Hi All,
I’ve been lurking for a while, and have picked-up some great info from Daze’s detailed explanation on how he fitted the Jag into his Mustang.  I’m currently fitting a narrowed Jag rear end into a ’59 Hillman, and I thought I’d share some things that I picked-up along the way.  I think you have to have 3 posts before you can post pictures, so those will have to wait.

This project was to be completely DIY so with the tools available I had to improvise on a couple of things to get it all done.  For those that are contemplating taking on a fabrication project and doing 99% of it yourself, there are 2 items you will have to have – a lathe, and a mig of tig welder.  You need a lathe to form both the “sleeves† for the LCA, and to reduce the diameter of the half-shafts, and a welder to make a sturdy jig for the LCAs and to plug weld them so that they stay in alignment.  The only part of the job that is beyond my ability, and I would assume it applies to most of us is the final welding of the half-shafts and LCAs.  That was the only portion of the project I farmed out.

I pretty much followed the instructions Daze has laid out, but since I only have a 7 x 10 mini lathe, I had to cut the original half-shaft in two, and machine each end separately because of the lathe’s length limitations.  The new shafts are made from ¼† wall 1.75† dom tubing, and the amount you need to remove from the half-shaft ends is fairly minimal for a press fit into the tubing.  For the LCA “sleeves,† I started with 2.25† solid steel and machined them to a snug fit (no slop, but not a press fit either).  I chose the solid sleeves because they would allow maximum penetration, and the weight savings over hollow tubing is minimal when you are dealing with a 4† piece.  I was lucky to find a welding shop that does oil field maintenance, so their specialty is certified pipe welding.  They ground the gap I already had on the LCAs even wider and grooved into the sleeve about a ¼†.  When I picked them up, you can look through the end of the LCA and see that the entire sleeve had turned cobalt blue from the penetration.  The guy that owns the shop told me that anything can break, but this stuff won’t be breaking at the welds!  I asked him about adding gussets, and he said if you want it for the “look† than go ahead and add it, but if you are looking for strength it just not needed – the LCAs are stronger now than they were before they were cut.

I built a jig to make my own half-shafts out of necessity.  The local driveline shops would make up new shafts with all new components (to the tune of $400.00 each!), but they wouldn’t cut, or turn down any part of the original shafts for liability concerns.  These are very easy to do, and if you have them professionally welded, I doubt you will have any issues.

A quick tip is that when you are disassembling your LCAs, leave the inner pivot needle bearings in place, along with the inner sleeves.  It makes bolting the assembly into the jig a breeze, and trying to save 20 to 30 year old needle bearings is false economy as the online suppliers have them for about $8.50 each.  Also, when removing the axle from the hub, some are more stubborn than others.  I found that by making the tool that Daze made from angle instead of flat steel, it had more stability and didn’t bow under the pressure exerted by the press on even the most stubborn case.  Another item I found is that it is absolutely necessary to file a groove in the LCA before you try to separate it with a pipe cutter as Daze suggests.  IF you have a steady hand, you can use a dremel with a cutting wheel to make the groove easier and faster than with a file.  I also found that by assembling the hub and flange with the bearings pressed in tight, you can use a depth micrometer to measure from the top of the splined flange to the top of the inner race and determine what size shim you need.  Saves a tone of time assembling and disassembling to “guess† what size will give the exact preload setting.

I see there are some Tiger aficionados on the site.  For those that don’t know, the ‘59 Hillman Husky is the platform from which the Tiger was built.   While Tigers are an interesting piece of automotive history, and their owners are rabid defenders of the marque, the truth is that they have some severe drawbacks in the design of their front suspension and steering.   I was lucky enough to obtain one of the very few coilover suspension units produced by Hokanson (toyzjunkie.com).  He produced them for the Tiger, but anything that bolts into a Tiger, bolts right into a Husky.  Having a fairly sophisticated front suspension is what led me to install a narrowed Jag unit rather than the more common 4-link most everyone else tends to favor.  My project is kind of a cross between a traditional hot rod and a sports car.  I went with a Snow White crossmember and front pinion mount kit.  There are quite a few differing opinions on a bushed versus a solid mount, but remember that this is a street car.  As someone once said somewhere on this site, if you have a squealing piece of metal being cut on a lathe, sometimes all it takes is a well-placed finger to stop it.  It’s the same concept with a bushed mount – it doesn’t take much to reduce the harmonics being transmitted to the rest of the body structure, and since this car will never see any track duty, it is being built for street use and not a skid pad.  The real objective of the bushed mount is noise reduction – not shock absorption.

One thing I rarely see being discussed is the cost of installing a unit, so I thought I would share my experience, along with the proviso “your mileage may vary.†

Cost of ’79 XJ6 Assembly                    350.00
New Rotors                 65.00
Rebuilt Calipers                                 140.00
Bearings, Seals                                 170.00
4 U-joints                                                      100.00
Outer Pivot Bushings from Daze          86.00
Welding                                                          100.00
Misc. Steel                                                     60.00
4 Shocks                                                      120.00
Crossmember                                              385.00
Pinion Support                                          155.00
Rear Tie Bar                                                35.00
Misc. Hardware, Shims, Paint                85.00

Total                                                         1,851.00

The cost so far is relatively the same as an average 4-link; however, please keep in mind that the used unit that I picked up had been overhauled some time in its life, so nothing in the differential required replacement.  If the unit you have requires work, or you want to install new gearing, or a posi, depending on what you have in mind it will add another 800.00 – 1,500.00 in additional cost.  Additionally, I haven’t gotten to the point of fabricating the trailing arms which should eat up at least another 200.00 or more.  So all in all this can and will become a very pricey undertaking.  We all get sucked in by thinking we are getting some kind of deal on a 300.00 rear end, but just know that in the end you’ll be out 2,000.00 – 3,500.00, and even more if you have to farm everything out!

The specs on my rear are:

61.75† 1979 XJ6 Unit
3.31 to 1 – open diff.
Shortened to 51.5† overall (5.125† removed from each side)
4 Stock Jag Coilovers – After 30+ years of sitting under a 4,500 lb. vehicle, the spring sag worked in my favor perfectly for this installation.

If I make the “posting quota† I’ll put up some pictures.
Jim