I discovered after I bought my 97 Vanden Plas that some whatthehellweretheythinking person actually drilled the hood so they could bolt on a 94-down style leaper. Oh-my-god.

I had only glanced at it during the purchase and new something was not quite right when I bought the car. I was focusing on more important aspects of the car, which were satisfactory.

The guy I bought it from owned it from 2001 and he just loved his automatic car wash.

I already replaced the headlamp power washer his car wash destroyed. I'd love to put the right leaper back on, but to repair the 3/8" hole in the hood and match the still-original Titanium paint would be costly.

Oh well, whoever bought this car originally (and paid $85K here in Vancouver BC back in 97) probably feels much worse than I do, that is with my $5700 purchase price and my "unique" kitty. The car seems to be so happy I bought it; I can almost hear it saying "thank you" every time I drive it.

 

I may have misunderstood your post, but are you saying the previous owner had a cat on the bonnet/hood which he/she removed leaving 2 holes?
If this is the case I don't quite see why it's not possible just to fit another cat.

 

I think I understood what he was saying.

Some previous owner removed the proper leaper and installed one that required some malicious modification of the hood.

97X300VP take a look and make sure that the base of the proper leaper won't cover your extra hole. Do you have a spare x300 leaper?

 

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Yah, the previous owner, for whatever reason, drilled the hood just FORWARD of the correct leaper base, so he could use a 1994 or earlier leaper. The original leaper base is still in the original position; the drilled hole is in front of that. The incorrect Jag upper section / ornament is bolted down on top of it, and through the hole in the base. I would have to have the hole filled & repainted to remedy the problem, or just replace the hood and repaint it.

I can live with it for now; it does not look too obvious or anything.