No, not beef - leather (reference to old TV commercial).

I've identified the approx. 1 sq ft subsection of the seat bottoms as leather but everything else appears to be vinyl. Possibly the center console lid, as well as the door arm rest tops might be leather as well since it's smooth but I'm not sure.

I'm about to go shopping for a leather cleaner/conditioner but if the only leather in the car is what you're sitting on I'm not going to get too **** about it. (I'll probably buy the Lexol 1-2-3 product).

 

Before you buy anything research http://www.leatherique.com/ for their products.

I have restored a 32 year old Volvo leather upholstery with their products and would strongly recommend their use.

Volvos That RUN - Chapter 17 - Interior restoration - Turbobricks Forums

 

Based on wear patterns, I'd say bottoms, seat back fronts, head rests and console lid. That's most of the rear seats of course.

Think I'll go get a Wendy's burger now.

 

I've got to say when I took off the seat skins, only the face of seats are leather. The parts that crack! Doors have no leather at all. Not even arm rest. Center console lid is leather, rest of stitched console is not. Unless the leather is bonded to fabric. The back is fabric.

 

By chance, I was wondering about this very thing last night as I always do whenever I perform 'leather maintenance' ... most definitely in quotes since most of it's not leather and what there is, is so treated & coated that it might as well be vinyl. We don't have to worry about nourishing old leather as people did in the 1960s and before. Anyway, I use Zaino's Leather in a Bottle exclusively for the fragrance. One of the very few which actually smells like leather (Lexol most definitely does not).

Anyway I snapped a couple of shots with the OP's question in mind, before I even saw this thread.





So, out of 12 zones I have marked only 7, 10, 11, and 12 are actually leather? I admit that I thought the armrests on the doors were leather. If most everything is vinyl then it's kind of strange how many different types & textures of vinyl are used. Some kind of subterfuge?!

And yeah, I didn't vacuum yet. That's dog fur on the carpeting

 

I certainly appreciated that line!

Jaguar have gradually reduced the amount of leather used in their vehicles. the last full leather interior I had was a 1972 Series I Daimler Vanden Plas which cost approximately 50% more than the base XJ6 at the time.

Amazing how many owners refuse to accept that majority of the interior is now vinyl and diligently apply Leatherique to their 'plastique'.

Graham

 

I'm assuming the rear "seats" are also 100% vinyl then, as well?

 

During the past decade the automotive upholstery companies have gotten much better at creating leather-like surfaces that look and feel like the real thing. Mercedes Benz uses a product called MB-Tex that fools 99% of its customers, plus it wears like iron. While I still love the real thing, I can appreciate the durability and the ease-of-care that some of these products now provide....

 

The rear seats are so useless I didn't even think of them. One leather bit nobody's mentioned yet - the steering wheel wrap (probably also the dirtiest).

 

Good point on the steering wheel. I clean and condition mine monthly (and refuse to buy a car with anything but a black one). I do the rest of the interior bi-annually.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive analysis Marsden. The only parts that were obvious to me were #'s 7 & 11.
p.s. - nice Victory Edition!

 

Practically the entire inside of my '94 Vanden Plas is leather. Not just the seat facings, but the sides as well. Even the sun visors are leather! And it's a higher grade leather than found in the base XJ6. (Connolly; same as in Rolls-Royce?)

 

My Jensen Interceptor even had a leather headliner. When I had the interior it took 7 cows to do it. You could almost here faint mooing when sitting in it.

Heres the Leather:




Dave

 

Now THAT'S a leather interior, beautiful craftsmanship. Love the color too!

 

I/m trying to find a good pic of the front area to scan. It had Recaro seats of course. The color is buckskin and it was matched to the original. I wish I still had access to the guy that used to do my interior work.

I always have wondered what ever happened to that car. I sold it to a lady in AZ that moved to Minnesota 20 years ago. Its never come up on ebay or Auto Trader.



Dave

 

Hopefully it's tucked away in someone's collection or garage. Love the car, though. I don't know much about Jensen. I'll have to educate myself later tonight when I won't be able to sleep as per usual.

 

It was a weird car. Made in UK, and body used modified Aston Martin molds. Mopar 440 Wedge, narrowed Dana 70 rear, Jag brakes and steering rack. But it was reliable and mostly easy to work on and some people upped the engines to 550 hp or more. I was in the club for years and it went to another club member when I moved from AZ. I wish I would have kept it now. I restored it from a total heap and won first place at the Jensen meet. They made a drophead version also but they are rare. And they came with the original "Lear Jet" 8 track players and REAL gauges.


Dave

 

The door armrest tops (item 4) are leather. I have had several apart to confirm this.

 

Just checked, and danged if I can tell. You wouldn't think they'd waste leather back there, but read on...

Agreed about MB-Tex...it's incredibly durable. Same with BMW's vinyl. Much more durable than leather actually.

That's the only surface in my interior which needs attention. The VE has the all-leather wheel... wonder if Madera can match the burl elm...

So I thought. Now I wonder if the double stitching is a marker. That would make the console leather too though. Any thoughts?

You guys were too polite to mention that my surfaces #2 and 6 are identical

 

I guess, in a way, one thing we've established is that it doesn't matter much. How can it, when it's so hard to tell the difference? And even though I'm personally diffident about participating in the animal trade, I do like the aroma. Even if I depend on Zaino to maintain it..