Has anyone tried to put the old Jag hood cat on the hood of a 351 series yet? I sure miss looking at a Jag and not weeing it there...

 

Ken, yes, people have drilled the hole and installed the hood ornament. Most people agree that the hood ornament looks out of place on the new cars once it is installed. Can't say that I have a pic with the hood ornament that I have liked. I would do some looking around for pics of the new XJs with the hood ornament installed and see what you think. I too, like you, think a jag just isn't a jag without the leaper. But, things are what they are.

 

It’s a matter of taste, but to me I never liked the hood leaper on any modern (Ford and Tata eras) Jaguar.

I find it outdated and out of place… to say it harshly it makes me think of a wart on the nose of a gorgeous girl…😉

and then there is that (fake) BMW add:


😏

 

Poor man's Jaguar ...

 

Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. I believe the reason why it looks way much better on older Jags is because the hoods/bonnets were straight and a lot of front chrome casings (chrome bumpers, chrome radiator grills, chrome headlights trim rings, etc). The newer ones has a curvy appearance making the leaper looking downwards.



I think it looks best on darker colors with the leaper on it

 

Well, I bought my car barely used and it came with a leaper on the hood placed there by the first owner. I really wanted British Racing Green with London Tan Leather and Burl Walnut. My car also has the rear seat package and the leather headliner. I checked removing the leaper and have heard all of the negative comments about the leaper and I have the reached conclusion that I could care less what the leaper haters think. When one of the leaper haters offers to buy me a new hood and insures that the paint will match then I will get rid of the leaper.

 

As you have discovered, Ken, this topic is like arguing Frida vs. Agnetha.

...and Stuart, stop trashing the Panda! It's a great little car I had the opportunity to convert one into a modern-day Jolly. Still kicking myself for passing on it.

 

There was something about having the leaper on the early saloons. I had a Mark 2 and always kept the leaper well polished. However it doesn't look right on its own, it needs the central bonnet chrome strip, to really look the part in my view. Jaguar also fitted a much smaller leaper on the later saloons. Mayube they also thought the large leaper looked out-of-place on the more modern look.

When I bought an X350 series of the XJ saloon, I added leapers to the front wing sides. These are easily purchased on the internet, and are handed for each side, and glue on. I couldn't fit them to my 2nd X350 because Jaguar, in their wisdom, had put a false vent at the back of the wings so they no longer fitted !

 

But, for non-Jaguar owners, I think they'll find the leaper really cute.

 

When did I trash the Panda? All I did was post a funny photo.

 

I agree. Being a long time Corvette enthusiast, I've heard the same thing said about the iconic "stinger" hood riser, that the 1967 cars that had "big block" engines were equipped with. Many people grafted a reproduction of this hood riser on to later Corvettes, and it was a similar situation, where the earlier cars' hoods were "flatter", and the hood scoop looked like it belonged there, whereas the later cars' front ends sloped significantly, and the '67 hood scoop definitely looked "tacked on".....

 

Ok, I understand much better now, the photos really did help show a perspective......still have to think on this one! The wife had a old Cougar years ago so now the standing joke is, "Hey want to take a ride in the Cougar?" or maybe it is "Cat Time".......ok, just old people things I guess.......anyway thanks to all of you who played.....off to another interesting idea maybe....or not...

 

Am I the only one who got the "take a ride in the Cougar" joke?

"So, here's to you, Mrs. Robinson"... From the Academy Award Best Picture of 1967 starring Dustin Hoffman as The Graduate and Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson. She was a Cougar, an older woman who seduced younger men.

Thanks, Dustin, for the wishful thinking when I was much younger.

 

Well, actually I did not even think of that, but now I will every time I say it......don't think I'll tell the wife though.......Thanks....

 

I’m unsure why entirely since I no longer have my 2009 XF, It came WITH the OEM leaper already installed on the hood unlike many others. I thought it looked as good as and older saloon I had owned previously.

Fast Forward, So I now own a used X351 series XJ. Bought an adhesive mount leaper & unsure if I like it. Maybe because the hood is curved more than my XF but I’m not sure if it looks as good as I thought it would so I haven’t installed it.

Instead, I think I’ll use the adhesive it came with to repair the Leaper on my ‘06 XJ8. I found out six months to a year after I bought it the previous owner had used epoxy of some sort as a repair which of course didn’t last because along with the epoxy was just dollar store quality wire.

The knock off leaper (That I probably won’t use) came with a two sided outdoor quality adhesive strip so I think I’ll use that to repair my OEM leaper. I just need to decide if I want to use wire or zip ties to secure it as backup to the adhesive. (The epoxy is so bad the oem leaper can’t be installed with it’s standard spring base.)


2009 XF

 

Just for clarification, I don't think that the leaper was "standard equipment" on the XFs. We were the original owners of a 2009 XF, and it did not have the leaper, although I saw a couple of XFs with them....

I wouldn't trust epoxy, if I was to install a leaper on any of the later Jags. I would look into two sided "trim installation tape", made by 3M.....but consider this, if, by some chance, the leaper comes loose, while in motion, after bouncing up the hood, it will probably then hit the windshield. I highly doubt that would be a good thing!!

 

Hood Ornaments on Modern Jaguars: Look Before You Leap(er)?
https://www.jaguarforums.com/article...aguars-leaper/