My thoughts on JCI

[m1noel]

I've noticed several posts on this site flaming JCI (Johns Cars Inc) and I would like to add my 2 cents worth. My experience went like this. One of my first two boxes came totally destroyed by UPS. Fan broken, fuel pump MIA. John replaced the stuff immediately and he filed claim with UPS. All the pieces-parts fit great. I used his motor and trans mounts, AC kit, vital fluids kit, fan, and fuel pump. I used JTR's radiator and headers. I also got my drive shaft from John's. I felt it was a little short and called him. He asked for measurements for what I wanted, built it and sent it out. I removed the old one and returned it to him after the new one showed up. The difference may have been because of the GTO T56 instead of the Camaro/Firebird trans that the kit had been designed for. I also had John re-work my stock tach. Upon start up, I had no needle movement at all. I returned it to them, apparently the LS2 computers are sending a very different signal than any thing else before. It took about 3 weeks but they researched, reworked and sent it back to me. I don't know what they did but checking it out compared to my predator programmer, my stock tach seems to be about 50 rpms off (high) at idle then gets closer as the revs climb. I am totally impressed. With the kit I was able to do the swap from engine pull to first drive in 5 weeks only putting in a few hours here and there- less than 30 total. Sometimes on the phone John and Mike seemed like grumpy old farts but the treated me very well, and I found their products to be top notch. I did have to read the manual a few times for it to make sense. Just my humble opinion.

Mike

[Dudeboy]

Hey Mike,

 

Very Ironic !!! My box had holes throughout, and several of the nuts and bolts were throughout the box (I am missing 1 bolt for sure). Also, as you indicated because of the diffrence between the GTO and F-body tranny, John told me to call him back with the tailshaft/flange measurements and he would have the driveshaft made and shipped witihn two days. Me and my Dad have been reading the instructions over and over again to be clear on everything. Your pictures on cardomain made putting together and installing the mounts a breeze. We only work on the car for 4-6 hours on Saturday or Sunday. Mike and John have been fine to deal with, and the parts are top notch, except I am not to keen on the nuts/bolts used for the tranny crossmember mount, the instructions could be clearer and the packaging for shipping could be more secure. JTR stuff finally came Friday (radiator, cold air plumbing), I am still waiting for my headers from JTR. Again thanks for the fuel line info !!! That is next week.

 

Glenn

[Phantom]

A bit of feedback for y'all. As the prototype for the JCI LS1 conversion my car is still running strong. AC is great and al the other JCI components are functioning well. Thats after 4 years and about 27,000 miles. I am one satisfied customer.

[viperredls1z]

My JCI story mirrors m1noel's except for the ups problems he had. I got all the same stuff and was impressed with the quality and fit of the mounts.

When I had problems with the tach and the speedo x unit, John gave me full credit for both and I just went with auto meter gauges.

 

Sure the price for engine mount kit seems high, but it takes a lot of development time to get a kit to the point that you can sell it, and support a customer base like John has.

 

After all, so far nobody else has thought it was enough money to compete by marketing another kit.

 

Bottom line is there would be a lot less LS1 Z's out there if it weren't for JCI.

Thanks John, see there are happy customers out there, we're just not as likely to sound off as the unhappy ones are.

[qwik240z]

Seems we all have similar stories.

 

JCI products are well designed and make the LS1 swap so much faster and easier then doing it yourself. Motor placement allowing the shifter coming out of the stock location is great. My car looks stock and runs like a Viper.

 

John and Mike can be a bit grumpy on the phone and they do need to learn how to pack a box properly but putting all that aside, the LS1 swap components they make are the best.

[Savage42]

Although I've yet to bolt in my drivetrain, I have to say that the quality of the parts is first rate and the service from John has been excellent. Like Dave mentioned, he is still the only one to design and produce such a kit and while people are buying them, he probably needs to sell many more to even start making money on them. It's awesome to have guy like that who will take time to cater to our unique & very limited hobbies. Hammer down!!

[dat240zg]

My experience is also similar. I purchased the little known JCI LT1 kit thinking that for the money ($695) it would pretty much be gold plated. When it arrived, the box was beat up, the parts were dinged and everything appeared as if it had just been tossed in the box. After fitting, I found that the mounts placed the T56 about 5 inches too far forward, with the shifter coming out under the dash.

 

I had done a good bit of talking with John prior to purchasing the kit, carefully going over what parts were goiing in to the car and which car it was going in. He assurred me that it would fit great. The parts were just as you described: appeared to be very well engineered, custom bent, etc. I was/am ticked off that even after talking with him about the fitment problems, he refused to do anything, claiming that it wasn't his problem. For me, $695 is a heck of a lot of money to throw away!!! I ended up using the JCI crossmember and basically the rest is JTR.

 

I've tried selling the engine mounts and booklet here and can't even get $50 for them!!! So basically I paid $695 for a crossmember.

 

Still fuming over this one.....

 

Bryan

Dat240zg

[Guest Crispy Chicken]

My tranny mount was way way off. 100% useless. The engine mounts are made really well. The tranny mount is junk. I decided not to use any of it and have all my own mounts made the way i want. The way i look at if you have access to a good fabricator have it all custom made. Which really is about the same price as the kit maybe a little bit more depending on the shop.. The jci kit by no means is cheap. I don't care what anyone says. And as far as saving time I watched my guy make my motor mounts in a few hours.. If you can't make your own mounts or have no access to a shop. I highly recommend the jci kit maybe some bad dog rails too..

[EvilC]

Like I said before, the engine mounts are great and of good quality. Def worth the money esp if you can not fab things up yourself. Saves lots of time and guess work. As for the tranny CM different story. Had to make it work which wasn't a bunch of work but it was not just throw it up and you are ready to go. Also the fact that I was sent the wrong CM and was told to pay for my own shipping to replace did not do JCI well in my book.

 

So if you are doing a LSx swap and have no way of makin mounts or CM yourself....great kit.....just dont expect great service and the direction sucks.

 

Glad I bought the kit anyway

[ZHeadV8]

Everyone's mileage varies, however, I have not spent a single penny with John's Cars ..................YET ...........but I am going to.

 

I have rung John twice now from the UK, sorting out what goes where, what I need to do with headers etc and I have to say the guy has been immensely helpful both in terms of selling his own products but also warning me about things to watch out for, gotchas, and PIA things that will waste my time and energy.

 

I intend to buy the full kit, I only wish they took credit cards or payment by Paypal but that is not a criticism, merely a convenience thing for me.

[LS1 Z]

I can't complain, My Z has been on the road going on 3 years. I do alot of drag racing and do beat the car at the track. No problems!!! In dealing with John and Mike, a pleasure. John took care of my tach for no charge for referring alot of you to them. John did call me a couple of years ago and asked "How my project was coming along." I explained the car has been on the road for about a year and I love it! His reply was mine was the first one that he was aware of that was on the road. (except for phantom).

I receintly had another dealing with JCI. I needed timing chain tools for a newer 4.0l v8 Jaguar. (cam and crank holders and chain adjusters). I found that JCI had them in stock for a 3rd or 4th of the price that Jag wanted. And had them to me next the day! I would deal with them again!!!

JOEY

[Phantom]

Joey,

I know you've addressed this before - what mod's did you make to the LS1? Cam, heads, LS6 intake, 90mm TB?

My stock LS1 is making just 311 RWHP so I'm curious what will give me another 100+ HP at the rear.

Bill

[Dudeboy]

For the most part JCI (for me) has been great to deal with.

 

John's Cars, Summit, Jegs, Black Dragon (Victoria British), Arizona Z Car and Speartech have come through. I pay my money order parts and then they are delivered.

 

JTR ?Nice guys, great parts, but I am still waiting for my headers.

 

Dareena at Street and Performance told what the problem was (bad employee no longer there)

my order was cleared up and shipped. Parts received as ordered.

[1 tuff z]

my take on jci. great engine mounts-work just as promised. sent wrong crossmember-even though i sent him my; month/year production date, vin and other info he asked for. had to return it on my dime and then still had to modify the correct cm on arrival. instructions could use some updating and their packing skills are lacking-at best. number of parts were damaged because of it. phone skills also lacking. if i treated my business like that, i wouldn't have one. perhaps they feel as the only lsx engine mount game in town they can act so cavalier.

 

i do, as a person who does not own a shop, welder or other mad fab tools-the fact that they produce the hi-qual eng mounts for this swap.

[Phantom]

Actually it's more like the LSx stuff represents about 1/10th of 1% of their business and it takes a lot more of their time than that. They are a premier Jaguar conversion/restoration house and that is where nearly all their business is.

[MikeJTR]

[quote name=

JTR ?Nice guys' date=' great parts, but I am still waiting for my headers.

QUOTE]

 

I apologize for the wait.

We are only back-ordered one set, which is obviously your set.

We don't sell that many LS1 Z headers -- about 10 sets a year, which is the minimum order that Sanderson will make for us. I mention this so that people will have a better understanding of the low volume of people who purchase the parts from us.

We ordered the headers over two months ago, sometimes Sanderson is a bit slow, but for the most part, we are happy with them.

 

I was told the headers are going through the ceramic coating process, and will be ready by Monday.

[Dudeboy]

I am not one to nag or constantly e-mail/phone a vendor about the parts I order and pay for in full. However, I realize I am living in two worlds; Corvette world and Datsun Z world !!! In Corvette world parts are on the shelf and many choices and options including how and when you want the parts shipped,(next day, second day or ground). In the Z world most shops are becoming extinct andor have switch to catering to another market and do not have the parts on the shelf. So, for me communication of the delays is key, a quick e-mail or phone call. John's car communicated they were having problems getting the driveshaft measurements correct because of the different transmissions. Mike (Greg) JTR told me the delay for not receiving the headers with the rest of parts, and now I understand and I am patient.

I have come to find out Street and Performance had and an employee issue that they handle, they straighten out my order and I received my parts. So, If there are any delays or problems just send out a quick e-mail or phone call and most will understand.

[Phantom]

A little history on the JCI LS1 kit.

In 1997, just after painting my car, I visited John's Cars on Jaguar Lane in Dallas, TX. I had come across a post somewhere that indicated he had a kit available for a V8 conversion in Z's. At the time all he had was a derelict 280ZX with an SBC sitting in his salvage yard that evidently had been the mule for the kit. I got a chance to meet John, talk with him about the kit a bit, and see some of their workmanship on V8 conversions on a Jaguar. Impressive would be an understatement. The Jaguar SBC installation looked absolutely OEM and even cleaner than the original Jaguar engine. I was still debating at that time if I wanted to go the route of a stroker L28, boosted L28, or V8. It took me until 2002 to make the decision. Around May of 2002 I approached John again, this time serious about the V8 conversion but I had also decided I wanted the LS1, not an SBC. See what effect HybridZ has on lurkers! That took some talking because there basically was no historical data available to start from that John was comfortable with. He did, however, happen to have a '98 Camaro Z28 on his lot with only 3,500 miles on it that he had purchased with the intent of developing a kit to do the LS1 conversion in Jags. He hadn't had any takers and it had been sitting there quite a while so we struck a deal.

I delivered my car to John just after the 4th of July weekend in 2002. A week later my drivetrain was out and sold to a Dallas policeman who wanted it to build up for his 280Z. Thus the saga began that is somewhat chronicled by the 'LS1 / T56 Update #x" that I generally posted in the Chevy V8 forum. It took 11 months to get the car on the road. I have no idea how many prototype parts John actually built before he finally settled on ones that he liked. I know it was more than a few. I think he went through around six sets of headers. One of the things I appreciated the most was the thoroughness of the his approach and that he kept me involved in the process. One thing we both agreed on early in the project was that the design concept was to be for a vehicle that would be a daily driver. That meant KISS was a primary guide so that the car would be reliable and easily maintainable. The line between Datsun and Chevrolet was pretty clearly defined and maintained. That is one of the reasons JCI offers the CableX box to retain the stock speedometer and can modify the stock tachs to work with the LSx output. That is also why his fuel pump is designed to work with a 280Z fuel tank and use the stock fuel lines for supply and return and he found an AC compressor that will work with the conversion.

Bottom line - I got the car for some shakedown time in June of 2003 - drove it for a month - and then gave it back to John for another three months to refine some of the details. It took 14 months to develop the kit that allows a decent mechanic to do an LSx conversion in about two weeks. It was totally worth it to me - I hope it is to y'all.

[m1noel]

Thanks Phantom,

They definately made it worth it and fun for me Too. By the way, if you ever make it back through the Boise area, I'd sure like to meet up with you.

Mike

[Phantom]

Mike,

I have some buddies still in the Boise area and intend to get over there every now and then - even if it's just for a PF Chang's fix. Interesting that your wife drives a 350Z roadster. Mine drives a '93 Z32 Convertible - pearl white, navy blue top, tan leather interior with the 350Z style Z emblems stitch in the seats in navy blue. 4-spd automatic for her. It's definitely a cruiser. She loves it.

BTW - you're car looks gorgeous. Looks like you're really doing it right. It's about time to start over on mine. The paint is 10 years old now and really showing the abuse of regular driving.

Bill