Hi everyone

I have recently purchased a 1994 6.0 XJ Convertible. The vehicle needs some mechanical work, soft top replacement, leather interior replacement, plus I intend to conduct a bare metal respray. I am located in Abu Dhabi UAE, which provides some benefits and challenges. On the positive side labor costs are relatively low so the interior and paint work is cost effective, however there is a dearth of experienced independent Jaguar specialists to do the mechanical work. My intention is to ship the car to the UK for annual summer use by myself when there.

Normally I would focus on the mechanical work first. Given the lack of Jaguar shops here I intend to delay the mechanical work until the vehicle is back in the UK. I am seeking some guidance regarding the order to approach the other work in. Would others recommend:

1st paint, 2nd soft top, 3rd interior, or
1st soft top, 2nd paint, 3rd interior

Or otherwise?

 

I would also welcome guidance on external trim and it’s originality as my I ruin is to make the car as original as possible.

• I will remove the chrome wheel arch trim
• there is a vertical trim down the rhs door - is it original? Not there on LHD driver door
• there is black trim with a slim chrome strip on both sides between the wheels - is this original or aftermarket? I assume the latter
• There is a oval jaguar logo on black plastic behind each rear wheel - original or aftermarket?

i also intend to maintain the leaper and rear spoiler, but remove the high level brake light on the boot / trunk lid - any thoughts or opinions? I expect this to have some controversy, but please recognise this is less of a concern to me than the bullet points above.

Thanks in advance to all for your support.

Beat wishes

Pierre

 

First, you must be prepared to spend a great deal of money if all this work is to be done for you.
Second, as far as the mechanical work goes, I would have a specialist look at the car and advise you what needs doing. Theer are some things that probably will - eg all rubber components in the suspension and maybe shock absorbers; and some things that will probably not - eg engine, gearbox, rear axle. All oils and fluids, including brake fluid will need changing, and the brake hardware (discs calipers) will need inspecting and renwewing where needed. Aircon system will need inspecting and recharging and probably a new compressor. Have the cooling system pressurised and renewed as required with new coolant pipes and thermostats being an absolute MUST. Also electrical sensors would be best renewed if you want a reliable car. Finally any wiring under the bonnet will need careful inspection and renewing where cooked and brittle. All this is relatively straightforward and should get done for a few thousand UKP.
Then I would get the car MOT'd (ie OK'd for the road and registered). The point of doing all this first is that there is a high probability of new bodywork and paint being damaged when heavy-duty mechanical work is being done.
After the car is roadworthy, then it can be stripped as required and painted and while this is going on a new interior can be made (Aldridge and the top place and their prices reasonable given the nature of the work they do).

As an aside, after all of this, it is important to realise that these cars need using regularly. If you are only going to use it in the summer, get it stored by a firm that keeps them in proper conditions and will exercise it regularly. This service is surprisingly reasonably priced in the UK.

Finally, the interior looks like a professional clean and restore would be enough, and the paint looks as though a good cut and polish is all it needs!

 

Hello Pierre

Just looking at her in the photo's she looks like a beauty. but photo's can be deceiving. Are you sure it needs a bare metal respray or do you want a change to a specific colour? How is she for rust, if there is no rust under those chrome wheel arch trim, she might not have much.

Backing up with what Greg has said above - I have had mine through the bare metal respray job, and yes - you do make scratches on the paint when you put things back together. Putting those headlights back in is a nightmare, I had a loose trim that rubbed a small area, removing some paint, few other places as well. My rear fender has one or two bubbles coming through - so she will go back to get touched up when she is on the road sometime this year.
No matter how careful you are - paint damage can happen. Also - since you will transporting it from one country to the next, you will be handing the keys to wharfies who might not care as much as you do.

What I would consider with the labour being cheap - is getting the under body rust protected - (POR 15 or Miracle paint - I am going with Miracle paint), Maybe put in a cathodic protection system (Some say it works - others do not - I personally believe it works). This would get her ready to face the UK conditions.

Regarding mechanical works - the engine bay is daunting and I do recommend getting a experienced workshop to give her the once over (when she is in the UK) - but getting the brakes inspected and flushed, oils changed should be ok in a garage.

Regarding originality - I cannot advise as mine was far from original when I brought her

Regarding the high level brake light on the boot / trunk lid - depends if you are allowed to remove it by local laws. In OZ, it would be considered a safety thing designed into the car - so you could not remove it - could be different in the UK

I would try to get your soft top corrected before shipping it to the UK - just to keep the rain from getting in again.

Your interior - I believe is leather - as long as you have no cracks or tears, they can be rescued without re upholstery being required - I would try that first, especially if you want it kept as original as possible

Again - she looks really nice

Cheers
Steve

 

Hi Pierre,

Lovely car, those mid-94 pre-Celebration cars are really good. I have a 4 litre one from the same era. And a late 6 litre is a great car!

As others have said, does it really need a full respray? The paint looks quite good in the pics.

As regards the items:

- the side rubbing strips look to be the optional Jaguar ones. Very rarely specified. In my opinion, they spoil the looks of the car and I'd remove them. They were fitted with strong double-sided tape and can sometimes be safely removed with judicious use of a heat gun and nylon fishing line.
- boot brake light. Fitted only in some overseas territories such as the US. Personal taste. But if you do remove it, you'll have the mounting holes to plug or fix.
- Badges behind front wheels. Not fitted on standard UK cars, but fitted to some overseas cars such as the US.
- Chrome wheel arch trim. Horrible and rust trap. Get rid of it quick.
- Strip down RHS door. Some sort of extra protection. Get rid of it.

If I were doing all the work you've suggested I'd do it in this order:

- ALL the mechanical and oily bits first
- Strip the roof and interior
- Get rid of the external chrome bits etc
- Get the paint done
- Fit the interior
- Fit the roof

Good luck with whatever you decide

Paul

As you've got the spoiler, I'd remo

 

Beautiful car- looks to be in pretty good cosmetic shape except for the cracked front bumper- out of curiosity, why is a repaint and a new interior needed?

looks like all you need is to get that front bumper fixed, take all that after market chrome out, carpet shampoo and lots of Leatherique . But maybe the pictures don’t show the full story

 

Some further info:

the paint is good for 26 years, but there are small marks on almost every panel from cats etc. given that I wish to remove the brake light on the boot / trunk which I find extremely ugly and in my opinion wrecks the lines of the car, I will have holes to weld and therefore that pane will have to be painted anyway. Further, at some point the car will require a repaint, I can do a bare metal respray here with a guy whose work is of the highest quality for £4,200. This includes removal and refitting of all trim, headlights etc.

i have shown the interior to both a leather refurbishment company locally and an upholstery shop. Both have told me the leather is beyond repair. Perhaps I need to send some photos and videos of the leather to the UK refurb specialists for their input. A full retrim of all leather in the car using the highest quality Italian leather has been priced at £4000.

i also meant to ask about the originality of the full length transfer thin line down the full length of the body on each side?

 

if you are able and have the resources to restore the car in such fashion, great!!

I had my own car stripped to bare metal and repainted several years ago and paid 10k but I was never happy with the results.... but my car is BRG and that color is as hard as black to get completely flat and perfect.

as far as the brake light is concerned, I think your best bet will be to modify the spoiler to include the light. The spoilers for the 95 cars came with the light incorporated:





you should be able to make incorporate an LED strip into your existing spoiler to modify it and make it look like the 95 OEM version

 

4000 fitted for a full new leather interior, providing the quality actually is good, is a steal. Loads of places will actually be able to make your OEM leather as good as new. eg Furniture Clinic in the UK: https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/

i honestly think that a refurb of the OEM leather is your best bet; I have never seen a new leather interior look quite as perfect as an OEM one on any Jaguar.

 

Interesting- IMO my XJS and E new interiors are superior to the originals......however I have rarely, as in once or twice, in my entire life seen a repaint job that I think is completely perfect, and completely flat from absolutely any angle. No matter how much money was spend.

 

So some next steps based on the advice received so far:



order soft top for local installation (any leads please on high quality top manufacturers? - I have used KHM or cabrio.de for my mercedes with very good outcomes so will use them unless others strong recommendations come in)



I will take more photos and videos of the leather interior and share with the refurb options in the UK. Does anyone have feedback on how long lasting Furniture Clinic etc solution are? My concern is that if they are not long lasting I will end up needing to replace but by then will have lost access to the cheaper labour.



Bodywork - research ability to match colour when repainting rear boot / trunk lid following brake light removal. If possible repair front spoiler and paint boot / trunk, polish elsewhere, remove chrome wheel arches, rubbing strips etc. Paint undercarriage with rust / weather protective (POR-15 available

locally as I used in the interior of an old fuel tank previously). There is no evidence of rust, wheel arches are solid from what I can feel, more will be known when the chrome comes off. Doors are solid at the bottom.



Mechanical - the car is currently registered on the road and drives well, although there is a slight misfire. Previous owner replaced rear shocks and had the vehicle serviced including replacing all spark plugs. Look to replace all fluids locally and explore options regarding AC repair. Given hot climate here I should be able to replace all AC lines locally.

 

Beautiful car. Not a fan of a leaper on the XJS though. It’s more of an s-type or XK appointment for myself.

I have to agree with everyone who’s piped in

Original paint restored always looks better, in fact classic.
That high mount brake light was ugly. But isn’t it original? I do like the look integrated into the spoiler.
It is quite amazing just how well a leather refurbishment looks.

That engine is a work of art. Look after her.

 

Pierre,

- Consider replacing both the cables and the headliner, and check the riveted straps, when refurbishing the hood.
- IMO, well executed refurbishment of seats using Furniture Clinic products will last an extremely long time. Good company, good products

Good lick

Paul

 

Thanks again. Headliner and new cables planned to accompany the soft top. Nothing worse than a poorly fitted hood. I’ll check the clip fasteners out.

I will take some pics and video of the interior tomorrow and send to Furniture Clinic et al and subsequently share there response and the pics here to help others down the line.

 

The miss fire is most likely spark plugs and or leads, just replace the lot and check the rotor. Also try an Italian tuneup ie drive it like you stole it. My car miss fires after being driven sedately for too long a good blast at full RPM in 2nd gear is all it needs to get it purring again.

 

Pierre,

I found the leather refurbishment is a very satisfying and quite therapeutic activity. Work slowly and thoroughly and even a complete novice can get great results. A few pics below of just one area of one of my seats as I went through the refurb process.

Paul

 

Thanks Paul. How long ago did you do the leather work and what does it look like now?

 

Hi Pierre,

Over 4 years ago and still looks the same. I use their protection cream and redo that every 3 months.

Paul

 

as an update: removed the side trim easily as stuck on with double sided tape, still have tape residue to remove though! When I removed the jaguar logos behind the wheel arches I discovered holes. I assume that these logos were used to patch where someone removed side indicators. Any ideas if this was common place in North America or just some PO mods to this vehicle?

Chrome wheel arch trim held in by three small rivets per wheel arch. Arches intact underneath!