Hello all!
My rework on my 1988 XJS H&E convertible is going slow, but making progress. The whole fuel system was cleaned out of 18 year old gas, the remains of vacuum lines and wires under the hood that some rodent sharpened his teeth on is getting sorted out.
But being in Arizona, my concern is the dry weather and the interior.. And second, the lights.
1. How much of the interior is actual leather and how much is vinyl and what is recommended for cleaning as well as preservation? I know the H&E convertible was a coach built vehicle, but just the description and breakdown of any generic US spec XJS will help me.
2. After spending the last 40 years playing with old MG's and Triumphs, I have grown a fond dislike for Lucas lighting.. Never seem bright enough so I was thinking of going LED.
- good idea or bad? My plan is to get all the external lights except headlights and driving lights done. But since LED's take less power, won't these throw off the 'Bulb Failure' circuits off? Am I opening a Hornets nest that I should not worry about?
Any recommendations for interior cleaning/preservation as well as lighting will be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Use Autoglym leather cleaner (if they need it) and then Autoglym leather balm or similar, slather on the balm and leave the car in the garage for a week for it to penetrate. The leather will soften up wonderfully. If the leather is hard, use the balm one week treatment before doing anything else. Basically everything that looks leather is leather.


Lights: Your headlight units will be the OEM sealed beams most likely, that were rubbish when new. If so, go to https://www.danielsternlighting.com/.../products.html
scroll down until you find the 5 3/4 inch Cibies. You need two for H4 bulbs and 2 for H1. The H4s are the outers, dip and main beam. The H1s are the inners, main beam only.
For bulbs if the units are not the old sealed beams, (and of course use these if you buy new units) use these:
Again you need two (one pack) of H4s and two H1.


These will be a direct replacement of your lights and will transform the headlights, AND the lights out warning will still work. I would leave the normal bulbs in the other lights or again the lights out warning will not work and will be on all the time.

 

Or, merely a fresh set of OEM sealed beams do a lot. Just did that on my XJwuzza 6.


More watts at the lamps might over load the marginal wires. So, if I upped the watts, I'd look at better wire.


Here in CA, more watts probably illegal. But our legislature enacts far more law than can ever be enforced....


Not sure as to AZ law. Lived in PHX in the early 60's. A lot has changed, I'll bet.


Carl

 

You can buy LEDs nowadays with resistors built-in so the bulb failure system will work.

Don't go too bright on external lighting or you'll annoy grumpy old people like me (It's a pet peeve of mine but, for once, I'll spare everyone my ranting!)

Cheers
DD

 

Send an e-mail question to Daniel Stern. He has been a big help on auto lighting.
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

I like leatherique products a lot, but not all of them are for the XJS since it is newer "painted" leather thats sealed. Basically most of the interior is leather:

-Every part of the seat except the side panels on the seat bottoms.
-Ever part of the rear seat except the sides of the top, which are obviously cloth
-All of the center console
-All of the front and rear side panels
-All of the black stuff on the dash is vinyl, all of the a,b,c pillar trim along the window is vinyl

You should really tint your windows some, and perhaps keep wipes in the car to keep the tops of things from getting dried out. The top part of the door panels and the rear seat get it the worst.

Many leather products with petroleum bases can accelerate wear on the cotton stitching.

Connolly Hide food leaves a lot of residue and smells terrible, I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Leatherique CLEANER is amazing. Get yourself a soft boar brush to clean out all the grains when cleaning leather, you'd be surprised the difference between it and using a rag, but only use it when necessary.

I live in FL with no tint and drive my XJS daily. My clear coat is blowing out, the stitching on the rear seat broke a while ago and the stitching on my seat bottoms is starting to go. For the love of god, tint your windows.