I dont know what I was thinking at the time but...
I bought my series 1 red 1999 coupe for 8.5k with 52k on the clock in 2009. It was very well maintained.
I messed around with the exhaust, and ended up with a 3 muffler stainless system which is lovely to this day. I think the original 5 box system was so bad very narrow piping in places and really was the achilles heel of the S1, so no regrets in that front. I replaced the ugly Terry Thomas teeth front grille with a nice mesh one and got a number plate plinth to place it below the bumper.

Unfortunately I went overboard with chrome headlamp and tail light surrounds and badges everywhere. I put a chrome rear plinth on from the 2002 model and it was all blinged up. Chrome door handle surrounds and clear indicator lenses, plus little leapers either side, in front of the doors.

All that has gone now and put the original rear colour matched plinth back on.

The exhaust was a good idea and the front grille is better now but apart from that, just leave it alone.

I saw a nice XE sport recently but it had huge Jaguar leaper decals either side.

XE seem to have been a complete failure in the market place but I think they are a lovely car. Supposed to be a rival to the 3 series an C class but they bombed.

Oh dear😒😒, anyone agree?😆

 

What is a plinth?

 

I like our XE although I dislike the lack of wood trim inside but it has been a great driver. Definitely much better than the CLA we replaced

 

If what you did worked for you at the time then why not?

It's the body-matched or chrome strip housing the number plate lamps. Jaguar unimaginatively calls it a 'finisher'

 

Ok, I took tge chrome one off my off my 2001 xk8 and put it on my 2004 XKR. It looks much better. I've been thinking about getting the front fog lamp chrome inserts. The door handles are already chrome. So you think the rear and headlight chrome is too much.

 

IMO the chrome plinth does look better - it's the only cosmetic change I have made. I also prefer the later rear lamps with the chrome surround, but there's some bodywork hacking associated with that update.

Unless you're in the concours circuit then the subtle changes you are considering shouldn't have any eyebrows raising. In any case - they are to please you not an audience

 

If you're not sure what ta do with the plinth once you got it off,,, I'd be happy to make you an offer for it. It's the one BLING kinda thing I do like added to these cars. I added one to my XKR (and was surprised a portfolio didn't come with it). I like the button as well,,, just don't believe my XK8 02 has the wiring for it in place....?

 

Smitty99XKR,

It seems to be human nature! We are all lucky enough to own one of the most beautiful cars on the road but then we get this strange feeling or brain lapse to try and make it look better !!!

Guilty, I feel it too sometimes. The desire to make the car even more pretty, bespoke or personal. The fact that I can drive it every day for weeks and never see another XK8 on the road, doesn’t seem to factor in my decision making - I still want to make it more unique !

Of course, the real attribute is to resist all temptation and just leave it alone. Have faith that Keith Helfet, Fergus Pollock and Geoff Lawson all knew exactly what they were doing....

 

its the little panel above the rear number plate. I think the original plain red 1999 colour coordinated one looks better than the chrome one from the 2003 version I had on for a time. I did bling it up for a while, but think originality is better now. 😀👍

 

Well said mate! 😀👍

 

Hello, unfortunately the de blinging was by accident, someone went into the back of me when I had to do an emergency stop when some idiot tried to do a dodgy overtake coming the other way on a blind bend. All fixed up now thanks to my brilliant body and paint specialist, but 3 months of heart ache last year. So the chrome plinth has gone, sorry 😀😀😉😉

 

^^ That

Spare a thought for one of my personal unsung heroes:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/malcolm-sayer

Mr. Malcolm Sayer. The man who started it all.

 

I think the XE is a lovely car, reminds me of the Escort Cosworth from the 90's. But I think there were reliability issues with some of the engine parts. Shame really because it looked so much more stylish than a 3 series or CLA.

 

Yes correct, I think chrome plastic is a bit old hat now on post 1975 cars if I am honest. Just my humble opinion 😀

 

Yes I saw him on a documentary about Jaguar.
Was he the guy, the engineer who Sir Bill bet a fiver that he could not design a new rear suspension setup for the prototype E-type in two weeks? And Lyons lost the bet? And wasnt he an aircraft engineer in the war? Correct me if I am wrong? God I just love talking about all this stuff 🥰🥰🥰🥰 love the Jaguar history so much, sad bloke that I am 🤣

And the late great Geoff Lawson, he designed the Mazda MX5 didn't he? Then Jaguar poached him and said "build us a modern E-type".

I would love to see Geoff's original drawings, as I suspect the bonnet would have been slightly longer and the stance slightly lower, but he designed my car😍😍

Every time I see an S1 Mazda MX5, I look at the back and can see the lineage for the original XK8/R

Aston nicked the design for the DB7 2 years before the XK8 was launched, err... I think?

Maybe I am biased... but I think that the original 1996 XK8 is prettier than a DB7. Just my humble opinion.

😀👍 Cheers dude

 

He was.
He then went to Jaguar and began working his magic with slide rules, log tables and an artist's vision. I would love to have met him to shake his hand and say thanks.

Sad? - No. Passionate, like most of us here.

P.S. The 'unrestored' category might not carry the original barn dirt, but pretty much everything else stays

 

I took the chrome plenth off my 2001 XK8 and it fit perfectly on my 2004 XKR.

 

The wonderful tradition of great inventors of our country in tweed jackets and working in barns with a few hand made tools to defeat the might of foreign superpowers! I love it, the British spirit, it just sums up everything I love about Jaguar! Yes the interior plastics are crap and I get some electrical infidelity from time to time which normally rights itself, and I keep catching my trousers on the loose rubber interior door trim when I squeeze my fat belly into the car in my narrow garage.... logic dictates I should have bought a 2nd hand 911... it is better in every way... it is better made... it handles better.. it steers better... it is more reliable... everything is better about the Porshe... except... it leaves me completely cold and I dont want one...
Let me please tell you a story... shortly after I bought my XKR in 2009 I was parked up in Newcastle City Centre and I came back to see some boys standing by my car and taking pictures. It turned out that they were young German exchange students.

I said "look there is a 997 Turbo parked over there?"

Not interested. They absolutely love Jags in Germany and I let one of the kids sit in the cab and rev her.. true story honest 🥰🥰

Yes agreed, a car is only original once. But now that mine has had to have been restored and repainted I am not going to lose sleep about it. As a Cat N economic right off it will never have the resale value of an original un damaged S1 XKR. But ... I dont care because I will never sell it 🥰🥰👍👍

 

That's the problem with high-end older cars that haven't reached 'coveted' status. it doesn't take much damage to be beyond economic repair and there's always a crazy driver around the corner

Do you have value-agreed insurance? I pay around £165 pa for £14,000 cover. There are mileage restrictions with that, but the cover increases at every valuation (or has done to date) with little effect on the premium.

 

I got screwed by the insurance, they told me that I could use 2nd hand OEM parts and they would agree to repair, so I bought rear bumper, rear panel, boot lid etc etc, total 1000 quid. Then they told me they were going to write it off as my repair guy had quoted 5k which was about 8k below what rip off Jag main dealer would charge, it was not that bad damage, nothing structural. They said only new parts are accepted which are not available, so they lied. My car was perfect, easily 10k, I was offered 8k less the 1k excess and bought the car back for 2k so 1000 out of pocket. In fairness my bodywork and paint guru has made her better than perfect...

All going through the courts now... I am claiming the excess back, and also loss of future value, whiplash which I did have, loss of use of my car for 4 months and general stress of the whole situation. It is going to take a long time as the insurance company for the guy who went into the back of me is blaming the guy who did the overtake on the other side of the road causing me to have to make an emergency stop.

I am just happy that my car is all fixed up. I get very nervous now when people get too close behind, and I generally pull over now and let them past.