I picked up some seatbacks and tray tables from eBay awhile ago and finally spent some time trying to figure it out - which turns out to be pretty easy.

Please ignore the messy car, it's what I'm working on!

Move the seat all the way forward



Remove two screws at the bottom of the seat back



Pull the bottom outward slightly to release the clips



The exposed seat. We need to remove a couple things to make the new ones sit properly as non VDP cars have extra padding and support up top. Also, if your motorized headrests aren't working (as my drivers one wasn't) its probably because the chrome rods have popped out of the white plastic piece in the center of the picture.



Take out 4 screws that the tray tables will screw into, i have a portion lifted up do you can see the upper ones



There are 2 hidden screws way up top that hold a support bar and are just in compressed pulp board, I fought getting these screws out properly on the drivers side but for the passengers i decided I would just tear the board then work the screws out by hand. Much faster, but if you plan on returning to stock at some point then this wouldn't be an option.



You can take out some foam or just leave it, as it will now compress enough for the VDP backs.

Place the new VDP backs on and locate one of the screw holes with the tray table holes. Once you do, put a screw in the to hold the seat back.



Now put one screw in one side of the tray tables, this will keep the seatback located



Screw in the remaining screws



and enjoy!



I did not get the seat controls for the passenger seat, when I get those I will update this thread.

 

Nice writeup. I had no idea it was so easy! They seem to me to be absolutely superfluous, but I loved them when I saw them in VDPs when I first started looking at Jags late last year. May have to put some in my XJR just for the you-don't-see-these-every-day factor.

 

where did you get them from

 

Nice job on the install. Potential future project for me? I do have a stupid question, I am a newer owner to an 01 XJ8 and cannot figure out how to tilt the headrest. Can get it to go up and down but driver headrest is tilted forward and prefer upright to match rest of car. (lol)

Read your install and now wondering if something is not working?

Any thoughts?

Thank you

 

Love the tables & seatbacks! Looks like a future project for me to do on my XJ8. Thanks for posting.

 

Nice write-up, something I pan to do in the future. Do you happen to know the screw specs of the two screws you removed from the bottom of the seat back in step 1? my drivers seat is missing them and I would like too install a set to secure the seat backs better.

 

the tilt on the headrest is manual, just tilt to where you want.

 

I had posted a thread a while back asking if the table backs would fit the XJR. The XJR seats are different from XJ8/VDP. Also, I thought that the passanger seat back on the VDP had a switch to allow the person in the back seat to move the passanger front seat back and forth. Didn't see that switch in the pictures. So, can anyone chime in and confirm that this mod will work on the XJR? Also, important to note that the table wood must match the rest of the interior trim.

 

Thank you

 

so, i gather that no one has installed the tables into the XJR? the seats are definitely different but just want to know if it has been attempted by anyone.

 

Cleaned up and switch installed, I haven't wired up the switch yet, I need to pull the seat and see if I can figure out the connections.





I don't have any clue about the XJR seats, sorry - I didn't even know about these until I tried it.

 

just bought a set and going to attempt to put on 04 XJ8-i know the removal of the seat panels are different cause i looked for the bottom screws-there were none-so if anyone is intrested on knowing the outcome-let me know and ill try to do as this guy did with syep by step instalation wish me luck-i WILL get them to work- i know in 05 the tables are much different and i dont like them as i do theses-so i hope i get then today sat the 26th or 27th

 

I did this when I put 01 xj8 seats in my 99 VDP. I left the metal brace in there if i remember correctly. I did get longer screws because the foam didnt really want to compress on my xj8 seats and the screws were much easier to start this way. Wiring wasnt terribly hard. My switches are different from yours, but the wiring can be removed from the VDP and cut out. basically you tap into the seat switch wires with each circuit. I made all of my splices just above the passenger seat module where the wires come from the factory seat switches.

The hardest part of this was reading british wiring diagrams because some of my wires were different colors. I dont know if that was due to trim level or year model. The british use strange abbreviations for colors, but it was easy to figure out. Dont forget to plug the wires in before you put the seat back on lol. I did this and got mad at myself thinking I messed up the wiring job. Great photos. You should do that for the wiring part too! I should have taken pictures of mine, but there was a slightly unattractive gap at the front sides of my seat backs. It was small, but enough to get my attention, no body else had mentioned noticing it to me. I wish I would have taken pictures before I sold it.

 

Dave, did you fit them, and if so how did the install go? I've just purchased some and would like to know if you did the guide?

Cheers

 

Really nice job, thanks for sharing.

This needs to be added to the FAQ ( How to ) as it will help others in future.

 

I just finished putting some on my XJR. Yes, they fit XJR seats exactly as shown in this thread.

Thanks to Probesport for posting this info.
Vector

 

Vector,

Your rear seat control is the one I'm use to seeing.

Good write up and an upgrade I plan on doing myself once I pull the seat backs from the donor VDP.

Chris

 

I made a feeble effort to find an easy way to hook up the rear seat control, but it looked like a daunting task, lots of spark chasing and splicing. For now the white multi plug from the switch is securely zip tied into the seat back, ready when I decide to give it a real try.
Vector

 

Vector, I pulled part of the wiring from my donor seat to hopefully make it a bit easier for plug and play. I know that I will still have to figure out the wiring from my passenger seat to splice the correct wires but at least I have the connecting piece with at least 5 inches of wiring to assist. Once the Jag is back from the shop next week, I may try to see how it goes for this project....so many projects...so little time *sigh*

 

Chris,
Did you ever get around to splicing wires? I havent hooked mine up yet