Wondering why some of our Jaguar's have leaper and others not having them. Does year/ model differs?

 

Could be in some areas/countries they are outlawed or some owners have removed them themselves because of personal taste.

 

If you are discussing the X-Type then the answer is as alfadude stated. If you are discussing other Jags then yes it varies between makes and years. My XK8 has a 4.0 Liter Badge and no leaper. Some models and different years do not have the leaper.

 

 

Hood ornaments like the leaper are not allowed in England for fear of being an impalement hazzard to pedestrians. Where, in the US, they are perfectly fine. Like was mentioned, each country has their own rules about whether they are allowable or not and may even be allowable for certain years, but not the later ones.

 

Hi Chris.
There are no laws restricting the fitting of hood ornaments in the UK (or not that I knew of before moving to Malta). They are allowed if they were fitted as original equipment on older cars as for example Bentley, Daimler and the MK 2 Jaguar. They are also allowed if they are of the "break off" type fitted on later cars for example some Mercedes, and the "disappearing" type as for example fitted to some late Rolls Royce. Also allowed are the "spring loaded" type as fitted to some Mercedes, Rolls Royce and, of course, Jaguars. I believe it is the insurance company's who are against the fitting of mascots, but you will rarely get stopped by the police for having one fitted in the UK. Here in Malta it is the norm to fit leapers to newer Jaguars (spring loaded type only). I also believe that the leapers were sold as accessories when the X Types were new. Why would the under bonnet (hood) have the cut out ready to fit the mascot ?. Some owners like them, some don't. I guess its all down to personal taste.
Keep up the good work Thermo, I always enjoy reading your posts.
Alan in sunny Malta.

 

Alan, the reason for the hoods have the cutout and not having the leaper is an economic one. It is cheaper for the manufacturer to make 1 hood and add a flat emblem to cover the hole than to make 2 different hoods, one with a hole and one without.

NOt that I am questioning what you are saying, but, it was my understanding that England was the one that was initially pushing to get rid of the emblems and why companies like Rolls Royce go through such extremes with their hood ornaments (ie, being able to either easily break away or retract in some extremely short time upon impact).

Doing a little research, here is a newspaper article about an X-Type in England and it handles it from a few different perspectives. In short, Jaguar stopped putting them on cars in 1970 for those to remain in the UK. It is illegal to have something on the hood that obstructs the view of the driver (which the leaper doesn't), but puts the driver in an "untested" position that should they hit a pedestrian, the pedestrian could potentially have the right to sue for damages due to being excessively hurt by the hood ornament. Never been tried in court, but the day I am sure will come. UK dealerships will assist in getting you the leaper and installing it, but some have gotten "harassed" by the local police for having the leaper.

https://www.driving.co.uk/car-clinic...scots-illegal/

 

Personally I think The Ministry of Gaudy Adornments should step in and ban them.

But, that's just me

Cheers
DD

 

And I'm of the opposition camp. Love the Leaper. With all the lighting mods done thus far with more on the horizon, wish there were an ultra easy way the eyes could be lit, lmfao!

 

Hi Dell.
Funny enough I have thought the same about the "eyes" lighting up. I think all that's needed would be a couple of red LED's and some sort of hole drilled through the body to place the cable. If enough owners were interested I sure we could find someone who could do this. How difficult could it be ?? Anything can be made in China or find a good local engineer with a lathe.

Alan in sunny Malta

 

Drill a vertical hole up into the leaper just in front of the spring; drill two small holes from the eyes back to the vertical hole, Place a wired LED into the central hole and seal it with clear epoxy, then run a fiber-optic strand back from each eye to the light pocket. Secure the FO strand with clear resin.

The Act of 1988, amended 1991 allows hood ornaments in the UK and is homologated with EU laws. The leaper either needs to be spring-loaded, or have a nylon breakaway. Rolls has an exemption, since theirs actually retreat into the grille in the event of a pretty minor impact.

In the UK, the leaper is a dealer-installed option, and almost always has an insurance upcharge attached to it, as do many add-ons.

 

Hi wa3ra

I have been thinking about this since my last post and have come up with 3 different ways to achieve an illuminated leaper, one of my ideas very similar to yours. The only problem with his is the wire going through the base. The wire will prevent the leaper rotating in the event of an accident. However I see no problem, in theory, of drilling as you have said, bit also drilling the mounting base and fixing the LED in the base and not the leaper. The leaper will cover the LED but will allow light to pass through the fibre optic cable and leave the leaper free to rotate if necessary.
In fact I am going to make one and have just ordered a mascot off e-bay to experiment with.
Will let everyone know how I get on.
Kind regards.

Alan in sunny Malta

 

That would work, too, Alan!

My theory was a loop of wire to allow the leaper to still bend away if struck; the only thing I was thinking of was getting the light to the eyes evenly, so no reason at all the fiber optics couldn't go all the way down from both eyes!

Another advantage to your idea is being able to change the led color at will.

 

SMH! We are all sick, sick Kitty owners, lmao.