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hemmings.com october 2007
•
HEMMINGS SPORTS & EXOTIC CAR
27
CHASSIS
While a rigid, aerodynamic coupe is the
obvious base for an E-Type racer, an issue of
helmet clearance pushed the 6-foot-4 Jim
to choose a roadster as The Beast’s starting
point. With the structural stresses of auto
-
crossing in mind, Stew’s crew heavily trussed
and reinforced the car using original Jaguar
specification tubing, spending 2,000 hours in
the process. “Once we got started, there was
no point in doing ‘some,’ because everything
ties together,” he says. “If a car is making
350 or 400 horsepower, you can leave the
chassis alone, but with 600hp, all of that
braking and cornering stress starts to twist
the body.”
A number of suspension upgrades can
bring a V-12 E-Type into the 21st century,
and those include stiffer 7/8-inch torsion bars,
Harvey Bailey Engineering anti-roll bars and
adjustable Koni shock absorbers. “Urethane
bushings are the buzz word in racing,” Stew
explains, “but Jaguar’s stock upper A-arm
bushings are beautiful, and I never alter
them. I do use urethane in the lower A-arms,
although I remake the inside steel shell. I run
really fast cars with the OE rubber Jaguar
bushings without issue. The Beast uses Heim-
jointed radius arms and Spax shocks, and
while its bonnet and rear quarters look stock,
they were modified to allow fitting 18 x 11.5-
inch BBS wheels and 315/30-18 Hoosier slicks,
but we have a second set of wheels and
tires for the street. We’ve installed Jaguar-
sourced steering rack travel limiters to stop
the front wheels from interfering with the
suspension.”
RESOURCES
Stew Jones Restorations
860-379-1534
www.jaguarv12etype.com
SNG Barratt
800-452-4787
www.sngbarratt.com
Rob Beere Racing
+44-0-24-7647-3311
www.rob-beere-racing.co.uk
Hayward & Scott
+44-0-12-6872-7256
www.haywardandscott.com
BG Developments
+44-0-15-2787-3716
www.bgdevelopments.co.uk
Classic Jaguar
512-288-8800
www.classicjaguar.com
Medatronics Corporation
561-743-5600
www.5speeds.com/jag.htm
Fuel Safe Racing Cells
541-923-6005
www.fuelsafe.com
Tilton Engineering
805-688-2353
www.tiltonracing.com
Mark Williams Enterprises
800-525-1963
www.markwilliams.com
Ron Davis Racing Products
623-877-5000
www.rondavisradiators.com
Harvey Bailey Engineering Ltd.
+44-0-13-3534-3018
www.jagweb.com/hbe/
Cosworth Pistons
310-534-1390
www.cosworth.com
Simpson Race Products
800-654-7223
www.simpsonraceproducts.com
SAFETY
Jim wanted his purpose-built autocrosser to
be streetable, and in that, not one that drew
undue “official” attention to itself. With this
brief, Stew and his team designed tall roll
hoops that would clear Jim’s helmet and bolt
into the car’s heavily reinforced underbody
structure, but are removable for street use.
The snug-fitting Kirkey racing seats can be
converted to accommodate Jim or Karen
Jones, who is Stew’s wife and the expert driv
-
er who piloted The Beast in 2006 to capture
the all-time JCNA slalom record of 38.390
seconds. Those seats are complemented by
securely mounted five-point Simpson racing
harnesses, and a low-high interior rear-view
mirror offers a glimpse at everything that The
Beast leaves behind. The Exide Orbital O6 gel
battery rests behind the passenger seat.
Its capacity selected with running the Lime
Rock race track in mind, The Beast’s trunk-
mounted “Fuel Safe” fuel cell holds 22 gal
-
lons of racing gasoline. This unit was also
chosen for its low-profile design, which main-
tains the car’s low center of gravity.
Winsted, Connecticut, is one of them.
A Jaguar restoration specialist since
1977, he enjoys bringing out the Series III’s
inherent sports car character with vehicles
like our feature car, “The Beast,” the Jaguar
Club of North America slalom record
holder and track racer that his team built
for Lincoln, Massachusetts, resident Jim
Roberge. Like many, Stew was a fan of the
early models, but working on a customer’s
V-12 car opened his eyes to its possi-
bilities. “I believe in the twelves,” he says.
“There is a lot of competition in the Jaguar
world between six- and 12-cylinder cars,
and they’re an untapped source because
they’ve been overshadowed by the sixes
for so long. They have a lot of potential
and respond nicely to modifications, and
as the old saying goes, there’s no substitute
for cubic inches!”