Cass, did a beautiful job with that MKII. FYI, I have upgraded my seats to the electric picnic tray seats from a Vadenplas Jaguar and yes you do need to cut out some of the metal but it is not that hard for many shops to do or a good DIY person, then the seat will sit fine and not be too high and the electric controls will allow you to move the head rest up and down.

Cass, I hope you got what you wanted for your car as you put a lot of effort into that build. I am on the opposite extreme as my 3.8s is a daily driven more extreme restomod with a GM aluminum block V8 LS1 but looks relatively stock on outward appearance. There are people whom I am sure would have paid your asking price here in the US as I have been already offered over 75K for my car but it takes too long to recreate any restomod, mild or wild

 

Alan I love your Mod S Type and would willingly have your car sat next to mine in the garage but the difference between yours and a stock car with modifications is extreme. All the mods in your car suit the car because it is loud and brash. My complaint about modifying a stock car is when the owner seems to want the old car with modern comfort and braking then only drive it 500 miles a year and never exceed 60 mph even on a motorway. Can you imagine buying an Aston Martin DB5 and then saying " I think I will put Jaguar XJ40 seats in this because the old seats are not very comfy." or "Lets change the brakes to Volvo calipers because the old Aston Martin brakes are inefficient".
So I say again if you want XJ40 seats in a Jaguar buy an XJ40 and it comes with better front brakes, a 4.2 engine and power rack and pinion steering.

 

what if you ALREADY have an XJ40 ?

 

Cass,
Actually my car is not loud because I wanted it more of a sleeper so it has good mufflers to quiet the headers down. For me the seat upgrade was a must as the stock Jaguar seats in the 60's are not that comfortable and provide no head support. I say make the car the way you want and have fun with it. I already have 150,000+ miles on the 3.8S and she is driven more like an average of 80 mph with the occasional burst up to 120 mph

So Cass, you did sell your MKII right? I hope you got at least what you wanted for it. Here in the US more people are wanting restomods as the prices now for popular restomods are often exceeding numbers matching stock cars but I appreciate both but for me I always prefer the performance and enjoyment of driving a well done restomod...

 

No still have my S Type never had a Mk2. When I say your car is loud and brash, by that I am describing the engine and power you have under the bonnet. As I said I would love your car in my garage but would I take a stock, matching numbers, drivable S type and change it to what you have. No. Would I take a rusty S Type with a seized engine and clapped out suspension and turn it in to a restomod to the standard of yours. Yes any day of the week but I still would not put XJ40 seats in it.

 

Cass, I was confused, I thought you were the original poster that did that wonderful mild restomod.

 

Hello Barefoot and Primaz,

I am also thinking of fitting XJ40 seats in my MK2. Can you comment on the leg room for the rear seats? Can you still fit two adults comfortably in the rear? I read some post that mentioned quite a bit of leg room lost with this upgrade.

Thank you!

Gary

 

If you are thinking of fitting XJ40 seats it is not so much the rear leg room you have to consider but instead the aesthetics of the fit. Sir William Lyons when he designed the Mk2 made the front seats with low backs so that the back of the seat did not stand proud of the top of the door and would not be seen through the side window. If you fit XJ40 seats these are a lot taller in the seat back and then they have the head restraint on top meaning the back of the seat stands at least a foot maybe 18 inches above the top of the door. This would not be too bad if the seat back sat at 90 degrees and was partially hidden by the "B" pillar but alas it is not. The XJ40 seat I have seen fitted have the seat back lying at an angle of or maybe 70 degrees towards the rear compartment so from the side view the front seat is clearly seen in the rear compartment beyond the "B" pillar. Then add to that the fact that a lot of the XJ40 seat chosen for this swap are beige or cream and they stand out like a sore thumb. The taller the driver is the further back the seat goes and in my opinion looks ugly and out of place. If a taller driver with XJ40 seats came to a T junction he would be looking out of the rear passengers window to get a view of on coming traffic as can be seen in the last photo of the white Mk2.Yes the XJ40 seat might be more comfortable, it might have electric things that move it back and forth, it might have a heated element, it might hug you more but if you want XJ40 seats in a Jaguar go and buy an XJ40 Jaguar. Beautiful car, very comfortable and has all the electric gismos you want including electric windows and air con. The only draw back is it is not a Mk2. So why try and change a Mk2 into something it is not.
Just my opinion and I am sure Primaz will now have his say.



This is the side profile of a standard Mk2. Note the tops of the seats cannot be seen.

This is the side profile of a Mk2 with XJ40 seats. Top of the seat and head restraint can be seen through the rear passengers window.

This is the side profile of a Mk2 with XJ40 seats owned buy a taller driver. The top of the seat and head rest are so far back in the car that the driver would have to look through the rear passengers window if he looked sideways.

 

Thanks for your comment. I am more in line with restomodding a Jaguar to make it safer for daily use. I am the type of owner who drives their Jaguar and do not own garage queen.

Safety modification for a vehicle such as better tires, lighting and seats are just a good idea.

To each their own.

 

It is a shame really because we are only the keepers of the cars for a short period before passing it on to the next keeper. You have possibly heard the saying that something is only original once.
We all have a passion for these cars and I have upgraded my car to make it safer and more reliable such as a negative earth conversion with an alternator rather than the old generator which allows me to run halogen head lights. I have put slightly wider and better radial tyres on the car. I have changed the starter motor to a modern high torque version so the car starts first time. I have fitted an expansion tank system for better engine cooling. I have seat belts front and rear. But in my garage are all the parts I have taken off and replaced in a box for the new keeper in case he wants to go back to original. Other than this the car is as your man Lyons designed it which in my view is how it should be kept.

 

This may be a stupid question for those who know the answer, but why do XJ40 seats result in the driver, more particularly the driver's head, being further back in the car. Why isn't that determined by the length of his arms and legs?

Mk2 seats are not comfortable for long distances. I've driven my car, a 1963 3.4. across Europe and over the length of the UK and somehow the seats don't work for me for journeys longer than half an hour. Possibly, the ones from later years, those fitted to the 240 and 340, are better. My choice for a swap would have to be something that looks right and, for me, XJ40 are too modern. I'd go for, and I have a set of, series 1 XJ seats. They are just about contemporary, vaguely resemble seats from the Mk1, and weigh a fraction of standard Mk2.

As for the presence or absence of picnic tables? With a little effort, shuffling around on a front seat, you can upset a cup of coffee onto an unwelcome rear seat occupant; apart from that they don't seem very useful. More seriously, I prefer to treat a Mk2 as a two seater. The back seat space (there's more if you remove the seat itself or reduce it to a one passenger) is for luggage and the boot (trunk) is for tools, spares, oil and water, reserve gasoline.

 

The joy of an S Type Peter. More room in the back due to the seat being lower and the roof slightly raised. As for the boot I can fit another passenger in the boot of my S type along with my golf clubs.
It is amazing how times have changed though. In the late 60s and early 70s my father had a 3.8 Mk2 which he would drive from the West country to London on a regular basis with mother up along side father and my two sisters and older brother on the back seat with me. No motorways either, up the A30 and A303 as a single track road. About 5 hours sat on the back seat trying not to be travel sick. Those were the days.lol.

 

Rob, It was 1977 that I started to use the Mk2 regularly, that is my Dad had given it to me, rather than me borrowing it from him. It came with me when I moved to Chester the following year. I drove from their to visit a friend in Scotland, 240 miles in exactly 3 hours. It also made trips to (later with) my girlfriend in Italy. A nice day's drive from the port in Holland to Como, including some Alpine passes in Switzerland and close to flat out (4,500 rpm) on the German autobahn - the speedo had the classic oscillation above 60 or so mph, but that should be around 120 mph. It was a good time to be young!

 

to answer your question about the seats, I used the Vanden Plas front and rear seats from a 2002 or 2004? Jaguar and they are so much more comfortable and enjoyable to drive than the stock half back seats. To me and virtually every person whom has seen the car that is not some Jag purest, they thought the seats were stock and the rear seating is not compromised., you can still put two people in the back. I would say it would be tight if the two people where above 6' tall as the 3.8s is not as long as other models. The picnic trays that those newer electric seats have give most the appearance of it being stock as it has that beautiful wood. I would highly recommend those seats for comfort as you have a full headrest and back support and in my opinion they look better than the stock seats which were uncomfortable.

You will find that Jaguar owners are unique as they are so against changing anything. It has been a weird thing but I do not let it bother me as my car gets so much more compliments and people wanting photos compared to it when it was stock. It is also way more fun to drive and it is my daily driver. You will find when Jag owners hear you change the smallest thing of how outraged they are it is laughable to hear their opinions. I used to put 40,000 to 45,000 miles a year on the Jag prior to the pandemic, and now I am about 25,000 miles a year or so but it is so much fun and those seats make it a joy to drive. the stock seats suck for comfort and are dangerous with no back and head support. I also put a retractable seat belt with shoulder strap for the front seats to be safe but I got them with the Jaguar classic style buckle with the leaper on them.

 

Hey Primaz,

Thanks for the messaging. I am purchasing a set of XJ40 seats for my MK2 and appreciate your feedback. Good to hear the rear seats still have room for smaller adults which will suit my needs.

We are on the same page for restomodding Jaguars. I owned both original and Chevy converted Jaguars and they both have there merits. As long as we are saving a beautiful Jaguar from the crushers, I am happy.

I will need to figure out how to fit the XJ40 seats. I saw your thread about some of the welding you had to do but I also seen another poster mentioned they were able to fit the seats using low profile seat rail kits that did not require any custom work.

Thanks again for your input and contribution to the forum.

 

The original seat bases in MK 1 & MK2 are generally collapsing because of spring failure and padding decomposition.
Any competent upholstery business should be able to strip the original covering, replace the springs and padding and then refit the original covering.
I have done this to a number of previous Jags including my current MK1 and MK2

 

There is nothing stopping you from taking the original seats to an upholsterer who will reshape new foams to fit you and to give you better contoured seats for stability, new webbing for comfort and then new leather covers for looks. A lot better than XJ40 seats and it will keep it looking more original. When I refurbished my seats during covid I shaped the new foam with a electric carving knife to add shape but used the original seat covers as these were undamaged. Slightly larger bolsters on both the back and base and I don't move around so much. My old foam was turning to dust and the metal frame that the webbing was attached to was snapped and I had to weld that back together before putting new webbing under the foam.

 

The front seats mount with no issues only the rear seats require the upholstery shop to section the rear seat frame so that it matches the approximately 12" shorter rear seat space for a 3.8s or MKII then you can even replace the rear seats from a Jag Vandenplas.

The welding was the firewall of the passenger side to fit the GMC LS1 V8 and that was not a big piece that needed to be cut and then a piece to weld back in place. If you ever attempt to use a V8 I do NOT recommend to go old school Chevy 350 but instead spend the extra money to get a modern Chevy/GMC V8 so you have the computer fuel injected control and ECU. The value of the car will drastically higher and the way the car will drive will be like a new car with no more choke, cold start issues, points/distributor, much better fuel economy and way more power, as the modern V8's are better in every way.

Again as he has said he wants more of restomod and the stock seats are just not comfortable as they have zero head support and only half of your back is supported. My original seats were in perfect shape so I know first hand how they feel and in my opinion they really are not comfortable.

 

I still have the original seats in my car, but I don't like them from a safety point of view. The lack of a proper headrest is definitely concerning to me. I have been rear ended before (silly me, I stopped for a red light and the guy behind me didn't) and have soft tissue damage that I still feel 35 years later, so if I was in a situation where the seats needed refurbishment I would certainly go for something with proper accident protection.

Volvo knew about the safety benefits of headrests a long time ago, it's a shame it took Jaguar a while to catch up.

 

Were Volvo so far ahead on head restraints? According to their own safety publicity, they experimented with them in the 1960s, made them an option on the P1800 in 1968. The US NHTSA made them compulsory from January 1969. The series 1 XJ seats in my spare parts collection has them.