Just took my '89 XJS from winter storage a week ago, had to replace the battery, kinda expected it. -I wasted no time in getting her "up-to-speed", replaced the stock steering wheel with the "Grant Francis" custom wheel I bought from Australia, easy change out, love the look -and the horn button works great.(Photos to follow later).

I drove 988kms over the weekend on a trip to NS, the car performed flawless, and handled as great as I would want, particularly through a shortcut of 40 kms of winding roads known as the Rawdon Hills at spirited speeds through abandoned open gypsum and gold mines. If we can believe the on-board trip computer, driving on the 4-lane at 110kph (65mph), showed 20.6mpg. 125kph dropped economy to 18.2 mpg -I cannot complain over this at all.

Arriving home, today I took the car to a reputable shop for it's annual Provincial MVI, a very strict mechanical checkover which grants the window sticker required to run the car on the roads. Happily, it passed the 1.5 hour inspection, only needing a couple front sway bar bushings and the e-brake cable adjusted. The mechanic said he was very surprised the 25 year old car would need so little. -Shows the need to keep up the maintenance.

After being so accustomed to having coffee cup holders, I bit the bullet tonight and ordered a new ski slope with holders and a wood shifter knob which I will adapt to fit. I have the car going in for a strip-down paint job next week, and hopefully will have my new rear spoiler in time to have painted and installed same time.

Feeding my obsession and loving the results;
-Greg

 

Ihad mentioned the new Steering Wheel I installed last week, took a couple photos to show.

 

That's a nice wheel, which particular model is it?

 

There is not a reference or name/brand anywhere on it, and our good member Grant Francis from whom I bought it, had no idea of the model either. The mounting adaptor with the horn button was a perfect fit, and I've seen them on e-bay before, this one had the name MOMO on it.
-I'm calling my wheel a Grant wheel since he sold me the steering wheel, but it very well may be a "Grant" wheel, since it is a popular after-market brand.

 

Gregh, if you would be so kind, please let the forum know if the ski slope is a good modification. I need one, too.
Thanks.
RagJag

 

Hi RagJag, I just received the new ski slope yesterday, I'm checking tonight if anyone has removed theirs and if the shifter is difficult to take out.
I plan to tackle it tomorrow.

 

[QUOTE=RagJag;730372]Gregh, if you would be so kind, please let the forum know if the ski slope is a good modification. I need one, too.
Thanks.
RagJag

Well, I took the plunge this morning to change out the original Ski Slope panel in my '89 XJS convertible, as I wanted fitted Cup Holders, plus the stock Walnut Burl one was very faded into a light colour and had hair-line cracks through it.
I had just bought this one from an e-bay seller, located in Quebec, simply because he offered a good price on the Ski Slope and a custom Shifter Knob together, nearly $100.00 cheaper than most of the US sellers and I did not need to contend with Border Services, me being in Atlantic Canada.

At first I thought I'd need to remove the shifter, but once I began the removal process, realized I only needed to slide the shifter into neutral and turn the ski slope sideways to slip it up over it. -I began by removing the ashtrays, cruise control switch, and lighter. -Then came the three switches for windows and power top. I could not remove the 3 switches in the frame as an assembly, but they popped out of the frame easily, and I simply unplugged each one and set them on the dash in location sequence. There are two 5/16" small bolts mid-slope you will see after you remove the lighter and cruise switch, they only need loosening 1/8", as the bracket is slotted. Remove the center console latch cover at the rear of the ski slope, this exposes the only screw actually holding this ski slope in place. Pry or lift the rear of the slope panel, pull to the rear slightly to release it from the dash, and voila, it is in your hands.

To answer RagJag's question, this new slope is beautifully made, and though not actual wood, has a genuine walnut burl wood look, and is coated with a very hard epoxy/polymer coating. The cutouts are perfect, and looks very much as if it was cut by a CAD water-jet cutter, so precise around the center mounting tangs/brackets.
I snapped the 3-switch frame into it's hole, and lined the shifter hole with the original rubber trim and tried it for fit. After slipping it over the shifter (in neutral) and sliding the front under the heater control panel, I could have forced it over the center glove box latch area, but I removed it again and took a 4" disk grinder and removed approx. 1/16" from the rear of the ski slope. This let it slip into place easily, with the rear screw and the center tangs line up perfectly. While I could still slip my fingers underneath, I snapped the 3 switches in place and plugged them in, tightened the 5/16" bolts, fit the rear screw, re-installed the cruise switch and ciggy lighter socket, popped the cup holders in place and drove to the coffee shop to see the result. It was very satisfying to have the security of the cups staying in the holders and not need to keep a finger on the cup while driving. The photos show the job. I'll do the Shifter Knob next.
I'm happy, happy, happy.