Jaguar XJ-S. Manual - part 123

 
 

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then found an epoxy based clear coat to put a thick shiny finish on it.  Much easier than applying coat after coat of 
varnish or polyurethane.  This is a pour on finish and has held up very well so far.  I did this about a year ago, so 
obviously I haven't been able to duplicate 8 years of having the sun cook it, but am hoping that it will last. 

“I did go to the dealer to price a new one.  They told me somewhere around $250 and couldn't guarantee that it would 
come even close to matching the rest of the wood.  The wood veneer from Constantines cost me about $25 with the can 
of veneer glue to go with it.  The epoxy coating was about $10 more.  Aside from being a whole lot cheaper, it allowed 
me to get the color very close.”  Constantines is on page 697. 

“I called them and just asked them for a piece of their "premium" burl walnut veneer and gave them the measurements. 
 I specified a piece much larger than what I actually needed just in case the edges were a little rough.  They sent me 3 
pieces.  In order to make it fit, I used 2 of the pieces with the seam running straight down the middle.  It wasn't obvious 
to me, but the original Jag piece also had a seam in the middle.  The pieces are matched, so it looks really nice.  The left 
side is a mirror image of the right side.  There were a couple of knots in the veneer, but I liked that.  They're very 
helpful, and I'm sure that if you send them a piece, they'll try to match it.” 

 

CONSOLE PANEL:  For those of us who own an ’83 XJ-S, removing the panel from the top of the console is easy and 
obvious -- there are three clearly visible screws.  However, John S. Whitford has an ’89 with one of those newfangled 
wood veneer panels, and apparently somebody decided that visible screws would be passé.  “The cruise control switch 
and the cigar lighter can be pried out and that exposes a sheet metal bolt into the console wall locking down the lid on 
each side.  Getting those out allowed me to raise the lid and slide it back some and there are two pegs on the front edge 
of the cover that fit under the radio-A/C cover.” 

 

ADHESIVES:  If you’re doing interior work, you need to know about adhesives.  The following is from Timothy J. 
Hesse;  “I am the product marketeer for the ITSD Industrial Aerosol Adhesives and I formerly was the product 
marketeer for Auto Trades Aerosol Adhesives.” 

“74 Foam Fast Adhesive is an excellent foam bonding adhesive which performs well up to about 120°F.  Above that 
temp, the adhesive will soften, and with sufficient stress, you can pull the foam apart.  It is possible to experience up to 
150+ degrees in a closed car, and the seat part does see a fair amount of stress when a person is sitting on it. 

“Another 3M product which is a good foam bonder and has 160° temp resistance is General Trim Adhesive, pn 08080, 
which is sold by the Automotive Trades Division.  This would be a better product to try for seat bottoms. 

“76 is a good product---but does not have very good plasticizer resistance.  Vinyl material is typically loaded with 
plasticizing oils, and in time these plasticizers migrate from the vinyl to the adhesive, and they soften the adhesive to 
the point the adhesive becomes very soft and gummy and “lets go”.  76 has 160°F temp resistance and would work on 
foam bonding, but vinyl bonding would not be a long term success. 

“A better product for bonding vinyl is Super Trim Adhesive, pn 08090, also sold by Automotive Trades Division.  
Super Trim is a neoprene-based contact adhesive in an aerosol can.  It has 200°F temp resistance, and is plasticizer 
resistant.  In fact, Super Trim is very good for reattaching vinyl tops, vinyl trim, etc. in auto restoration projects.” 

 

HEADLINER:  Apparently, if you don’t want to have headliner trouble with an XJ-S, you’d better get a convertible!  
They all seem to fall down sooner or later, and the roof light is poorly placed to help keep the headliner off your head 
when it does. 

The material used in a headliner is a fabric bonded to a thin layer of foam.  The failure mode of headliners (not just 
Jaguar) is that the foam rots and falls apart.  While it appears tempting to just find some way to glue it back up (and 
there are people who are willing to sell you products to “inject” glue in there with), the fix will not last; once the foam 
is shot, gluing it back together only makes it fall apart again above or below the glue layer. 

The only real solution is a new headliner.  Fortunately, this problem affects cars other than Jags, and a competent 
craftsman can usually be found locally to do this job well for a reasonable cost. 

 
 

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You will be given the choice of insisting on genuine Jaguar headliner fabric or just installing a generic material.  You 
should have learned about British non-metallic materials by now; if not, let me point out that you are replacing a 
genuine Jaguar headliner!  True, it appears that American headliners fall too, but it isn’t any sooner than Jaguar ones.  
The only reason to get the original material is to match the color perfectly, but most of us aren’t that picky about 
headliner colors. 

While this is a good example of work best left to professionals, there are those who want to try doing it themselves.  
Frank Perrick says, “The trick is to buy only 3M spray adhesive and read the can.  There is only one 3M adhesive 
recommended for this job.  The wrong can will say ‘not for head liners’, and the first hot day you will be wearing your 
headliner.  Headliner kits including fabric and clips are available at local auto parts stores.”  The correct stuff is Super 
Trim Adhesive #08090. 

By the way, the headliner fabric in the XJ-S is bonded to a piece of stiff cardboard or fiberglass.  It is somewhat of a 
challenge to get this thing out of the car; the Jaguar manual specifies removing the windshield!  Apparently, that isn’t 
really necessary; Rob Ward reports:  “You need to get someone to support the other side while you turn it through 90 
degrees.  Moved the seats back and lowered  the headrests, moved steering wheel fully in.  Mine came out through 
passenger door no problems.  (RHD)”  Regardless of the methods attempted, everyone who’s tried it agrees you will 
need at least two people. 

Richard Dowling offers some guidance for fiberglass repair of that headliner structure:  “I pulled the old headlining and 
used a fibreglass repair kit to beef up the crumbling edges of the moulded roof panel.  That was a big mistake, because 
the rear edge of the moulded panel fits into a slit in the rear window seal.  Now my panel is a bit thicker around the 
edges and perhaps 5mm longer.  It pushes the new and pliable rear seal outwards even with the window in place.  This 
has distorted the seal, although it does not leak.  The problem is the distortion does not allow me to put the bright trim 
pieces back in.” 

 

FACIA:  On the dashboard, just below the speedometer and tachometer on either side of the steering column, there is a 
panel covered with a fuzzy black fabric intended to be nonreflective to prevent glare on the gauges.  This fabric tends to 
come apart after a few years’ exposure to sunlight.  To replace it, visit any shop that installs automobile headliners.  
These two pieces would qualify as scrap to them, you might even get it for free.  Take the panels out, remove the old 
fabric and install the new with contact cement. 

 

GLOVEBOX:  The lining on the inside of the glovebox is -- you guessed it -- headliner material. 

 

MOTORMOUSE SEAT BELTS:  John S. Whitford relates his experience:  “The passive restraint shoulder belt (that I 
hate), got stuck in the engaged position.  I just unsnapped the belt and forgot about it.  But it kept trying to return to the 
disengaged position and that eventually ran down the battery.  When I connected the recharged battery back up, I heard 
it straining, and a little fiddling got it unstuck.” 

Sean Straw’s motormouse seat belts went nuts.  “I've noticed on more than one occasion the passenger side passive 
seatbelt decide that it wants to freak out as it is closing - it reaches the (upper) stop point, then backs off as much as a 
couple of inches, then reactivates to the stop point again.  Back and forth.  It'll do this as much as a dozen times (usually 
less) then stop and act normal.  The same thing has occurred on the driver side perhaps twice.  Less occasionally, the 
passenger seatbelt will not actuate until the driver side door has been closed.  I can count the number of times this has 
happened in the past five months on two hands.  This seatbelt weirdness only occurs when the vehicle is at a stand still, 
and just after I've inserted the key into the ignition -- it isn't as if I'm driving along and it freaks out.” 

Bob Morazes says, “I have a 92 VDP with the same bizzare seat belts.” 

John Wynne says, “I had a similar situation with my seat belts.  Only the driver's side was affected, but not only did it 
joggle the belt back and forth, it would also trigger the door open buzzer and activate the interior lights.  The first time 
it happened was late at night during a heavy rain storm and it scared the hell out of me.  Lights coming on and buzzers 
going off are not an expected event on the highway. 

 
 

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“It was only occurring during and after heavy rains so I unwisely ignored it for a while, until the day the belt started to 
move into its open door position and suddenly changed directions pinning me so hard into my seat that I thought it was 
going to dislocate my shoulder.  The retractable portion of the seat belt located to the rear and right of the drivers seat 
had finally siezed from all the erratic passive belt movement.  I was surprised to find that the belt motor had that much 
force to pin me into the set like that.  To top it off I was going about 45 mph into a pretty sharp turn.  Talk about panic! 

“Basically, what I'm trying to say is don't be dumb like me and let it act weird until a mishap like mine.  I was really 
upset with myself when I found that the cause of all the mayhem was the driver's side door plunger.  You know, the one 
that activates the open door buzzer, turns on interior lights and causes the seat belt to retract.  I can't believe the 
symptoms were so obvious and I ignored it for almost a month. 

“It might be one location for you to check out before digging under the dash or inside the track mechanism.  The way I 
tested mine since things seemed fine with a multimeter, was to tape a quarter to the metal plate on the door which 
contacts the door plunger.  This forced the plunger to seat a little further and eliminated the problems.  A local parts 
store had a suitable replacement for about $2.” 

The good news:  According to John Alexander, since the motormouse seat belts are supposed to be a substitute for air 
bags, they are “warranted for life in US -- had mouse motor repaired and car washed gratis by my dealer.” 

Morazes agreed.  “My Jag dealer replaced them for free.  Yes, I said free.  Its not every day that you get a free trip 
through the dealership.” 

Charles Maraia wasn’t happy with the warranty:  “I took my '88 to the dealer and they said the motor is warranteed, but 
nbo the other parts.  Well, guess what?  They found fault with all the switches and on.  Cost me over $100 to fix a 
warranteed item.  And I still pull the fuse!  That won't happen again.” 

Maraia may have been ripped off, but it doesn’t always happen.  Ned Wesley says, “I took my '88 in to purchase the 
seat belt assemblies and was told move the car in line for service.  The service manager attempted to operate the belts.  
When they would not operate, the entire system was replaced at no cost to me.  The right and left side seat belts had an 
invoice of $1,900 for parts and labor.  I believe that the motors are invoiced at $500 U.S. each.” 

 

REAR SEAT SHOULDER HARNESSES:  The 1983 XJ-S doesn’t have rear seat shoulder harnesses, it has lap belts 
only.  However, it has the mounts for shoulder harnesses, hidden behind the rear quarter upper trim pad.  Since studies 
have indicated that wearing a lap belt only in a rear seat is more dangerous than using no restraint at all, those who 
actually have occupants in the back seat might want to consider adding shoulder straps. 

 

MORE WOOD:  Since more is obviously better, the tasteful touches of burl wood in the interior of the XJ-S can be 
supplemented with other panels ad nauseum.  The ‘88-on wood veneer ski slope reportedly will not fit the earlier cars -- 
the console itself was changed at the same time; however, Autostyle Ltd (page 711) can provide wood veneer ski slopes 
to fit any XJ-S.  They also offer burl wood panels to replace the radio facia, the little panels around the headlight switch 
and ignition switch, and the panel surrounding the gauges within the dash, as well as burl wood shifter knobs. 

 

DOOR SILLS:  The ‘88-on metal door sills are a lot more impressive than the earlier plastic items.  There’s no reason 
they shouldn’t fit the earlier cars, although there are no reports as of yet of anyone actually retrofitting. 

While the plastic sills were one-piece, the metal sills have separate finishing caps at both ends and a series of clips 
underneath.  Richard Mansell provides a parts list:  “The part numbers for the coupe are: 

Tread plate RH 

BDC 4642 

Tread plate LH 

BDC 4643 

Finisher end 

BDC 9742  (RH front, LH rear, 2 required) 

Finisher end 

BDC 9743  (LH front, RH rear, 2 required) 

 
 

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Clip for tread plate 

BBC 9853  (total of 10 required)” 

Note that the sills for the convertibles are different.  On the other hand, one might presume that the H&E convertible 
probably uses the same sills as the coupe. 

Mansell also reports that there are aftermarket firms in the UK offering metal sills. 

 

CUP HOLDERS:  The XJ-S doesn’t have one!  What a cheap car.  Gary Penovich says, “I definitely needed a 
cupholder in NYC.  How else was I gonna drink, drive, and give somebody the finger at the same time?” 

There are lots of cheapie drink holders available; a visit to any truck stop or auto parts store should reveal a wide 
selection.  For something a little nicer, Dave Osborne suggests you check out 

 

 

http://info@drinkholders.com/

 

They offer a nice drink holder that mounts on either a vertical or horizontal surface, adjusts to hold any size cup 
securely, and folds out of the way when not in use.  There are pictures of some of the upholstered single drink holders 
installed in Jaguars, but forget about the Jaguar page and look at the Land Rover page instead.  There you can see 
pictures of single and double drink holders finished in burl. 

One place to consider installing a foldable drink holder might be the inside surface of the glovebox door.  On the ’83, 
the glovebox door has a pop-up mirror on one side and nothing on the other, so you could install a drink holder on -- or 
in -- that other side.  But if it’s a surface-mount, you might even mount it on the pop-up mirror. 

One of the best ideas is to refab the ski slope with simple recessed cup-shaped cup holders where the ashtrays are.  
Suitable cupholders are available at marine stores, since apparently it’s common practice to cut holes in your boat and 
slap one in.  You need to be careful to find one of a suitable depth, but there’s one at 

 

 

http://www.marineeast.com

 

that appears to be about right. 

Your only problem then will be: whattaya do for ashtrays?  But this is a much easier problem, since ashtrays can be 
installed in vertical surfaces -- such as the door panels.  It should be easy enough to find suitable ashtrays in any 
junkyard.  There are even ashtrays sold at 

 

 

http://www.westmarine.com

 

that are designed to fit into a cupholder!  Of course, if you’re a nonsmoker you can just forget it.