Hi All, I don't know if anyone has tinkered with the wheel sizes on the 40 much, but I have a question. I recently picked up a very good condition 94 XJ12. Had to rebuild the wire harness from scratch (not fun as you might immagine) but otherwise body and interior are in great shape.

Only problem is the former owner thought himself a bit of a designer and TOSSED the 16inch Lattice wheels to put on 17inch aftermarket Antera wheels of a 90s vintage. They're ugly as heck and I can't find another set of the factory lattice wheels for less than double what I paid for the car...

I have a set of chrome 92 VDP wheels 15x6.5 with new tires fitted which while slightly narrower are very close to the 16 in rotational size, but they don't seem to fit the hub. Did the 12's have a larger hub size??? I can't find any info anywhere, and I hate to put new tires on the really ugly wheels, but again, I also hate to put 2000 dollars worth of wheels on a 1000 dollar car, especially when I have a set in perfect condition that go with the car.

Help!!!

 

Hi HarpersMuse,

Congratulations on finding a nice XJ81! I can definitely understand your desire to have attractive wheels on the car.

According to jaguarclassicparts.com, the same hubs were used for all XJ40s, XJ81s, X300s and X305s. However, when I put X300 Dimple wheels on our '93 XJ40, one of the wheels did not want to fit. I traced the problem to the grease cap on the hub, which, for some reason, was a little larger than the others. I reduced its outside diameter by carefully peening it with a hammer until the wheel would fit. I wonder if your grease caps may need to be similarly "adjusted"?

BTW, we'd love to see some photos when you get a chance!

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Don,

Many thanks for the info and tip! I'll definitely check the caps and see if I can't work them on a bit. I love the VDP wheels. They're factory chromed (apparently relatively rare) roulette wheels from a 92 with the integrated screw cap...

I've attached a few pics below. I bought her from a fellow that didn't know how to make her run and it sat in his side yard for 5 years. Wife made him sell it and I was the lucky buyer I've refreshed the engine and put on new suspension. Now to pull the interior and re-dye the cracks and blemishes, put in new carpeting, headliner, and refresh the wiring a bit and she'll become my new DD to keep the miles off my 09 VDP. 130,000 miles.

And pics for you

Before Pics: (5 years of mice, hose and seal rot...)








After Pics: (after 3 months of dis-assembly, cleaning, new hoses, seals, belts, complete wiring overhaul, new suspension and re-assembly)

 

Wow, it cleaned up really well!!! That interior looks immaculate!

The steering wheel is interesting - no airbag. Is it an aftermarket wheel?

Cheers,

Don

 

It is an aftermarket wheel. It's not bad, a Monza wheel but the former owner butchered the slide ring for the horn and turn signals so they only work part of the time.

I just got a brand new (last known set of new old stock) fascia walnut with the v12 logo, and ski slope that I'll be putting in since the dash had a bit of water damage from sitting so long. When I pull the dash, I'll put in one of the Euro style dashes that has the narrower wood and a 92 era steering wheel. I don't feel comfortable with 25 year old air-bags though the car came with it and the original wheel. The larger diameter wheel from the 92 is easier to toss the old girl around, and will move the horn back to the turn stalk.

Sadly the carpet was also water damaged from sitting. There was a leak in the windshield lower seal and the debris blocked the upper fender drains, so it rotted out pretty badly (note the missing foot pads). I cant get the original carpet color anywhere, and while Rattan was always my favorite, I can't find it. I decided to go unique and do a cream on black interior with the new walnut. I think it'll be a classy look with the blue exterior. I'll post updated pictures as I go.