Hey all

I have a 1987 XJ-SC, which is the Cabriolet. The previous owner had the rear hard top and 2 targa tops recovered in the last year or so, so they're not faded at all.

However, there's also a rear soft top that was not redone. It's quite faded, and the once-clear plastic window has yellowed with age.

Does anyone know of a good method/company to use if I want to have this redone?

Thanks!

 

Your only option is to replace it, re-dyeing an old stretched and saggy top and replacing the window would be an enormous waste of money.

I think the H&E is a bit more expensive, but 400-600 for a new top on a jag isn't bad.

 

Thanks for your reply. My only concern is finding a new one would be impossible.. This is the the Cabriolet, not the H&E or factory convertible. From my research, nobody makes these anymore.. So I suppose I would have to have one custom made, using the old one as a pattern?

 

prettty sure world upholstery has them. no idea on the price.

Seat Upholstery, Carpet Sets, Converitble Tops, Headliners, Door Panels and Rubber Seals for Jaguar XJS Coupes & Convertibles from World Upholstery & Trim

sry I didn't notice which you had. I don't know too much about XJS convertibles and I thought the H&E was from like 1986-1989,so i thought you had one. I guess its like 88-89 or something

 

Yes, not too many people are familiar with the Cabriolet. It's a very low production body style.

That site looks promising though.. I'll give them a call. Thanks!

 

yeah man, no problem. I asked them about seat covers once and the prices are about what I expected for something so low production but high quality.

So the cabriolet also has a rear hard top for it? They really are pretty weird...

 

01Silverstone,

I would think that you should be able to find a hood company who would supply what you need. After all over 5000 Cabriolets were produced. In the UK, hood companies tend to supply the rear roof + enough material to recover the Targa Panels and the windscreen cantrail. It's more expensive than buying a hood for a full XJS Convertible but it's certainly available. If you get the rear hood, you would probably want to recover the Targa Panels etc anyway as the new hood will show them up.

The rear hardtop is fairly rare though as it was an extra cost option even when new.

Good luck

Paul

 

I think 5000 is a actually a pretty low number for production in the entire world, which is why it is so hard to find anything

 

sidescrollin,

I guess compared to many American cars, 5000 is small-scale. However, it's not the rarest XJS by a long way. There are far fewer XJR-S, 5.3 manual pre-HE, 6.0 V12 Coupe & Convertible, AJ16 pre-Celebration etc.

Most of the Cabriolets were 5.3 rather than the 3.6 which wasn't officially exported to the US. That should have made the Cabriolet a popular export to the US but it didn't seem to work out that way. Apparently the US buying public didn't like having to remove the Targa Panels and fold the hood themselves which was why the H&E convertible was made for the US market before Jaguar brought out their own convertible. I guess all of that might explain why you don't have that much interest over there in the Cabriolet and why items are harder to find.

Paul

 

I know it isn't the rarest XJS. I am mostly speaking from a personal position, where I owned a car that was somewhere in the production number of 3500, and parts were impossible to find. There was little information on the internet and only one forum with a few people for it. I can only imagine all the other XJSs would serve to distract from a couple thousand made with a special top.

I don't think the cabriolet turned into the convertible because no one liked it. I mean im sure most people prefer an actual convertible, but to my knowledge cabriolet was made to temporarily scratch the convertible itch, while an actual convertible was being developed. The cabrio was relatively easy to quickly put into production, because it is so simply compared to a whole convertible.

I think its quirky and interesting, but I would definitely rather have a regular convertible.

 

sidescrollin,

Yes you're right, the Cabriolet was only ever a stop-gap once Jaguar realised that the US weren't going to ban convertibles as originally thought in the 70s. In 1985 Sir John Egan committed to a full convertible but US dislike of the Cabriolet meant that H&E then plugged the gap for the US market until the convertible came along for 1988.

Ironically, Cabriolets were used to make the original H&E prototypes but then the production cars were made from completed Coupes which were then stripped and cut. Although similar-looking to the H&E, The Jaguar convertible was then developed by a completely different source, Karmann of Germany.

The Cabriolet has a small enthusiastic following but like you, a proper convertible does it for me.

Paul

 

Paul and sidescrollin,

I would be a member of the "small enthusiastic following" I suppose!

While I do agree with both of you that a convertible is less of a hassle for daily use, one of the reasons I love the Cabriolet is the lines. When the top is down on factory convertibles, it sits so high up, and that ruins the sleek, low-slung look of the car for me. And I never was a fan of the buttresses on the coupe. But just a personal preference.

It also gets a lot of attention at shows due to its rarity in the US. Out of total XJSC production of 5,013 units, just over 2,000 of those were imported to the US and for 1987, only around 500 came over. Given that over 100,000 XJSs were produced worldwide, it is fairly rare (especially in the US).

Interesting note, a 3.6L manual Cabriolet went up for sale in US a few months ago. Apparently it was a car imported by Jaguar to test the US market.. I believe it brought upwards of $20k!

And although there are certainly rarer models, in the US an XJR-S is almost impossible to locate.

In the end, though, we all love the XJS...

Below is a picture of my Cabriloet that's being discussed!

 

definitely agree on the lines! Just like hard top on convertibles, it just looks plain cool