1988 Vanden Plan: question on original wheel covers
 

I recently showed my Jag at the local Concours and was having it judged. One of my big deductions was for the wheel covers and I wanted to check what precisely would be the correct wheel covers for the car for further judging. This is for the standard 20 spoke alloy wheels and the discussion is about the center hubcaps for those wheels.

Let me be very clear in saying I'm not posting this because I had any objections to the judging as 1) my car is chock full of legit deductions 2) it was the only car entered in class that day so even an incorrect score would have had no effect and 3) I was getting it judged more to learn about the car than actually caring about any results or trophies. However, if I am going to take things a little more seriously, work off the deductions and enter my car in future shows I'd either like the source the right wheel covers or be able to provide proper documentation to demonstrate the correctness of what I have.

So what is the right original equipement for a US-spec 1988 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas? The two primary choices I know of with the 20 spoke painted alloy are the ones with holes for the lug nuts and one that is a solid cover. There is also another variation on the second wheel cover where there is a bolt near the outer edge of the cap.. I have the solid cover and much prefer the cleaner looks but the judges thought those were only adopted in later model years.

Try checking the parts listing at Jaguar Heritage. Even if it is not available, it should have a drawing and part number. Good Luck!

I thought that the 20 spoke wheels didn't come along until about 1993 or so. I could be wrong. They didn't mention the wheels being incorrect altogether, only the covers? If you could find an original Jaguar brochure from 1988, it would probably show the factory "correct" wheels and/or covers for the Vanden Plas version, as well as other details that could be important to judging. Lots of brochures can be found on Ebay. It's neat to have one for your own car. I do (1995 models).

The 20 spoke wheels definitely were correct, it was the covers that were in question. When I bought the car it had Dayton wire rims (apparently a dealer-installed option) but wasn't terribly keen on them, especially because one of the wheels would not hold air and the different offset rendered the 20-spoke wheel spare useless. As a result I quickly replaced them with the 20 spokes which I prefer as being more understated anyway.

I have done some more investigating since then and a January 1989 parts catalogue appears to show my covers as correct for N.A. spec Vanden Plas models. Also, in response to SleekJag12 I took your advice and started to look for the brochure on the Web - then I went, hey, I got one of those with the car! Where did I put it? Sure enough, the picture of the lower spec model had the five-hole covers but the picture of the Vanden Plas had the same covers I have.

Side note: the full wheel cover with the attaching bolt appears to have started later, probably the 93-94 models that were a little different.

So it does look like the judging may have been mistaken but again, I have no angst about that. I'm just happy now to have good documentary evidence for future events and feel better knowing what I have is not only what I prefer but has the benefit of being correct as well.

My wooden Momo steering wheel, well, that's a bit more of a question. I love that steering wheel and have to figure out if the expense and hassle of switching to an OEM steering wheel before a show just to get the car judged is worth it.