EDIT: This got cross-posted somehow into the X-Type forum; I have a '99 XJR, so your results may vary. If the general setup of the leaper is similar, though, it should work on your cars too.

I originally bought my car with a detached leaper that turned out to be from an S-Type, and so didn't fit. I got rid of that and bought one from Black8's parts car, which didn't have the wire or spring that attached it to the base. This wasn't a problem for me, because I had always wanted a leaper that would be easy to remove when I park the car, and also easy to put back on when I wanted it there, but still staying securely on while driving. A European guy on the Roadfly forums put together a very complicated spring-loaded setup with a vertical bar running from the bottom of the leaper and a spring-loaded clamp at the base, but it looked like it required welding, and I don't have access to a welder. Black8 was kind enough to include the leaper's base in the package, so I could easily prototype it without having to constantly run down to the car and check for fit.



Basically, I replaced the wire loop on the "foot" of the leaper with a looped spring that catches the bottom of the base. The only tools you need for this are a pair of pliers, and maybe a second one to make the smaller bends. For the spring itself, I made use of the handles on an ordinary office binder clip, available at any office supply store, or indeed any office. The kind I used would be best described as "medium"; the wire barely fits through the hole at the foot of the leaper.



Through trial and error, I figured out the ideal shape of the spring. It needs to be narrow enough where it attaches to the leaper to go through the hole in the base, and flare out at the bottom to grab onto the base where it comes out. Any more of the metal beyond that point should be folded in so that it's easier to insert into the base, and also to clear the plastic nut that helps secure the base to the hood.



I first tried this basic design using a hairpin, which is made of much more flexible metal. Even with that weak spring, the leaper stayed on while I drove over some pretty bad roads. Though it did wobble a bit while going over some very rutted parts of the asphalt, it never was in danger of coming out. With this stiffer spring, I can hold it upside down and give it a good shake, and it'll still stay in.

 

Job well done, Looks pretty stable to me. At least now you don't have to check the front of the car every time you've been away from it hoping that no little sh*t has stolen it. Nice job, A*.

 

thats what i did, and one day it wasn't there

so now i might look inot this when i buy another one, so in basic all u did was make the spring more adjustable so it could be easily removed and attached???

good idea man

 

Pretty much. I haven't seen what the leaper looks like when it's intact, so I have no idea if you can just adapt the original spring. By the way, here's the link to another guy's approach to making a removable leaper; it's in Slovak, so I can't read it, but the pictures explain it all:

http://www.jaguar-club.net/msgboard_...09#message3310

 

alrighty, so my leper is coming in tooorw to see if it fits, if it does ill try to do what you did and see if it works