Even when you’re working on a stock vehicle and using OEM or direct-fit aftermarket parts, you might have to make adjustments as you go. Maybe a tool breaks on you. Perhaps you had a simple pull-and-replace operation in mind for a vital part, but forgot that you have to go through a lengthy process to get another piece of hardware out of its way first. Either way, things don’t always go according to plan.

Now imagine what could go wrong if you were to try to turn a Jaguar X-Type sedan into an off-road mud monster. I’ll make it easy for you: a lot. Just watch the video up top. The guys at Car Throttle have been slowly converting the baby Jag into a mud-slinging rock crawler. So far, they’ve given it a straight-pipe exhaust, a substantial lift, a chunky set of tires, a snorkel, and a roof rack.

The definition of a work in progress.

Given that Jaguar never offered those kinds of upgrades for its smallest sedan, the CT crew has had to DIY and retrofit pretty much everything but the rubber. As you’ve probably guessed by this point, that means things are going as smoothly as a Jeep over the Rubicon Trail. Those meaty tires? Even after a lot of fender cutting and sheet metal hammering, they continue to rub. It’s time to break out the angle grinder and hammer again to free up more space for the rugged rubber to turn and rebound.

That snorkel? The previous setup of a large-diameter plastic hose connected to the engine and exiting out of the front driver’s-side fender gave the MAF sensor fits, so it has to go.

Thus, the CT gang decides a short and direct path is the best approach. This requires cutting a hole in the hood, which is easier said than done. Even with a circular saw bit, they can’t punch all the way through the metal so they have to break out the trusty angle grinder once more, then snip out the ugly remaining chunks of metal. After all of that, the plumbing tube they insert just barely fits. However, it works and gives the MAF sensor just what it wants. The new snorkel makes a cool sound, too.

It’s come a long way, but still has a long way to go.

After making those adjustments, adding a wood floor to the roof rack and securing it on top of Project Mud-Type, the boys can finally take their build out again. Host Alex Kursten drives it over easy terrain and down a watery path. Despite his best efforts and those of his colleagues, Project Mud-Type’s tires are still rubbing.

It’s just as well because Kursten and company still have plenty more work to do, anyway. They’re going to be wrenching for quite a while longer. They still need to weld Project Mud-Type’s rear differential. I have a feeling that that will present its own set of unforeseen problems… and that the CT guys should be able to grind and hammer their way through them.