I hope none of you were after the black highstop light, because it's mine now

 

Hey Dinger, do you mind sending those to me as well?
Thanks

 

This week I washed, compounded, waxed and buffed the exterior. Of course tire and wheels also! Treated the glass inside and out with a Rain X type product. Vacuumed all areas and treated the dash and leather. Cleaned and reattached my trunk lights & while I was there... figured out how to fix my trunk latch to work with the key! Happy Happy Joy Joy! Car is now Pristine once again and running Spectacular!!! Also license plate frames, brackets and screw covers front and rear. Added a nice Chrome Plate with a Leaper to the front that I saved from one of my VDP's, knew it would come in handy some day..

 

Installed the foot rest like Sean B told me to

It's NICE to have a place to rest my left foot!

Stewart

 

For future reference, the orange coolant is just GM Dexcool, or equivalent, available at all parts stores.

 

Why Dexcool?

I am a mostly (up until now) GM enthusiast and in the Forums and groups I know, Dexcool is usually something we tend to avoid in our cars.

Dexcool is known to damage some gasket materials, and isn't used on engines unless they were DESIGNED to use Dexcool.

Also, Dexcool is known to EAT aluminum and clog things up, like heater cores.

Some would argue that Dexcool is okay on sealed systems, but I have seen otherwise.

On every car I have ever owned that came with Dexcool I change it over to the good old green stuff.

Just curious why Dexcool would be something one would want in a Jaguar engine?

I am new to the Jaguar world, and using Dexcool in these cars just doesn't make any sense to me.

Why not the good 'ol green stuff?

Stewart

 

I ordered more parts:

-AGD front seat back.
-AGD high mount tail light (to keep as a spare).
-AGD ash tray assembly (a spare).
-Brand New "XJR" Trunk Emblem.
-A gallon of Lexol Leather Cleaner.
-A big bottle of Leather Honey.

Previous owner must have carried something BIG and SHARP in the rear passenger seat. I have a 2" tear in the lower seat cushion that I have to repair, and the front passenger seat back has a nice long scratch in it. Glad I found a REALLY nice used seat back in Oatmeal.

Dunno if I will tackle the leather tear myself or farm it out to a pro. It is such a clean straight cut that it isn't really noticeable, but I have to fix it.

The seller who sold me my AGD third brake light had another one and an entire beautiful "never used" ashtray assembly for next to nothing, so I had to buy them both as spares.

Dunno why, but it appears as if previous owner used their key to open the trunk A LOT. AND they had really bad aim with the key Lots of light scratches going on in the key surround and it bothers me.

Lately I have done A TON of research on leather care. Got an entire gallon of Lexol leather cleaner for a great deal on Amazon.

Going to try Leather Honey after reading many good recommendations.

Leather Honey offers free shipping and 15% off with coupon code (MEMAIL15).

I'll do a write up on the leather care stuff when I receive it. The leather in my XJR is pristine (save for that one tear), but my wife's Denali needs the leather cleaned and treated in a bad way.

Stewart

 

I put 1996 XJ6 tail lights on the XJR. I like the black look even though they aren't as clear as the original ones it came with

 

That looks REALLY nice!

 

Thanks, Stuart! The chrome outline make it look fancier as well

 

Coolant. Read away:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47724

 

Will do!

Thanks!

Stewart

 

is a pair of metal / enamel Union Jack badges.

These badges are to replace the V8 badges on the B-Pillars.







I don't think the V8 badges reflect the overall quality of the car and I don't care for them.

These metal emblems fit in very well on the polished B-Pillars.

Plus, they match the Union Jack center caps!

Stewart

 

Today I installed a brand new XJR badge on the trunk.

Paid about $25 dollars from a UK seller.

Got it from the UK in seven days.


Also received a used front seat back cover. Was supposed to be AGD and in perfect condition. Turns out is is a tan color and had three cuts in it. Got my money back and am working on a deal for a nice set of Vanden Plas seat backs with picnic tables instead.

Stewart

 

Was the badge the black one they show? I have also seen some with the green color in it.

 

Yes, it is black or very dark gray.

It is THIS ONE.

NOT the green one.

Stewart

 

Hm, mine is light grey with silver lettering, yours may look better, but I've been thinking about the green ones. I wonder what years they were on?

 

took her for yearly test "failed" front nearside brake sticky in there words hope it just needs caliper cleaning and freeing so going to look this aft

 

I think they turn lighter with age.

I noticed the JAGUAR emblem is now lighter gray than the XJR emblem.

The best deal around on the JAGUAR emblem is $60.00 shipped for a brand new one. I'll get one soon enough.

Aren't the green ones from the X300's?

I see them all the time on eBay.

Stewart

 

I just finished cleaning and treating the leather.

I used Lexol leather cleaner and Leather Honey leather conditioner.

Cleaning was a breeze.

Treating the leather with Leather Honey was WORK!

The Leather Honey is THICK. The viscosity is like honey and it feels like a thick oil. At first I tried a microfiber washcloth, but the combination of the Leather Honey and the microfiber was too difficult to get an even amount applied. I switched to a cotton wax applicator pad, but it wasn't "lint free" enough. Finally, I swapped to the smallest microfiber wax applicator pad in my possession. It worked the best.

They say "a little goes a long way", and they are not kidding! By the time I was done treating all of the actual "leather" in the car, I now feel that I could do this more quickly and efficiently.

My arms are TIRED!

Tomorrow I will find a nice lint free towel and attempt to buff off the excess. Once this stuff sits, it has a waxy appearance. We shall see how hard it is to remove the excess. I was conservative everywhere except for the creasing in the driver's seat. I thought a heavier coat there would give the leather more product to "drink".


The other thing I did today was to order some leather restoration kits from an eBay vendor in the UK in Oatmeal / AGD. I am going to tackle the 2" tear in the lower rear seat cushion. I bought all three of their kits: 1) Their biggest kit, which includes the stuff to fix rips and tears. 2) A 50 ML container & sponge of dye, and 3) a touch up pen.

I was going to do a Vanden Plas picnic tray conversion in the car, as there is a big scrape in the back of the passenger front seat. I am going to fix that scraped area instead. Finally, the little rear section of the center console has a couple of small cuts in it. I have NO idea what the previous owner carried in the back seat that damaged it, but after I fix those three problems, my interior will be 100% PERFECT!

Update on Leather Honey removal tomorrow.

Stewart