I am lucky enough to have both, or unlucky when they go wrong!

So when comparing one with the other just on looks alone, for me the Pre-facelift version wins every time.

Its a bit like my old Merc 190e which is my everyday transport, as far as styling is concerned they got it right first time and then when they tried to improve the look they totally messed it up.

Same IMO with the face lift XJS

The chrome strip on the front of the bonnet seems to make it look a lot shorter and as for the wrap around lights on the rear, it just looks wrong to me, though I will admit that a lot depends on the color.

My idea of heaven would be the pre-face lift version with the Celebration interior.

That would be one car I'd love to have.

 

By the time the facelift was done, the car was already 14 years in production. I bet the stamping dies were probably worn out and needed to be replaced anyway. If you look at the facelift shell you see a lot of structural changes and improvements that facilitate manufacturing. The better you can make things slot together and self-align, the easier and cheaper things become to build. And the quality can improve as well.

The newer taillights don't look as good to me, but have less of a tendency to leak and installing and hooking up the lighting is a lot easier. Removing the front quarter window simplifies door construction immensely. Round gas doors are easier to align than the old one. One piece headlight assemblies are a lot less labor intensive than four-eyes surrounded by chrome. The bumper caps are certainly easier to assemble than all that bolted on chrome and rubber. The list is long.

But the bottom line was actually the bottom line. The facelift car was faster, easier, and less expensive to assemble while being a higher quality assembly due to improved design.

 

Hi Mustang Six

Just wait till the fuel pump goes on a face lift car!

A piece of cake on the old type but with the face lift convertible, all the boot trim needs to be removed, the hood hydraulics taken out, then a big steel plate removed, then after disconnecting the fuel hoses underneath, the filler cap has to come out (a pig of a job in its own right)

Then you have to (preferably drain the fuel tank) before you pull the fuel tank out, to get the plastic evaporator cap off.

Then unbolt the fuel pump which is sitting in the petrol in the tank USING A SPARK FREE SPANNER as one little Spark and you're dead!

Replace the pump and put it all back together but as there were signs of rust in my tank, I put in a new tank as well.

An absolute pig of a job with a capital 'P'

 

Oh crap, I am not looking forward to that expense when the fuel pump dies...hopefully I have a lot of time before that happens. (My Ford went 13 years and 176,000 miles before it started showing signs of dying)

As for the car itself, ideally I would love to keep the tail lights of the old design and incorporate it into the new design. I do like what they did to the bumpers on the facelifts. I just can't stand the taillights! I love the taillights on the old models, I can't believe they changed one of the best features of the car for the facelifts!!!

 

thats kool , the Gothic look for pre cars, never heard it that way.

my 78 XJS rodster gets alot of good comments, and i removed the lower chin spoiler, and consensus is it looks smoother to the eye.

some one said that it could get unstable at 150mph, and of course i drive everyday at 150mph.?

you know what i get a lot on comment on, is the wide body rear flare arches, for the wide 10" wheels, i did it out of nesecity not for just looks.

 

front view pic ,and arches.

 

on the rusty fuel tank and associated system, i used a 20gal. plastic fuel cell ,Nascar, aeroquip lines, and stainless steel pump, extruded aluminum fuel rails.

no more,ever , rust in my injectors.

 

gothic, 100%
#1 reason is the tail lights.
but also the painted bumpers don't do it for me for some reason. something about the mixed rubber and plastic and chrome is just right. then again, i prefer the 3.2 or SC 911s to the 964s, and a 308 over a 328 also.

i would prefer a facelift interior/dash however, mostly for the back-lit gauges.

 

Vee

You have a treat in store when your fuel pump goes, it is one of the worst jobs I've done on any car.

It will take forever just to get to the tank and when you do the fuel pump sits right on top of it, underneath the nylon evaporator.

The only problem being that the body work is right over the top, so you have to pull out the tank to get the pump out.

And be extremely careful you don't create a spark by dropping a spanner or you will be a gonner along with your car.

If you find your tank rusty like I did, don't bother putting a fuel pump in as it won't last 5 minutes.

You will need a new one and there are none available and secondhand ones are as rare as rocking horse teeth and they know how to charge £400 take it or leave it.

I had a Jaguar Expert helping me (or rather me helping him) its a two person job.

Disconnecting the Filler cap is a nightmare! That rubber gaitor just doesn't want to come off!

Then of course you have to put the whole thing back together and hope it all works.

Good luck to anyone doing this, as once you start there is no going back!

 

I love the bumpers on the facelift models. the rear lights though eh not a fan.
Prefacelift all the way. and i do like both versions of the headlights.
What do you guys think the best colors are? Mines bright red love it...

 

Nice color! whats it called?

I'm going to take the Credit for calling the tail lights gothic, which was the expression I used when I phoned round the dealers for a new light.

It seems to have somehow caught on now, as when I phone up to order new parts that's the way that they describe it to me.

 

I love both.

The facelift for a convertible and the prefacelift for coupe.

I have been thinking about finding a 3.6 manual prefacelift coupe.

I think they are both just right. On the facelift I do like that they made the original headlights oem in the US and got rid of the US spec only quads...

Love the huge Letters and tail lights on the pre-facelifts.

Yeah, both are perfect to me.

 

I have no idea the color name.
I also love the Giant letters Mark

here is mine

 

Looks like mine, Signal Red.

 

99% prefer the pre-face lift.. thats why I bought one! However after driving it for a while now, I do likle the idea of the facelift windows. What I mean by that is the lack of the qtr window and plastic 'louvre', one, because i think it give the cockpit cleaner lines, and two, it will help me see out of my wing mirrors as someone put a window channel in the way!!

Would never change the rear lights, think they give character to the rear end. I also would keep the oval one piece headlights as in my opinion give the face (does anyone else thnk cars have faces??) a sleek and slightly 'mischievous' look, where as the quad lights make the cat look a bit suprised!

All in all though, I wouldn't say no to either of them.

 

mefoote, did you say ,mischievous look,?

from the minds eye!

 

 

You're right, but a fuel pump module is easier and cheaper to manufacture than the sump, pump, and nest of hoses that preceded. Granted, that doesn't necessarily translate into easier/cheaper to maintain.

That's why so many things are inexpensive compared to previous iterations of the same kind of capability. Old TV sets were easily repaired, but had a gazillion parts and components that had to be assembled together on the chassis, many by hand. A new flat panel is practically unrepairable, but likely has less than 10% the number of sub-assemblies that robots are well suited to build. The end result is a TV that is easier and cheaper to manufacture.

When they did the facelift, Jag was just incorporating a lot of the same thinking.

 

here is my preference
BRG/Bisqit
Pre-facelift
No aftermarket side trim.
Spokes

 

Don't exaggerate the effects of gasoline fumes. It's not like the movies. You need a near perfect proportion of gas fumes and oxygen. A dropped tool is hardly something to worry about. It COULD happen, but you'd have a similar chance of winning the lottery.

I've dropped the tank in a Ford Taurus. Not terribly difficult, but you need to be able to take your time. The Jag sounds similar, but apparently much more complicated!

Hopefully I won't have to find out.

When I opened my 2000 Taurus (just this past autumn) I was stunned to see how clean the tank was! No sediment or rust at all! I hope that Ford improved the tanks in my 96!