I have searched high and low and now humbly ask for some advice.

I might be purchasing a 2004 XJR in BRG color with 60K miles. The one major flaw is a missing leaping jaguar on the hood. The metal cable is hanging out and the metal plate is still there.

I read somewhere -- but I can't find it anymore -- on the net that if you remove the leaping Jaguar and replace it with a badge you will end up with at least one hole on your hood where the "key" protrusion on the leaping Jaguar plate fits in. (I guess you can put the badge over at least one of the holes on the hood, but it's not big enough for both.)

So... I see all these cool badges on the internet that read "Supercharged" and such. If I want to pull the leaping Jaguar off the hood will I have a major project on my hands to deal with the resulting hole? Could some elbow grease and BRG touch up paint do the trick? (I could spare minor imperfection for the sleeker look.)

When I look at the Euro versions of the XJR's I am really impressed with their appearance versus our grandfatherly ones.

Many thanks for any help you can provide.

 

Just for clarification, I still would need to buy a new leaping cat to replace the old one that was broken off in an apparent act of vandalism -- unless I install a badge of some kind.

 

I'll give myself yet another bump. It might be best to simply try to remove the leaper altogether and patch the two holes in the hood. This is how the Euro ones are, I think. They don't have anything on the hood, just the badge on above the grill. (I hope I got the terminology right.)

 

Personally I think your best bet would to be to replace the leaper.

I have just done this and am very pleased with it.

The difficult part is done for you ie drilling the bonnet.

The leaper I have was incredibly cheap from ebay UK ($45 delivered to Australia!) must have been made in China but looks great.

it is spring loaded and legal (I hope).

The leaper is distinctive and helps you stand out from the crowd!

 

The badge fits in the leaper hole or to be more precise the leaper goes in the badge hole.

There a 3 versions
1. Leaper installed
2. Hole Drilled but badge instead if leaper
3. No badge/ No Hole

Here in OZ
up to 2002 had 1 and 2.
2002-03 had 3
2004 on 1 and 2 for all but the XJR which had 3

For models with the badge the leaper was always an option, so there is no reason you can do the reverse

Cheers
34by151

 

Tallxjdriver...To quote a Yamaha motorcycle ad..."we build the motorcycle, you make it yours !" Go for it if that's what you'd like.

The most useful information I can give you is this:

The Leaper had two protrusions on its bottom. One is the larger threaded one that's what actually is used to attach it to the hood. The second one is a much smaller locating pin to keep it from rotating around the first. The total distance from outside to outside of these two is 41.07 mm =/- .01mm. Since they are arranged in a straight line and not offset side to side the largest hole is also the minimum width required to cover them both. That measurement is only 15.30 mm +/- .01mm.

Hope this helps.

 

From this thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...e-emblem-9639/

 

Thank you. RDMinor, it sounds like I had the wrong impression that a badge is not large enough to cover all of the drill holes from the factory made for the leaper.

Still, the leaper is set further back on the hood than where a badge normally would appear on a car. As a result, I could see that maybe filling the holes would be a better option.

meirion, I really think that the cleaner look is the better one. Maybe one day my mind will change but for now I like the Euro look.

 

This is the key thread for this issue, I believe. That emblem is great looking but must be adapted. You must use a dremel tool to remove the tab that does not fit in the smaller of the two holes.

As an expecting new owner in the L.A. area, I do not want to worry about someone slamming my leaper off the hood and dinging up the hood. This is the way to go, I think.

Cheers, Nori, for pointing me in the right direction.

 

I have a badge originally but it was dug out by some vandal. I replaced it with a leaper from Ebay($45). I had to drill a 6mm hole to allow for the locating lug. The badge is 76mm so still manages to cover both holes. The only issue I had was the bonnet had the clear coat respray with the badge on. Hence, the round tide mark looked unsightly. So i made an adapter plate(76mm pipe flange cover). See photo.

 

i put a green badge that was taken from a xk8 and it covered up the holes very nicely. the green in the emblem matches my cars color too.

 

Nice result, Wattie. I did not know that vandals would steal badges off of cars. Maybe in the U.S. this is less common since badges are less common.

SexyBeast, I think this is what I'm going to do use -- green badge on BRG color. Does yours say "Supercharged" on it? Does it have a tab that fits into the larger hole? Does it secure in the larger hole with the nylon screw or another screw? Or is merely adhesive?

I see an example on Ebay that says "Jaguar" at the top and "Supercharged" at the bottom. It's rimmed in black with green in the middle.

 

[QUOTE=TallXJDriver;728990]Thank you. RDMinor, it sounds like I had the wrong impression that a badge is not large enough to cover all of the drill holes from the factory made for the leaper.

Still, the leaper is set further back on the hood than where a badge normally would appear on a car. As a result, I could see that maybe filling the holes would be a better option.


One measurement that I forgot and that might help your decision along is that the distance from the backside of the aft retaining lug (small one) to the rear tip of the Leapers base is 50.16mm +/- .10mm, or 1.97" Is that enough to move the badge far enough forward to suit or do you think drilling is the only solution?

If you drill make VERY VERY sure that you properly finish the inside edges of the hole with rust stopping finish as well as a liberal dab of paint to seal the edges from the rust that will surely follow if you don't. I guess corrosion would be a better word given the aluminum hood. Or is it aluminium hood<G><G>

 

Thanks! I will likely not be drilling into the hood. Looked at the car again (still have not purchased it) and see that it also needs new headliner fabric because it is sagging.

 

this is what i put on my xj. You will have to break off the plastic tabs on the underside and attach it with 2 sided tape. these little things are expensive. i found mine on ebay for 30ish was it was used and came all the way from isreal.