I have posted pics previously in this thread but thought I'd update as mine has had clear/chrome side-lighting for almost 10 years.

As well as the wiring being in-situ for side repeaters/indicators it is also in place from factory to have the side reflectors to be lit.

Personally I think the clear/lit lighting on the sides works for most colours, however for white (not produced for the UK market) I'd stick to stock red/amber or else smoked...same for red.

Appreciate mine was one of the first off the production line in 96 and this year will be 22yrs old

Think my other mods are pretty tasteful/useful such as:

1) aerial switch at back of centre console
2) double cigar lighter in glovebox with USB chrger
3) Tyre pressure monitor
4) quad zaust straight through system (£300)
5) later styled jewelled rear light
6) upgrade of tired interior to factory oatmeal and perforated blue inserts (£700)
7) removal of overriders and fitting of a more modern grill with emblem
8) resiting of number plate to bonnet

Oh and if your wondering about the filler at the rear that's for LPG/propane, tank replaces spare and allows 350 miles for less than £30/$42

 

Marky,

Pretty Blue Coupe! Is it a 97 or 98? I had a 98 Topaz Coupe with Silver Revolvers on it. I like your "Double Nickels" or whatever they call them a lot better! All I would do to change it would be to replace the Red Lens in the rear Marker Lights, replace the script Jaguar under the Left Taillight with a Bar with Jaguar on it and remove the Chrome mirror surrounds......Seats are really great as is the Grill.......but I don't know about that Leaper! Anything like that that wasn't used during the 1996 - 2006 period looks a little out of place on our cars! Your Taillights look great! Really perks-up the Rear of the car....
Good Luck to you!

Billy Clyde in Houston





2005 Jaguar XKR Coupe - Onyx/Ivory

 

Time to uncover the convertible.



Wintertime residence.



Ready for Spring !

 

Where did you get your car cover from Pat?

 

WYM,

Both your White and my Black Jaguar's are non-color! Therefore, we have to add color to have color.....In order to do that, I have removed the old Amber Front side Marker Len's and replaced them with Clear Lens and a Chromed Amber Bulb that blinks Amber. Then, I removed the Amber Repeaters and replaced them with Crystal Clear one's with a Chromed Amber bulb that also blinks Amber, then I left the Rear Markers alone as the Car needs that Red back there.....This is where you could do the same or you could move the Blinker up to the Front Marker Light as Rothwell has done and put a "Leaper" in the place of the Repeater....Either Black, Red or Green....Your choice and the good thing about it is you can change it back if you don't like the combination.

Also, if you will note, I have added color to the Lower side Rocker-Panels. This was done to bring in some more Color to the side of the car. Mine is Print-Wrapped in BRG & Red the colors in the "R" Performance Emblem divided by a 1/2" Strip of Chrome Tape. Since your XK8, doesn't have this, you could it printed any color you wanted and in any basic design such as Red & Black with Chrome or any color combination you desire. Anything to add color to the car.

You could play around with your Brake Calipers and paint them Red or any color you feel would look good....Your Centuar Wheels have lots of Spokes, so it won't show through a great deal anyway and then you can change the little hub cap things to Red, Black or Green to match your Calipers...and again, the good thing about all this is, you can change it back with very little trouble and only few Bucks!

Watch for these things on the Forum as someone is always coming up with something new and if you like it......Change!

Good Luck to you!

Billy Clyde in Houston

(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

-

 

Billy, the wheels are called 'double fives' and are the original supplied with the car in Oct 1996, so you Americans would call it a 97MY. testament to build quality is that they've not been refurb'd and I live less than half a mile from the sea.

Am confused by your comment on ' Red Lens in the rear Marker Lights' they are original jewelled lights off of a 2002. In the UK it is a legal requirement to have rear fog lights in red, the car has LED lights all around.

Yep know the leaper came later, but it's not my wish to keep 'stock' (otherwise I'd not have fitted quads or that custom interior) but more to drag it into this century

The J on the rear has dropped off so am toying with the thought of replacing with a 'SH' ala Austin Powers

 

It is so much easier than trying to fit a hardtop to your convertible.

 

Billy,
I’ve given quite a bit of thought to changing up my xk8 and awoke one morning realizing that the reason I was so drawn to it initially was because it has a certain elegance without any BLING whatsoever. I’ve always loved subtlety and it was quite a challenge to live with when I was in the car refurb biz…I constantly had customers whose tastes were at odds with mine but if it was theirs, it was theirs for me to modify as they saw fit. (almost always)
One comment that I continually run through my mind came from a women exiting a local HEB. She was an older women, EARLY 70’S, she walked up to the car (as I was exiting the HEB front door) and did a 360 around the car, then she set her groceries down and walked around it again. I had arrived at the scene by then and she asked me what make it was and she thought it was beautiful. It was at that moment when I realized that other than the front badge and rear panel chrome the make, “Jaguar” is not to be seen from the outside. So with that in mind I’m going to pass on the leaper emblem, retain the red rear and amber front but might go with clear clearance lights.
I spend many miles on the Hill Country back roads these days at speeds somewhat above posted. The 18” wheels can take a lot more punishment than 19+…I have painted my calipers epoxy silver but they are ugly ducklings and really don’t show well…if I had brembos that would be a different story. Basically I like this car and my next $ outlay will be for a x150 XKR coupe…once it gets sorted I’ll revisit either upgrading the white car with new leather/carpets/wood/Bluetooth/etc or more likely I’ll search for a lower mileage x100 xkr convert. No matter, it’s all a dream at the moment as I need to pay Uncle Sam and then recover.
BTW, when I lived/worked in Houston I sported a white 1973 MB 450 SE. I had turbo charged that car (this was in the mid 70’s) and it was a legitimate 165mph sedan. I took a MB tubodesiel rear emblem and chopped off the diesel which resulted in the ultimate subtlety IMO, a “turbo”. I surprised more people then you can image when I whooooshed by them. It wasn’t until the mid/late 80’s that I got rid of that car, up until that time the only other car that truly kept my attention was a RUF flat nose wide body.
wj

 

WYMJYM,
Quote "I have painted my calipers epoxy silver but they are ugly ducklings and really don’t show well"

I have the same wheels on my '05 XK8 and I painted my calipers RED. They barely show because of the "many" spokes in the wheel. I am thinking that I will try YELLOW, which is brighter and I have seen a few cars with yellow and they looked pretty nice. However, I don't think it will make too much difference because of the particular wheel design. Red is comparatively dark, silver seems to blend right in with the wheel and rotors and most colors, while color, they are often on the dark side of the spectrum thus primarily dark. That leaves yellow, pink, lime green,etc. most of which are not a valid consideration to my taste. Ultimately, different wheels are possibly the best solution for those who can/want to spend the money for them. Tom :-)

 

Hello Chris,
I ordered the cover from The Cover Store. They have several different styles. Here is a link:
https://www.the-cover-store.com/7291...KR_Base_Dustop

 

wymjym: My 2004 is white and I agree that I very much like the subtlety of the vehicle. I painted my calipers white. I don't have a icture now but I'm quite pleased with how it looks

 

Marky,

Sorry about calling your "Double-Fives" by the wrong name! I guess I was still remembering when we had the old 55 MPH Speed Limit here in the States and we called it the Double-Nickel! As a matter of fact, I had a Set of Double-Fives on my 2000 XKR and everyone thought they were really good looking! As you say, that XKR didn't have "Brembo's" on it but I did have the Calipers that came on it painted "Red" and they showed-up pretty good.....

Once again, I really like those Seats...They look great!

Oh! You mentioned your Taillights, which really make the Rear of the Car look so much better! I did the same thing to my 98 Coupe and had to do some Body work to get them to fit tight enough not to leak...I 've noticed that they now have a rubber gasket that solves that problem....
What I was trying to say was about the Clear rear "Marker Lights". I thought they would look better if they were "Red"! But I don't know if that is part of the English Law or something....

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

 

 

I shared a photo of this a few weeks ago when it didn't look quite like this. When I bought it the front looked like it had been color sanded but not finished. I had a guy come over yesterday and he spent from 8am until 7:30pm and he got it looking much better.

2005 XKR.

 

Hi DonLafferty
That's totally Gangster style wheels on your Jag

 

@DonLafferty, stunning! As an owner of the same make and model and color, the black is so very difficult to keep up, cheers to you and this effort. Better than showroom!

 

 

Forgot to type any text! T'was a rare sunny day in my part of the UK yesterday, so decided to take a trip a couple miles up the road to take some pics of my XKR. Pretty much stock except for 20" Montreals, fog light inserts and Adamesh over axel/straight pipes.
Jules

 

Very, very nice! My daughter would love that because of the color.