Definitely not one of my strong points. I need advice, seriously.

I'm taking the veneer off the areas shown in the photo. It's coming off on its own. I want to re-cover those areas in leather or vinyl. Can't get red out of my head (maybe not as saturated as the red in the colour chart) but fear regrets later. Black? Brown Alligator? Help!

Car is Regent Gray outside and Savile Gray inside, neither of which is partic. descriptive.

 

I would go with black. Less chance of regret later and it will match the other bits on the dash better. Funny - I typically lean to red myself.

 

Those areas in my car are Black and they look pretty spiffy!

I like Red, but I can't imagine those areas in red. I think you'll have a Lot of Clash with the remaining wood in the cabin if you do that.
(';')

 

I was convinced it would be black until I sat in the car and imagined it. That would be a lot of black, especially because I'm removing the ashtrays and installing cupholders, which are black. Classy cupholders. You'll see. Or rather, I'll see when the FedEx truck comes tomorrow.

I do like the black console in the Series 2, Lnr and also in the early XJ-S. I prefer it to the wood. I love the wood on the dashboard itself, but not on the console.

How about a nice muted red on the two little upper parts in the photo, and black on the console?

 

I vote black as well. I'm a fan of a nice bold contrast as well but in this case, I think black would look clean. Unless you did the upper part grey and the lower black, but then again, I can't picture it so that may not look good.

 

Why not both and do black with red stitching

 

Greg, try this:

Find something, anything, in about the shade of red you're thinking of, and wrap the parts in it; or use removable tape (so as not to pull the "varnish" off) to sort of stick it up on the dash, and then sit down and see how it looks. Try several shades; t-shirt, cap, shopping bag, anything that will give you the idea.

After you do that, then try black like from a trash bag or something to wrap the shifter. See which you like best. Then you'll at least have an idea, although very rough, what it will look like when finished.
(';')

 

Well, my daughter says my color sense is non-existant. But, she is a trained graphic artist and hers is probably better than mine!!

I do like the dark colors. I chose a dashmat in a goden color for my Jaguar to go ewith the doeskin interior. Looks great, but an error. The black is amuch better for driving in bright sunshine. But, it does save the original vinyl. So, I leave it. And, it has my initials and those of my dear departed spouse. reason enough there. Oh, in a bit of wit, I had t emblazoned with a Cadillac Crest, showing the power plant genesis.

Corrected when the Jeep came aboard. Black! Goes well with it's grey/pewter interior.

Way back when, I rejuvenated a prior lump. A 51/56 ****** Jeep pickup repowered by a 283 SBC. Dark grey prier exterior. Black Chrysler Imperial wheels. And, the interior in
black, some gloss and some flat.

In the subject car. Why, the wood is a pleasing contrast to the black vinyl/leather? wish my car's console was wood instead of just black.

But, as the rest of that car's interior is a soft grey, black goes well. For interest, contrast a flat black against the gloss black and a change in texture as well. Thyat would add interest and a measure of glare protection as well. The latter probably unimportant in the UK!!!

One of my favorite pastr critters was my 85 Ford F150 4x4. Very shiny blck enamel with a big sweeping graduated blues and silvers graphic on the flanks. Big shiny chrome double tube bumpers as well. It's interior was in greys and blacks.

And, it's mate, the ruby red maroon like 88 Tbird. Interior redone a tad to include red, maroon and black. All velours or similar. Yeah, I know, but wifey never mentioned it. Good thing!!

Carl

 

PS

Contrastig shades and textures bring interest to an other wise drab interior.

 

Oh dear, you're all right. All good ideas.

There's a little kid in me shouting "RED RED RED !!". It was me as a little kid who first decided he wanted an XJ6.

Civicalized, I like your grey upper, black lower idea and shall see what's available.
82jaguarxj6, red stitching on black is an excellent idea...I have no skill but shall look into it, see if I can come up with a design (stitching location, since it's cosmetic only).
LnrB, your suggestion is very sensible and I shall try it. Thank you.
JagCad, I appreciate your experience and counter with, my Jag is more about panache than practicality. I thank you for your vote of confidence re: contrasting shades.

The next step in this project is to fabricate a console for cupholders from 1/8" plywood.

 

Greg,

I have restored dash panels in the past using walnut veneer. Its a little pricey but really looks good. Remove the failing panel and strip the old walnut. Make a cardboard template for test fitting. If you make a mistake with cardboard just throw away and start over. When you're happy with the template you transfer the dimensions to the veneer and glue it on with contact cement.
Buy Walnut Burl Veneer 8" x 18" 4-piece at Woodcraft.com

Steve

 

Steve, I year ago I would have considered nothing other than what you describe. But now that I have the car, for some reason I'm less inclined to keep it 100% original. I foresee owning this car for as long as I can drive, or as long as we're allowed to burn gasoline.

I have a keen personal sense of form vs function. Veneer anywhere but on the dash in the series three is simply decorative, and therefore subjective. This is just the way I look at this, my XJ6. Everything I do is 100% reversible without damage left, and original parts retained.

 

Well, I experimented as Elinor suggested, then bought a piece of red leather that is exactly what I had in mind. It has texture and reminds me of the cars my dad had when I was a kid, so it's the right shade. I hedged my bets though by getting enough black leather to redo the red part if it looks bad. I'll post photos soon. I have just glued the black to the new cup-holder console.

 

I'll be waiting to see how it comes out, Greg.
Red and Black are the universal highlight colors, ya know. If it wouldn't look so stupid in my car I would have more red in there than just a small flashlight.
(';')

 

Here we go. Black leather is glued to the 1/8" plywood and trimmed. The scraps just happened to turn out that shape

I scored the back with my tablesaw so it would be able to curve at the front end like the original steel part.

Then I test-fit the cup holders before applying silicon automotive adhesive to hold them in place. Note I had to move things in the tunnel to make room for the cup holders to sit even that low, and they still stick out of the console. Specifically, I had to push the rear air ducts outward with little wedges. Sorry there's no photo for that. Maybe later. There's some "upholstery" to do to pretty up the cup holders.

You were all right about the black on console: it is definitely the only choice and looks right at home. The cup holders I chose are a bit big but they are perfect in function and hold all sizes securely.

 

I didn't know how I would like that when you first mentioned putting cup holders in, but that looks very nice.

I already have plans for at least one of my ash trays or I might consider something similar.
(';')

 

Hints on the ashtray plan?


Here's a photo of my push-the-air-duct-aside gadget, yes it's Meccano! This is the right-hand side.

There's also a photo of the red leathered bit. With a Tourist Trophy Garage emblem cuz my maternal roots are in Farnham, Surrey.

Looks pretty snazzy....outside of the car.

 

I want to put a switch in the AC compressor circuit that allows me turn off the compressor at will.

Basically, find the wire that feeds the compressor clutch and break into it. I know where it is, I know what it is, it's merely a matter of Nix being down for long enough to get it done.

Of course, now with her tire situation might be a good time. In changing that rear tire we also discovered there were only 4 studs holding it on! One was completely missing! She's going nowhere until that's fixed, especially the way I like to drive!
(';')

 

Elinor:


Did you not mention that NIX's PO had installed a new set of Michelins before selling her to you? If so, and the paper work is available, a warranty might be available for the road failure. Or maybe the tread ware, date codes and stuff might get a Michelin dealer to adjust it. Michelin is a quality tire and something went askew. However, a puncture and slow leak after the hammer test and then low pressure and a failure.


In my prior career, I've had experts examine failed tires and have them conclude the reason of the failure. Almost always a puncture leading to loss air, slow or quick.


Oh, yeah, fix that stud. Busted off. leaving the stump to extract or gone completely? Is there room behind the hub to insert the new stud and pull it into place. Domestic cars usually have a splined shoulder and a force fit. I dunno about the Brit system. Probably the victim of a "souped up" impact wrench.


Yeah, I have a shop full of HF stuff. Not good enough for a pro to use daily in some cases, but, my son has used a lot of it that way. I've a big old mechanical hacksaw that has done a lot for me over the years.


I was there yesterday. Got a pair of 10" tires and wheels for my Roto Hoe project.
Gonna take some doings though as the old solid tired wheels used a 1/" axle and the news one have a 5/8" hole.


The Jaguar purred all the way there and back. Luckily, I spotted one tank getting low and switched before it surprised me!!!


Got some Meguir car wash soap. Gonna do it, drought here, drought there. Not decided on the drive or where my lawn once was. Probably the latter as the trees will benefit.


It usually dries sans spots, but, I may just use the electric leaf blower to air dry ala pro wash style.

Carl

 

Does your car have this switch, Elinor? It's the fairly useless one that stops everyone in the car from opening the windows. I'm going to repurpose mine to prevent the antenna from rising when I'm listening to something other than radio. Maybe it would work for your AC job?

Once you have installed that switch, will the result be airflow into the cabin without the cooling/driving effect, somewhat like what you can get in cars without climate control?