers the world over. The suspension seems very well designed and manufactured, and the more I read about them the more I like the idea of using the Jaguar gear in my project. Some quick preliminary measurements show the front end should fit easy in the Wolseley, and it has a power steering rack which will be good if the Missus ever drives it.

The more I look at the independent rear suspension and differential, the more I think it will be a good fit for my project. The Jag rear end shouldn't be any more difficult to fit to my chassis than the Holden live axle. In fact it might be easier, the frame bolts on in four places and there are two trailing links that run forward to the chassis. No upper link, panhard bar or shock mounts to worry about. And the handling advantage the IRS gives will be nice too, just have to see how it all fits!

Andrew.