A recent editorial posting on The Truth About Cars used the term “cathedral” to describe the form of the Jaguar XK engine. So here I present for you the XK, it its namesake chassis. Note the Flying Buttresses of the exhaust. The row of fire-starting sparkplugs within the Nave. The rising Basilica Domes of the timing chains. The coil, perched upon the Choir of the intake manifold like a Gargoyle.
You are invited to Sunday Worship.
How can anyone look at that, listen to it run, or drive one and decide a 302 Ford or 350 Chevy is a better mill?
careful – I drive a 302 and I like listening to mine 🙂
Jerome
Note the term “better” Jerome.
selective reading Chuck 🙂 – plus a bird in the hand sort of thing..
Jerome
That is one fine looking engine. So much better than the plastic clad engines we have today.
Notice, too, how the aluminium bits are *not* polished too much! One of my beefs with restos in general is that the Al bits, though pretty when mirror-polished, are almost ALWAYS much more shiny then the factory did. I prefer this look to the mirror finish some insist upon.
As for which is the “better” mill..well, the 260-and-onwards Ford/283-and-onwards Chubbys may make better HP per C.U, they still will NEVER be as pretty as a Jag engine. I think the XK engine is one of the top 5 best-looking engines of all time!
So there.
🙂