aren't they all 18x8? If so, you'll want either 245 or 255's all round, as per XJRs
that front lip is actually quite nice. Hard to tell for certain on a car that low though.
I picked up some Arden side skirts, they're not as tall, and have a nice curve at the ends. Recommend a quick google search to heck them out, you might like them

 

After reading a bit in the detailing section, I went out to the XJR and polished the wood quickly with some Mothers California Gold instant detailer.


Now as my wood was not dull or dirty, I did not expect the result that I got.
The colour is darker, with more depth, and a high gloss, the best it has looked in the 4 years I have owned her.


As the wood in our cars is sprayed with a clearcoat, it makes sense to treat it the way we do on the body work, and the polish has UV protection that I am not sure that Pledge or similar has.

 

Removed the rear view mirror last week (leaked the dreaded fluid) and sent off for repairs. Should be back in the cat by the end of next week.

 

Nop, fronts are 8J, rears are 9J for these rims.
275/40 on the rear should fit both the rim, as well as the car, and will have the exact same diameter as the 245/45 fronts (and the original 225/60 fitted right now).

I just picked up a roll of flexible front spoiler lip.
Will first install this, and see how it will survive the lower ride.

There are plenty of pics on the J-Complete website of lowered Jags with, but also without body kits (ƒMƒƒƒ‰ƒŠ�[�@‚Q).

A body kit looks impressive, but I am afraid it takes away the gracious lines of the original design.
I first want to see how my car looks like with the new rims, and lowered, before deciding on that step.

 

Decided NOT to buy the original Jaguar tool kit, as I consider the tools in it pretty useless.
Besides, it looks crappy too with the green plastic.

Instead, cut some foam in the right shape, and made it suitable for a torch and a high quality multi-tool set.

 

Very nice! Looks great! I like the flashlight, always need one of those.

I thought about doing something similar, but I bought the tool kit - (expensive for what you get and I had to import one from England, they are impossible to find in the USA) but your set up looks great. Might want to put some pliers in there and a tire gauge.

I did use one of the spanners (wrench) my factory tool kit one time to removed my battery leads to do hard reset when the car was acting strange.
Vector

 

Nice job ericjansen

 

Recovered headliner board and sunroof with new fabric

 

One of the very few things I did not like on my VDP was the plastic shift cover.
It looked cheap because of the material and its yellowish color.

Sourced a leather version from one of the forum members.
Color was oatmeal, but after some preparation and some ivory leather dye, the leather turned out a factory fit.
Then spray-painted the switch-cover, and re-did all missing mounting pins in an other way.
Very happy with the result.

 

Still playing cassettes I see?

I should get a few and try them in my XJR just for nostalgia!
Vector

 

Hi
Today for the first time i listen on my XJR a tape cassette recorded by me on metal type cassette many years ago . The sound is great. Now i have in my car five metal cassettes founded on my office and i will play them all .

 

Ericjansen- If you could tell more about replacing missing pins...I am suffering the same problem...Also would like the leather wrapped shift cover rather than the plastic. I have tried to glue the pins back in..not working very well.

 

Installed the rear view mirror that was rebuilt. Perfect.

 

Let me try to explain as I failed to make pictures:

The newly purchased cover came with several of the white plastic grommets, which are normally located on the base plate, and are holding the pins down.

I separated the "stainless" surround from the leather cover, and used this as a base to create new pins.
This surround has already holes which allow the original pins going through.

I then used these little grommets to glue in the holes of the surround (if I remember well, with the flange up).
After hardening, you can cut the excessive plastic, then glue the old broken pins (or anything which can act as a pin) into these grommets.

Finally, I clipped and glued the stainless surround back in the leather surround (after all dye-work done).
Check if it a clear fit before you glue it, I remember I had to cut some plastic away where the old pins were broken off.

After that, you will have a surround which has very sturdy pins, and can be installed in exact the same way as the original, by pushing it into the original grommets on the base plate.
You can remove it any time by just pushing the surround up.

I hope this is a bit clear, not easy to describe in text, but probably rather easy if you see the parts.
Will make some pic if needed.

E.

 

We just moved back from 15 years living in Mainland China to the Island, and during the extensive moving-cleanup, I found several tapes which went all around the world with me in the last 30 years.
With finally a car which actually has a tape player, it is all a trip down memory lane from there .. highly recommendable!

 

I've been contemplating the same improvement. Why Jaguar doesn't think we ALL deserve warm bottoms, I can't say.

Where'd you get 'em? What kind of shape, how much $ ? How will you switch them? Questions, questions.

Pete

 

Very nice work, Eric. Now you've gone and given me an idea to do the same. Sigh. Nothing is ever really finished on these things...

 

I just swapped in a new old radio I picked up a couple weeks ago just because my original radio for the car STOPPED playing cassettes. All is good now; I must have 150 old cassettes of music I've collected over the years.

And, in my 'what I did today' message, I'll detail everything I did...

 

In between storms...got my ride back after what started out as an oil change which turned into fuel rails and injector seals...and had backed up a bunch of reclaimed parts, so, figured I'd get to it in the garage, which was nice and warm.

Preliminary: Disconnected the negative lead from the battery. First things first, especially when you're futzing with electrical components. Reconnected it, as needed, when checking functions of changed components, then unhooked it again. Which, I discovered later, because of the time it was disconnected, the car has to relearn my driving style, it seems...

1. I had obtained an overhead console from a VDP with the burl walnut insert (instead of the plain plastic) as well as the phone mic already installed. Since I have the T605 in the car and hooked up nicely, the only thing missing was the mic. Plug-check-play. Sounds fine (I have the moto remote mic and the part number for the mating plug that is in the roof...so may do a side by side comparison, but, the quick test I made by calling into the house and having the SO pick up, she said it sounded just fine, so I may leave it with the stock Jag mic.

2. Had to (re)program the homelink opener to work; seems the module is in the console itself; followed the directions in the manual, now I have a button remote as it should be (4 different doors? Guess the target market for this car is your typical English gentleman in the Cotswolds with a gate, and 3 car shed, right?)

3. Time to do the radio. Was dreading this job, since it meant taking off the surround for the sport and cruise buttons, the gear surround, the backing plate, and then, carefully prising the ski slope (so as to a: not crack the veneer, and b: not snap off the tab a the top). Well, managed to accomplish its removal without damage by following various insights from the forums here...except that the whole veneer sheet just popped off the plastic backing/mount without any damage! More on that later.

4. Radio removal was as per guidance here. Pulled the AI connector, antenna, yellow and white connectors (hint, lay a terry towel or such over the J gate so as to not scratch the thing with the radio).

Forward of the module is a lot of space...so, measured my FM modulator, and it fits nicely just forward and under the radio. Industrial velcro on the modulator, stick it down, plug antenna into the modulator...and the male connector is free to the radio. Ran the wires for the modulator (L/R input, and 12 V leads along the passenger side of the console interior and stuffed under the ash tray into the arm rest compartment. Reinstalled old radio to check fit; no issues; put a piece of the fuzzy velcro on the top of the modulator just in case to keep things quiet.

5. Slid old radio out of the mount by pressing on the tabs on the top, and pushing from the rear of the radio to the front.

For the new radio, recovered from a 2002 by the serial number, had disassembled the face plate, removed all the buttons, rubber light mask, and such, spent time at the kitchen sink with an old toothbrush, some liquid detergent and water in a basin, scrubbing the schmutz from sweaty fingers, spilled drinks, and plain dirt over 13 years from the buttons and faceplate. Dried with warm air, reassembled, and damn...it looks brand new. Really.

So, installed it in the radio bezel...and hooked it up. Reattached the battery, key to position 2...pressed the on button...and the radio did NOT request a code! OK. But, all the functions (CD, Tape, AM/FM in the proper zone) work, tape sounds fine, CDs play, phone works, antenna goes up and down...happy camper.

6. I had also picked up a top button row for the center console with the heated seat buttons. So, while the radio was out, removed the single screw at the top, withdrew the heater/switch pack from the console, removed the three screws holding the old switch pack in the bezel, unhooked the plug for the switchpack, and installed the upgraded (with heated seat switches) pack in, plugged it back in, and reinstalled. (note to self: the backlight for the right heated seat button is out...so, will have to pull the switchpack again at some point...). I don't think my seats have the relays installed; I'll check at some point...but at least the switches are there and wired in now, right? And the console looks good with a full bank of switches. Checked the operation of the lock, valet, seat switches, trac off, and hazard. Everything seems to be giving the right indication.

7. Put it all back together. Well, mostly. Remember I said the entire veneer came off the backing in one piece? That's where I pulled out my pot of contact cement (which I had purchased from Airtex here in Morrisville); this stuff is meant to survive general aviation aircraft interiors, and is a lot more aggressive than what you can get at the local hardware store. Used some 1200 on the plastic to clean it up and smooth it out, and with a fine brush, applied a smooth coat of cement to both the back of the veneer AND the face of the back plate and let flash off. Then, carefully (CAREFULLY), using the inside of the top of the center opening as a register, with a slip sheet of wax paper between the two, reattached the veneer using the radio/heater/switchpack opening as a guide, pulling the slip sheet out as I pressed the pieces together. Nothing cracked, and it all is registered properly.

Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly. Only change is that I installed one of the Kuda console 'sidecars' so I can mount, without having to drill into the console, one of my ham radio control heads when the weather breaks. The Kuda mound has a thin metal tab that fits under the ski slope and is clamped between the trim and the console. No marks, no drilling, and there is a mounting surface that I can drill into without damaging the oem interior. Such a deal.

Polished up the wood trim, cleaned the vinyl around the console...and took her for a cruise to fill up the tank.

Life is good today. Take your time, work methodically, and it will all come together. Will try and get photos taken when I can; otherwise...

Oh, yeah, troubleshot the original radio. Seems somehow a screw was jammed in the original cassette mechanism...removed it, and it seems to be working just fine. Cleaned that one up, too, the way I did the one that's in the car now, hooked it up to my test harness in my radio shop...and works just fine.

SO, that's what got done on my Kitty today.

 

ericjansen- Thanks Much!