Hi all,

After nearly six months to a year, I recently got my hands on a super, super, super rare, North American Left-Hand-Side XK8 Pollen Filter Housing. I contacted every major junk and parts yard in the country, approached my local Jag dealer, and ALL the major sources that we use to find Jaguar parts these days--even Welsh Enterprise. But within moments of looking at my AWESOME pollen filter housing, I realised that I could create my own parts that would do the same job as a piece of glorified plastic. The reality is that the XK8 is nearly fifteen years out of production, and the company is not producing many (if any) new parts for the old models. The pollen filter housing is an example of this. So I ask the following:

Would any 1996-2006 XK owners be interested in out of production parts (such as trim pieces) to be reproduced with new replacements (they would NOT be original OEM, but functionally compatible nonetheless)? This would open the door to parts in different colours, and that Jaguar never sold individually, like the silly tabs that hold the sun visor’s mirror flap! I could possibly provide a limited handmade/machined service on an individual/small-scale basis for these NON-OEM parts, and possibly even perform small-scale parts repairs as well. So right now, I am just trying to see if there is a market for this kind of thing, and if so I can follow up with additional questions about it.



Would this interest any of you?



-Dayton

 

Yes! A thousand times yes! And I'll be the first to line up! I'm currently looking for the child seat anchor cover for the coupe. It is not available anywhere. I would also like the seat belt buckle bolt covers. I can definitely see a market for this. Cannibalizing interior trim from cars in the junkyard can only get us so far considering those parts are also aged and likely to fail quickly. The epoxy repair for the sun-visor mirror flap has never felt reliable to me. And if you can figure out a more reliable and useful cupholder, I bet you would get everyone's business.

 

Definitely yes. It seems like every time I open something up in the interior I'm finding some kind of broken plastic.
I'm constantly bumping and breaking the cup holder with my elbow. I've glued that thing back together 4 or 5 times.
I'm also constantly gluing broken tabs on lens covers and plastic covers. Great idea.

 

I appreciate all the feedback from everyone!

Lately, I have spent the last few days getting an idea of what kind of part models I could recreate. I've also been trying different modelling techniques and getting material cost estimates to go small-scale. Right now, I have only one draft prototype of the pollen filter housing (proof of concept). In a strange sense, I'm starting to develop a greater appreciation for the engineers who designed these things!

Also, I looked at the resources available to me, and the materials such a parts project would entail. From this standpoint, every part would be unique, one-of-a-kind, and individually tailored. I can produce them in PLA/PC/ABS plastics, aluminum or even steel, if so desired.
However, to make the project feasible, we will have to have enough people who want new parts, or a few people who are willing to assume higher costs for BRAND new parts. Yes, if this idea proved successful, I could also look into hand crafting the more esoteric, exotic parts. But because I'm not familiar with every variant of the XK8, and I would have to hand design and sculpt each part meticulously from observation, I have isolated a few parts I feel could initially be re-produced.

1. Driver/Passenger Side Door Seat Controls left/right plastic housing tabs (never individually produced)
2. The sun visor mirror tabs (never individually produced)
3. The Front Seat Convertible Belt Bolt Cap Covers (still available, but 15+ years old)
4. The Convertible Seat Belt "ESCUTCHEONS" (discontinued)
5. The XK8 Pollen Filter Housing LHD (discontinued, exceptionally rare)
6. Possibly other parts made extremely low volume by request at individual cost

Again, because each part would be entirely tailored to you, individually, colours, styles, and materials can be completely up to your discretion. Now, comes the matter of costs, and I won't lie to you, it's not inexpensive. Entire parts as the pollen filter housing model would cost between $250.00 USD and $1,100.00 USD per model, depending on part preferences. Fortunately, it looks like the smaller parts, or composite parts would be much less expensive, probably less expensive than buying the entire part 15 years old, used from a junk yard.

With the above in mind, would you all still want some of these parts made? If so, I can pick the most desired parts to design, produce, and offer BRAND new--if people are willing to commit to having these parts built from scratch.

 

I have noticed that many of the small plastic parts like the seat tilt escutcheon and knob were designed to be installed quickly and easily for the assembly line. They were not designed to be removable! Every one that I have ever tried to remove broke one or more tabs.Try to find replacements. Good luck. I would think anyone who owns an X100 would be interested in replacement parts regardless of the source as long as they were equal or better than original. And I don't believe better is unattainable!