Chelmsford  +44 (0)1621 879579

The World Leading Brand Since 1987

Upgrades

With a team of skilled engineers, based within our 65,000 sq/ft headquarters in Chelmsford, JD Classics can tune, tweak and upgrade your classic to meet your specific needs, be it racing, rallying or touring.

Upgrades are available across any make and model, with customers able to choose services like gearbox upgrades, left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive conversions, air-conditioning fitment, engine tweaks and brake and handling packages. To see additional detail on each of our upgrade packages, click on one of the tabs below for more information on that particular area.

JD Classics upgrades do not detract from the car’s originality, with all components generally hidden from view. They’re also designed to be easily reversible should a customer decide to return the car to its ‘original’ state. To speak to JD Classics about upgrades for your vehicle, call the team on +44 (0)1621 879579 or e-mail on info@jdclassics.com.

Full in-house engine rebuild service

Woodham Mortimer upgrades are designed to enhance the value of your vehicle as well as your driving experience.

All our engines are created in our purpose-built engine room, manned with dedicated staff who produce the highest quality re-builds; from standard specification to modified WM Sport high-torque engines.

Each one can be modified to fit their application, including leaded to unleaded engine re-builds, as well as WM Sport fuel-injection engines with mappable management systems.

Options include

  • Programmable fuel injection
  • Up-rated carburettors
  • WM camshafts
  • Big-valve, ported cylinder heads
  • WM Sport crankshafts and conrods
  • Hi-torque conversions
  • Unleaded conversions
  • Geared starters
  • Oil coolers
  • Stainless steel or polished alloy ignition head separates
  • Rear crankshaft oil seal conversions
  • Carburettors – hidden fuel injection
  • Supercharging and turbo charging
  • Camshaft follower retainers
  • Steel laminated head gaskets
  • Forged pistons
  • Modified flywheels
  • Rolling road tuning
  • High flow oil pumps
  • Electric water pump; modified
  • Ignition systems
  • Rev limiters
  • Dry oil sump systems
  • Engine pre-heat systems

Features that make a world of difference

Woodham Mortimer’s engine ancillaries have been developed over a 20-year period. Even so, this is the first time we’ve offered these unique and high-performance enhancements to anyone other than our existing customers.

Designed in-house, as well as refined and tested exhaustively, these Woodham Mortimer options are unique and are not available through any other company.

Options include

  • Monza fuel caps – with internal locking filler neck
  • Hand-made stainless steel exhaust manifolds and systems
  • Gearbox oil coolers
  • WM Sport electric water pump
  • WM Sport ignition triggers
  • WM Sport ignition systems and leads
  • WM Sport fluid crankshaft damper
  • WM Sport inertia starter motors
  • WM Sport throttle linkages
  • WM Sport custom-made alloy radiators and electric cooling fans

Above and beyond, safety first

Many vehicles now considered ‘classics’ were launched by pioneers – building automobiles that were perpetually breaking new ground. However, motor vehicle engineering has moved on leaps and bounds since then – and even more so over the last 10 years.

The list of enhancements on this page illustrates our own pioneering use of modern technology on classic cars.

The result? Our chassis upgrades enable your car to be used more safely – no matter where your level of driving ability may lay.

Options include

  • Brake upgrades
  • Suspension upgrades
  • Air suspension
  • Fully-adjustable shock absorbers and coil over
  • Front and rear anti-roll bars
  • Power-steering conversions
  • Long-range fuel tanks
  • Alloy radiators
  • Alloy solid billet reservoirs
  • Electronic fuel pumps
  • Fuel pressure regulators
  • Handbrake upgrades
  • Left to right/right to left steering conversions
  • Stainless steel water pipes
  • Remote brake bleed systems

Taking control of modern driving conditions

Decades of experience has shown us that the weak point on many classic cars – and Jaguar cars in particular – is the gearbox.

We’ve therefore updated the original designs to create automatic and manual gearboxes that are at the same time user-friendly and much more sympathetic to contemporary driving conditions.

Options include

  • 5 and 6-speed manual gearboxes
  • 4, 5 and 6-speed automatic gearboxes
  • Multi-plate clutch upgrades
  • Carbon fibre propshafts
  • Limited slip differentials
  • Independent rear suspension
  • Gearbox oil coolers
  • Gear lever conversions

Engineered for protection and performance

With a swathe of tried and tested modifications available, there are now no limitations to the type of use your vehicle can be put to. The lateral thinking and innovations moulding these developments have been in response to customer feedback on our cars’ performance and levels of comfort.

The outcome of all this effort is that Woodham Mortimer can now offer unique suspension packages that also bring the best of modern comforts to classic car owners.

Options include

  • WM Sport front and rear suspension
  • Competition wire wheels and modern tyres
  • WM Sport fully-adjustable shock absorbers
  • WM Sport rear axle differential unit

Striking innovations styled skillfully and sensitively

Modern vehicle manufacturers are continually pushing the boundaries of sophistication with a seemingly never-ending stream of innovations.

Naturally, this gives us no end of challenges, which, for our part, we relish, as we’re delighted to be able to amaze our customers by fitting modern equipment in classic cars as discretely as we do.

Listed here is a small selection of what we can do for you.

Options include

  • Rear parking sensors, with cameras mounted in rear lights
  • Dimming interior lights
  • Intermittent wipers
  • Hazard lights
  • Heated front and rear screens
  • Remote central locking
  • Alarms/immobilisers
  • Electric windows, mirrors and seats
  • Audio/CD/DVD/TV/GP3/iPod
  • Satellite navigation/GPS
  • Tracker
  • Air conditioning/climate control
  • Electric power steering
  • ABS/traction control
  • Air bags
  • Quartz/xenon headlamps
  • LED brake lamps
  • Electronic ignition
  • Battery trickle charger with photo/solar cell
  • Tyre pressure sensors
  • Alternator conversions
  • Uprated engine cooling fans
  • Uprated battery systems
  • Custom wiring looms

Style and Individuality

The whole point of paying such attention to detail in our restorations is to enable you to enjoy your car to its full potential. Which is why Woodham Mortimer upgrades not only enhance the visual appeal of your classic, they’re also intensely practical, too.

Options include

  • Louvres to bonnets, etc.
  • Coombs-style wheel arch spats
  • Custom mirrors
  • Electric sunroofs
  • Uprated boot lid springs
  • Customised door seals
  • Electric folding roof conversions
  • Lifetime bodywork warranty
  • Heat and sound insulation
  • Custom paint finishes
  • Custom bodywork modifications

Stretching the boundaries of sophistication

Classic luxury marques are still revered for the traditional adoption of natural materials; from walnut veneers, to the finest leather trim – as well as in the exquisitely designed instrumentation.

But now Woodham Mortimer have taken standards several steps further still...

Options include

  • Bespoke luggage
  • Burr walnut dashboards and door cappings
  • Wilton carpet
  • Inertia wheel seat belts
  • Glove compartment manual locks
  • Electric seats
  • Electric windows
  • Central locking
  • Hidden umbrellas
  • Heat and sound insulation
  • Roll cages
  • Instrument overhaul and calibration
  • Custom interior pedal boxes
  • Fridge and cocktail cabinets
  • Interior lighting
  • Automatic garage door opening systems
  • Cruise control
  • Tinted glass
  • Electrochromatic glass
  • Custom interior switchgear location
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Air conditioning
  • Air bags