Daverb,

Can I ask what yr and make of vehicle.

Looks like you are doing very good on your baptism of putting it back together. Is it leather or vinyl replacement panels? Make sure that all the rubber support backing strips are in good shape, otherwise your back or bottom center portions will cave in. It helps to have a hog ring pliers to help wit5h reassembly or you can make one out of an old pair of pliers.

If you have any questions, let me know.

I just finished my 96 Celebration model. I did everything myself except for sewing. The reason for no seat cover purchase was because I did not want to lose the original leaper on the seat backs. I bought matching leather (unbelievable how close to original coffee color) from a company in California and had it shipped to Florida where I live in Retirement. Took every piece of the drivers seat apart stitch by stitch. I then cut all of the piece patterns and gave it to a local auto upholstery shop to sew. The leaper portion of the seat was in excellent shape and I was able to save thereby not losing the authenticity of the Celebrity edition.

Softball60/Paul

I also have a 96, and I am planning on ordering new seat covers.

What was the condition of the foam? I redid my wife’s Honda Pilot seats. I feared the foam went bad, but once I installed the new leather skins, it re-tightened everything up!

I ordered my replacement skins from Lseat. They said they can emboss the leaped on the headrest as well. I sent them pictures. Will report back....

Are these the ones?
https://www.lseat.com/products/1989-...ers-front.html
Did they give you a price for the embossing?

I have a 96, so it’s a little different, but if you click the box that says “embossed logo”, the price goes up by $80. I took a picture of the logo I have on my car seat, with a ruler in both cm and inches so that it’s sized correctly.

Now I play the waiting game.

FYI, for those BRG cars with SDC interiors, the matching color is Lark and the piping matches Silver-Grey.

Daverb, How far along are you?


The foam on my 96 was okay but required some repairs. Most of my repairs were in the back and structural....what I mean by this is that in the 96 there are metal rods that run vertical down the back and were hog clips are attached. Most of this was destroyed. What I did is ........Please forgive me for saying this......but went to Home Depot and purchased some soft spray foam in a can (insulation for windows) placed the wire rod in place and reformed over the top. This actually worked really good. Foam was pliable and gave good strength when hog clips replaced when installing new drivers seat back.

I would ask for a sample of the embossed leaper...if it is not exact........HUMMMM!!!

Vee,
On yours, does the back support air bags work? I’ve had my 96 for 5yrs. With no lumber support. When I got into the seat cover replacement I was able to repair the lumber support pump hosing that connects the bag to the pump. It now works perfectly!!

Softball60/Paul

My lumbar stopped working when the rubber bag got a hole. I tried to fix it with bike tube patch, but I ended up making it worse. When I reskin the seats, I will install an aftermarket lumbar bag. The tubing and motor are still in great shape. I am also replacing the thermostat for the seat heater so it gets hotter.

Yeah....well you often get what you pay for. At this price point, it’s probably not going to happen.

I also opted for diamond stitching in the mid section. I think that’s going to be the best way to keep the seats from failing again.

Daverb,

I am not familiar with shape/design do the 1984 XJS but I would be more than happy to physically measure mine (1996)

Please reply

Softball60/Paul

Ive had 2 XJS’ and my problem has always been the narrow centers for the seating portion. The seam always ride the middle of the back of my thigh, and the bar at the edge of the seat frame closest to the door puts way too much pressure on my, leg, plus the lack of a dead pedal adds to the weight my seat has to carry on that side! Im having the interior redone, so Im opting for a wider center of the seat, with no seam where my thigh rests. It'll look factory, and Im not trying to impress any factory correct guys either. I just want to be able to drive for more than 6 hours. A dead pedal would be nice

Seat covers came in....I think I chose poorly on the piping color (silver grey). That’s what I thought looked closest to the color, but it’s not close.

The embossment looks great, in my opinion.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...6d475e740.jpeg