Heh heh. The XJS is perhaps best described as "Ye Olde Worlde Class" ? :-)





Hang in there.

When I bought my XJS (this was years ago) it took me six months to sort out the bugs, catch up on neglected servicing, and make all the repairs the previous owner never bothered to do. In the end I was rewarded with an XJS that I could jump into and drive anywhere with confidence. Fabulous car...someday I'd like to have another.

Cheers
DD

 

NO! Don't use PVC! Use poker chip cup inserts for poker tables. Check these out.

Cup Holder for Poker Tables, Drop In Drink Holders for Poker Tables

 

ive had mine for a month and 8 days, and ive only just scratched the surface. (total engine harness rebuild, cam cover gaskets, water rail gaskets, all new hoses, radiator hoses, crossover hoses, vac hoses, new TPS, New ECU, couple new injectors, etc. etc.)

 

Those are cool, the slide-under ones have me thinking. I'd still end up "upholstering" it though, I just think it looks nicer.

 

Hey wouldn't, "Ye Olde World Class", be better served with pocket nets from a billiard table rather than chip holders from a poker table??? I'm just saying!

 

Complete with rawhide fringe!

 

Considering a royal crushed purple (or red) velvet lining perhaps?

 

I'm thinking the entire interior needs to be redone now...purple crushed velvet everywhere with gold-braid as the piping...like driving a Crown Royal pouch.

 

I've not bought a ski slope from British Autowood, but I did buy a shift knob. It's the one with the old "Coventry" Growler, and the mother of pearl inlay. It's quite nice, and feels much better in the hand than the original.

Seems a bit extravagant but the price had been reduced and I couldn't resist. It doesn't look as out of place as you might think. It really looks nice in there.

I want a ski slope, but I want a bit more than that. I'm fed up with the stupid junk lighter socket in mine falling apart, and that broken million-dollar junk plastic bezel.

I want a ski slope with a hole drilled in it so I can fit an outlet similar to this, and trim it with a nice polished aluminum ring:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4125/5...e2fdfcae_z.jpg

Of course, if I'm doing that, I should probably axe the proprietary speed control bezel as well. It's only going to break some point in the future when they can't be found readily. It's easy enough to find a nice replacement switch from the NKK catalog and make a better bezel out of aluminum.

That means I'm going from scratch on the slope itself, but that isn't difficult. It's just some bent metal, and I'll have a chance to insulate it properly. That's only twenty or thirty bucks at a water-jet.

There was a guy a while back who was making them out of carbon fiber in effort to keep the heat at bay, but I don't know what happened to him, or even if it turned out to be a good idea.

I want the cup holders as well. The ash trays are a bit garish and outdated, even in such a classically styled interior. They remind me of an armrest ash tray in an '80s American sedan. They are also incredibly annoying to reinstall after removal.

Either way, I hope British Autowood will laminate the result.

Currently, I've found it very effective to simply drink bottled beverages and place them between the seat-belt clasp and the center console by my hip. They aren't in any danger of falling about in that position.

It's not safe to keep a beverage between your legs, as it can become loose and interfere with the pedals.

 

Coming from an individual who replaces words with single letters?

 

I'll be the first to admit that "text language" irritates me when used outside of its intended purpose, which was a crude method of messaging on a cellular alpha-numeric keypad.
However I think it's important to remain respectful when we disagree with our fellow forum members and not try to neutralize their opinions by pointing out unrelated flaws in their posts.
I've met some absolutely brilliant people who could not construct a sentence if their life depended on it, and on the flip side I've met some grammatical whiz-bangs who couldn't cut their way out of a wet paper bag with a sharp knife and a GPS.

 

It was British Autowood. They stopped doing it a few years back, about 3 months after I placed my order. He had a good reason, but I forgot why. You can ask him.

The main problem I had with my ski-slope from British Autowood, was that the new ski slope was thicker so now the bezels don't snap in anymore. I would recommend making the holes for all of the accessory stuff slightly larger on the water jet so that the wood overlaps the metal holes by a bit. The bezels can't work through the thickness of both wood and metal.

...unless you're making custom bezels. If you are, I'm pretty sure you can make a decent amount of money selling them to others, including me.

 

Oh no. I agree with him.

I'd consider it butchery on my own vehicle, and while I can't always easily afford expensive parts, I'm more than content to save money and deal with an issue or modification project when I can remedy it to my satisfaction.

Suggesting, however, that someone should buy a pickup truck (especially considering the implication that pickup trucks might be lower-class vehicles than those pertinent to this discussion), simply because they don't see the value in, or cannot justify an expensive modification is fairly grating.

With that as context, one would expect such pretensions of class to be accompanied by equally high-born language.

Not everyone cares to sit about and wait for expensive parts, and not everyone is concerned with the results of cheaper alternatives. They shouldn't be mockingly directed to a different car, simply because their tastes aren't in accordance with the original market price of an XJS.

Perhaps the greatest facet of a Jaguar vehicle is the fact that nearly anyone can enjoy one, in nearly any way they can imagine. You aren't buying your way into class, you are driving your way into pleasure.

I simply illustrated the contrast between claim and communication. That is all. I don't consider that a disrespectful observation of an opinion (again, an opinion with which I largely agree); I consider it a respectful defense of a different perspective by way of contextual dissection.

You'll never catch me berating someone for a procedure or modification of which I do not approve, unless I find it to be dangerous and deem it appropriate to communicate the risks, or the associated member asks for critical opinion.

 

I'll be sure to ask him.

I will indeed be making custom bezels, or at least designing and partially participating in their making. I've got friends with a machine shop, another with a water-jet facility, and immediate access to powder and ceramic coating services, so I'll generally make or have made parts to my taste, or those that I can't otherwise afford.

It's crazy, but the result will be cheaper than a new plastic bezel... Mr. Goorganpalang on Ebay seems to have the supply locked up.

Still, one's finances aren't always at the same level as his ambitions. I'm not going to be doing it tomorrow. Likely, however, within the next six months or so. Still, there is no assurance that you will like the aesthetic result. They will be a bit less parts bin and a bit more "Morgan", and I fully intend to make them compatible with more sensible, reliable, and available parts.

I'll try my hand at a factory replacement, though. They would be good to have on the market. I'm fairly good with parts design. I'd keep an eye on Paul's Jaguar, however. They've already developed and marketed an improved replacement window switch bezel (I've got one, and it's wonderful), and they sell them for peanuts. I'm sure a cigar lighter bezel is just around the corner.

Right now, I've got to get that climate control working properly. I replaced one blower with a rebuilt unit, and the other failed shortly after. Then, a vacuum actuator sprung a leak... Sometimes, you've just got to smile at the lunacy of it all.

 

Darel -

I don't know what happened to the website but he has an eBay store under the same name.

 

Hello,
Yes I was doing them out of all-carbon at one point, but it just turned out to be more of a hassle than it was worth. I have recently switched to aluminium of the same thickness which is working out great.
Yes you've got to watch those plastic switch bezels, those small tabs like to become brittle and break off -- they don't always want to go back in and sit flush anymore. As mentioned, Paul has the replacements I think.
Cheers,

 

I am liking my XJS and that motor, more all the time. I have addressed a couple of issues and I'm slowly pecking away at others. This doesn't mean I won't change the ski slope to a cuo holder type or maybe even add some some dingle *****, fuzzy dice and a hula girl for the dash. Those cosmetic upgrades will have to wait for a couple of other upgrades, you know the ones that aren't as much fun. I have decided to go ahead and replace the radiator with a Be Cool, install electric fans with thermostat and a/c control and while I'm at it replace all of the hoses t-stats and other marginal paraphernalia. I also plan on cold air as my next project.

My relationship with the car has gone from like/hate to like/tolerate and the more I drive it the more I like and tolerate it.

 

be cool? where from? the one from driven man is over a grand.