So a question for all of you out there.

Did the 1996 Jaguar XJS ever come with a Dead Pedal.

I ask this because the lack of one in my Jag is glaring to me. I have read a couple of articles on line about how others have created one for their Jag, but never saw an article for my particular year.

I recently pulled the carpets out to give them a good cleaning. I also wanted to take a good look at my floor boards. I pulled the sound deadener out and was happy to see shiny mica red paint everywhere I looked.

Upon closer inspection of the floorboard / firewall portion of the floor where a dead pedal would be mounted, I noticed two threaded bolts sticking out of this area. They appear to be about 7/32 with a medium thread, vertically separated by about 3". They look factory as opposed to someone drilling a hole and screwing them in. The positioning is perfect for mounting a dead pedal, so much so that I wondered if one was mounted there before my ownership of the car commenced.

Any ideas?

 

It is quite possible, but a photo would help. Is the car auto or manual ?

 

She's an auto. I have lots planned for tomorrow but I will try to post a pic of the area I'm talking about.

 

Great idea to fit one. The XJS really needs it, and when I fitted mine (albeit RHD in my case) it made the car far more comfortable to drive. You may well find, as I did, that you need to cut an inch or two off the left side of the brake pedal to give you decent room for your left foot to rest comfortably on the footrest though.
greg

 

I wonder if this is a height thing. At 6'1" (not overly tall, mind) I find my left foot rests perfectly right between the brake pedal and the transmission tunnel. The only problem is that I sometimes feel my toes being pushed by some joint in the steering when I turn the wheel relatively far.

 

The late XJ40 cars had one, you might be able to adapt it.

 

Here is mine. Ebay NOS for a Triumph Stag. I used the front original fixing hole, and a bolt through the second hole in the dead pedal through the cover hold it in place. And just screwed both fixing screws back into place.

 

I'm not sure what it is. I'm 5'8" and don't see what all the hype is about. In any car where you legs are nearly flat, your heel just rests on the floor. I can't see why you would need a dead pedal in the XJS.

 

It's not hype, it's simply personal preference. Some find that a dead pedal increases comfort. Others don't.

I like 'em, personally.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi Someday

I'm with you 'In the No Dead Pedal Camp'

As at almost exactly 6ft, I rest my left foot on my heel with the side of my Shoe deliberately touching the side of the Brake Pedal.

Just so I know where to find it, as in my Car (Automatic) I very often Brake with my left foot.

When I had my first Automatic many years ago, braking with your 'left foot' was considered a bit of a 'No No'

As coming from a Manual Car, there was sometimes a tendency to Stomp on the Brake while thinking that it was the Clutch.

Which must have been very exciting for those Hooner 'Boy Racers' who think that it requires great Skill

To see how close they are able to get to your rear Bumper/Fender while driving along

Where of course the real skill comes from staying far enough away from a Jaguar XJS which can Stop much quicker than most people think.

With one of those dead pedals attached to the side of the Tunnel, I would just be paranoid at accidentally trapping my left foot underneath.

As I sometimes brake with my left foot and sometimes with my right, which often depends on what kind of Shoes I'm wearing.

Any other left footed brakers out there?

 

What I meant by saying I didn't need a dead pedal, and it might be a height thing, isn't that I rest my heel on the floor fine, but that the sole of my foot rests against the front of the footwell, where it angles sharply up. So it's not a matter of comfort per se, but simply that a dead pedal wouldn't do anything the footwell doesn't do anyway--and would rob me of precious legroom.

I've found, OB, that braking with the left foot somehow makes the car brake far harder and faster. Right-foot braking is easy to modulate for a gentle, smooth stop. Left-foot braking seems to be almost binary. Probably just as I'm not used to it, as I can manage a clutch pedal fine with my left foot.

 

Yup ! I'm a left foot braker.

Unless, of course, I'm driving a manual shift.

Cheers
DD

 

Trying to remember how long ago, it was, that I drove my first car with an automatic transmission!!! 1959, I think. My employer suddenly awoke and decided that bare bones 6 cylinder stick cars were not the way to go. Wow,
bye bye 57 three on the tree Chevy 6. Hello Ford Galaxie . Cruisomatic and V8!! A very nice looking and driving car.


No lessons ? I just climbed in and drove it away....
Controls intuitive. As was the extra wide brake pedal. It just invited left foot braking.


And, so it continues to this day. But, I gotta say that in the very few "panic: stops I've made, reflexes of long ago come in to play and the right foot gets on the brake pedal...


Carl.
/

 

Same here, Carl. Left foot braking 99.99% of the time. Right foot in a panic stop. Our brains and reflexes are fascinating things.

I switch from stick-shift to automatic cars all day long. Some have asked me if I (or more specifically, my feet) ever get confused. Nope, it never happens.

Cheers
DD

 

AH left foot braking, I learned left foot braking in a race craft course I also used it in my turbo WRX ( manual) to great effect getting it out of corners quickly, you learn to seamlessly swap feet on the brake pedal and downshift without the clutch.

BTW I don't have a dead pedal and I'm not intending to fit one.

 

After driving Auto's I have never looked back, who wants to sit in a Traffic Jam with there Foot on the Clutch all day.

On certain Cars I'm sure the Manual Shift has got its place but Auto's more relaxing so a manuals not for me.

 

i drive a "slushbox" all day long and i feel that i need a bit of stick wiggling involvement on the few occasions that i drive the jag.