I finally had a few hours to myself and I decided to attack the sorry look of my ski slope switches, you know, the ones that are always popping out?

I bought a replacement ski-slope, with the cup holders from British Autowood. Well the thickness of the material (steel with wood veneer) is far greater than anything the bezel clips can tolerate , so I had to come up with an alternate solution.

What I did was take a wire hanger, not the crummy thin ones, but the thicker one and snip off some pieces. I then slid it through the switch clips. I then had to thicken up the ends because it was about .5cm off. Anyways, it worked for the windows and cruise control.

The cigar lighter was much tougher. I basically wrapped it in a rubber tape and used a hose clamp with some steel angles. There was still a gap, so I shoved in some more of the leftover wire hanger pieces, and it is locked in there. The problem is that its too tight for the cigar lighter itself. It gets wedged in there and is almost impossible to pull out. I must have tightened it too much. I also covered over the light bulb, so that's going to need a LED conversion... I'll get to that next time I have more time.

Its only a little bit trickier making all the connections to the switches, since you can't connect/disconnect any of them with the ski slope on, but there's plenty of wire to plug everything back in.

I've attached some pics!

 

Thanks for the reply and progress photos. This is workable if I were to remove the ski slope. However, due to health issues, I can not comfortably accomplish this task. This display did foster an idea that I might be able to work without removing the slope. Would really like to locate a source for the metal clips.

 

I don't know how you could substitute any metal clips where you currently have plastic.

You would have to order OEM replacement switches. Typically they run for about $50/piece on eBay, brand new. Perhaps you can hunt some breaker down to sell you the used ones for less?

 

Just a thought.....But wouldn't grinding a small layer off the back of the slope enough for the original switches to fit. As this is a known problem i'm surprised that Saul doesn't do that anyway.

 

Not sure you wouldn't cook the veneer from the heat. The steel is pretty thick.

I definitely had concerns over discoloring the wood. The veneer is probably too thin for Saul to have had oversized the steel openings.

 

Hmmm maybe so... but isn't the original so. Maybe he could redo the original metal......

 

Ultimately that's the problem. The OEM material is a thin wood sheet of wood, which matches the thickness needed to make the clip work.

The ski slope Saul provides is probably twice as thick. It's not even close.

If it were a perfect assembly, the openings would be stamped down to a thinner profile so that the veneer, steel and even the varnish would all fit within what's needed to make the clip work. I don't think his production line is that sophisticated.

A long time ago, he used to make these with some kind of carbon fiber material. He stopped doing that a very long time ago. Perhaps that matched the OEM dimensions?

 

Vee, do you think the ski slope you got from British Autowood is okay except for the thickness? I would like to replace my slope to get the cup holders. My slope isn't in very good shape. My slope is of the light colored wood.
Thanks, RagJag

 

Ragjag,

As you have a Celebration XJS, you will have Sapwood.

Paul

 

I would suggest that you look into fitting the xj40 centre consul cup holders (if that's what you're looking for) instead of having slope problems. Just my 2pence.....

 

Good idea malc4d but my slope is not in a very good condition so I will order a new one.
RagJag

 

I received my new ski slope from British Autowood today. It is dark burl and matches my original wood bits in the cabin. This piece is made with aluminum and wood bonded together. The cup holders are nicely chromed. The wood is quite beautiful. I haven't installed it as yet and am anxious to find out if it is thicker than the original, as the steel backed ones are.
Cheers, Ragag

 

They are thicker and most switches will not fit correctly. I have heard of guys putting a small dab of super glue to keep them from popping out.

 

RagJag, how thick is yours? I'll try to put a caliper on mine. It's definitely the steel type.

 

Vee, my slope is .143 " thick. Metric is 3.5. I didn't measure the original as it is still in the car.
If it is too thick I may consider RTV gasket maker to keep the switches in and also make them easier to remove if needed. Super glue may be too difficult to remove.

 

I sure l saw some original NOS ski slopes for sale recently. Just cant remember where. They were for a later model than mine.

 

Thanks for the post - I'm going to have to do something like this. My switches won't stay put and it's making me anxious.

 

I installed my new ski slope yesterday. All went well. I applied gasket maker to the inside of the switches where they had the little clips and it holds quite well after overnight drying. I am pleased to say the least. Very nice slope with the little cup holders. I know it isn't stock but I don't smoke. Will keep the ash trays for any future owner that wants to go original.

 

There is a veneer woodworker in quebec, canada from whom i purchased a xjs ski slope with cup holders. All of my switches fit with absolutely no issue. No modifications required. Everything just snapped in.. He is listed on ebay under bruce*459. Just contact him for details. He has re-burl veneered all of the dashboard pieces as well as the door cards. Excellent workmanship.