Bob, you made me feel a little better. One really odd thing is the manual says it should hold 24qrts/6gal. of coolant. When I drained the engine/radiator only 3.5gal came out. and I've repeated this several times. Where could 2.5 gallons be hiding?

A badly worn distributor shaft/bushing could cause erratic timing. A problem with the mechanical advance mechanism could also cause it. A badly worn carburetor throttle shaft or a loose throttle plate will cause problems. A crack or gasket leak at the intake manifold could cause erratic operation. **There have been instances of intake manifolds rusting or cracking through into the exhaust heat jacket around the intake plenum under the carburetor. This can happen with no external problem being evident. It can cause very erratic engine performance with no evident cause.** Ignition switch problems can cause issues. The small flex wires inside the distributor can chafe and cause intermittent shorts when the breaker plate moves. Once in a while, a distributor may not have a good ground to the engine block. This usually affects Delco units that move in the block when the vacuum advance operates. Many distributors have a small, flexible ground wire from the breaker plate to the distributor body. If it is missing or broken, it can cause erratic operation.
PS: On 37 120 models, the inner fender panel can be removed to access the valve covers and lower radiator hoses. It's much easier than removing the entire fender, and much less likely to result in paint damage. I think the 38s are the same.

Probably easier done than trying to stuff in a V8 as long as none of the needed mounting areas were cut away for the Jag engine. On a hot engine keeping those brass strips pristine and polished might be a full time job though they do look good and add a bit of pizazz.

Remember boys, this is a 115 with 5 inches less between firewall and rad, it was tough enough shoehorning a 327 into a 120!
Bob J.

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I like where this is going

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That's my problem though...I've worked through everything that I know how to and have not been able to get the problem resolved.

-Vacuum leak - rebuilt the fuel pump and vacuum pump. Rebuilt the missing vacuum line from the manifold to the vacuum pump. Sprayed carb cleaner on all potential leak points while engine was running with no change noted.
-Coil - brand new, previous one consistently failed when it got hot.
-Rotor - new
-Cap - new
-Points - new, gap rechecked several times since install
-Ignition wire to coil - new, armored cable failed and shorted out
-Plug wires - new, none are touching each other
-Plugs - new, correct gap on all
-Carb - rebuilt, should be correct specs. Idle mixture screws set with a vacuum gauge
-Timing - set as best as I could. Seems like the marks jump around a bit with the timing light, which makes me wonder about the distributor
-Valves - adjusted cold when the engine was rebuilt with a little extra space on the exhaust. Have not adjusted while running, will need to remove the fender for that
-Timing chain - nothing noted during rebuild
-Compression - Tested cold, 130-135 across all cylinders, no leak down tested

My two major problems:
1.) Engine dies when coming out of gear....doesn't recover from the initial drop in RPM's
2.) Definite miss. Can hear it at idle, and very noticeable when driving

My theories
1.) Carb is out of adjustment causing poor running and inability to maintain running when coming out of gear
2.) Distributor bushing or shaft is worn, causing wobbling and erratic firing

Am I totally off base here?

-Kevin

I vote for a 245 with a custom 3 carb manifold. Ported. Relieved. Mild cam grind. Lightened flywheel. 2 1/2" exhaust with a glass pack. Paint it black with brass dress-up strips under the head nuts.

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I’m all for the Packard V8, it was an idea that came up from Flack when I was looking into the convertible coupe he had at one point in storage. I’d really like to see that.

Well, shucks. The Jag engine is kind of what makes this car so exotic. It looks so "right" under the hood, whereas any V-8 (whether Packard or otherwise) will not look right no matter what. I understand the cost of fixing it, though.

I know that at one point, Ross and I were spit-balling about a V8 over the phone. The biggest concern for clearance would be the steering column. More than likely, some U-joints or offset mechanism would be required.