Is there any FAQ or previous posts that would provide any details on what it takes to fit the 4 bulb headlight assemblies from an early 88 - 89 car to a later car that originally had the fishbowl lights?

 

Hi Steve,

I am not aware of a FAQ on this forum, but you might search jaguarforum.com, jag-lovers.org and xj40.com to see if anyone has posted a DIY.

Our '93 came with the rectangular lamps and I retrofitted it with the quad headlamps from an earlier car, maybe a '90-92. It's been years since I did the job, but my recolletion is that the metal frames that support the two lamps per side bolt right to the same mounting points as the rectangular lamps. Here's the diagram from jaguarclassicparts.com:



The plastic trim bezels then attach with screws - I believe the screw holes will be present on your car but you may need to purchase appropriate screws. The bezels are part 18 in this diagram:



The color of the trim bezels I bought did not match my car so I had them painted at a local body shop. Be sure the chromed rings around the lamp openings are properly masked before the trim panels are painted. The shop I used was careless in their masking and I spent a lot of time with Q-tip swabs/cotton buds dampened in solvent to clean the overspray from the edges of the chromed areas. You can't use a razor blade or other sharp tool because the chrome was plated directly to the plastic substrate and can be easily damaged.

As far as the lamps go, you can use the original-type sealed beams, or better yet, the European style Cibie or Hella lenses that accept the H-series bulbs. My recollection is that the Cibie lenses I installed used H4 bulbs for the low/dip beams and H7 bulbs for the high/main beams. With Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, these provided outstanding light.

Depending on the type of lamps you choose, you will probably have to modify your wiring to either replace the connectors on the harnesses from your bulb failure modules to match the connections on the new lamps, or create short adapter harnesses that connect to your existing bulb connectors at one end and to your new lamps at the other.

I also added an additional power source from the jump-start post on the firewall via a relay so that when I selected high/main beams, both the H7 bulb and the high filament of the H4 bulb illuminated. This gave outstanding lighting for navigating dark backroads at night.

Sorry I didn't take any photos of the process, but here is the '93 VDP I retrofitted:


Cheers,

Don