I decided to swing by a local salvage yard to look for a possible drivers seat replacement for my 2002 XJR. I wasn't optimistic since X308s are not particularly common in this area. Only two X308s were there and they were both Vanden Plas. They were both in horrible condition.

In poking around though I found a roof console (garage door opener buttons, glasses storage, map lights etc.) in pretty good shape. It's got the wood trim on it whereas mine does not. I didn't seriously consider buying it while I was there but when I got home I started thinking how nice it would look.

The questions:
1) Is the unit interchangeable from the Vanden Plas to the XJR?

2) Can the wood trim alone be switched to my console or is replacement of the whole unit recommended.

Not sure if anyone knows the answers but given the quality of the folks on this forum it's worth a shot.

 

According to this E-Bay seller they are interchangeable.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-03-Jag...n/182557582560

 

Sure does, thanks KC.

If I could just transfer the wood trim then I wouldn't have to re-program anything but I guess it's really not that much trouble to re-program it. I'll go back by and see what they'll sell it to me for.

I got two pieces of dash wood trim today for $5.34; the one that goes around the instrument panel and the one that goes around the clock. I don't even need them but for $5.34 I brought them home and put them on my shelf! haha

 

They are interchangeable. It is pretty simple to swap just the paneling, I did it, just carefully remove the plastic, as it has adhesive on a lot of it. You don't need much adhesive for the wooden panel, just remember to bend away the tangs when removing the panel, and bend them back after reinstall, as they do more to hold it in place than the adhesive does.

 

Nice ! You can never have too many interior trim pieces laying around, seems I'm always replacing something in mine lol.

 

You were absolutely right, nilanium.

I went back to the salvage yard and they sold me both complete Vanden Plas roof consoles for $10 each. I don't need all of that, but hey, $20.

The wood looked good on both so I picked the one that best matched the wood already in my car and switched it with the plastic trim on my console. Four little bendable tabs and some adhesive; piece of cake. Looks really nice, too!

Thanks

 

The UK models didn't come with the garage door opening switches, it was just a plain panel. Even the majority of top spec XJR and Sovereign models came with a plain plastic panel. Only the Daimler cars came with the veneer panel included it would seem, I have one fitted in mine. The only issue is I've got a sunroof switch but no sunroof!
But it doesn't bother me too much and it's not noticed by the majority of lay people. Perhaps in the future I'll find a use for the switch. Missile launcher or machine guns behind the headlamps.