www.jec.org.uk

Finally getting the XJ in to the paint shop to rectify those small spots that bug me. Will take the occasion to change the door seals. Looking for recommendations on a vendor. Also need to change the head lining, again looking for recommendations.

Seals like the long upper side glass seal (BD44122) are critical to achieving acceptable wind noise in a coupe. Those fitted on the production line had a sponge-like interior and were quite soft. After the model ceased production, Jaguar continued to supply seals but presumably changed supplier because the later seals were much harder in texture and performed poorly in comparison. Equally, the seals available today from different suppliers vary in texture, possibly dependent upon which version of the original seal has been copied. Consequently, it's good practice to buy these seals in person rather than by mail order. Only in person can you check the softness of the seals and be sure that they will stand a good chance of minimising wind noise and water ingress. Mike.

Mike,
I suspect that foam core varied with model - I'm pretty sure my Series III has no foam except at the corners, ditto my facelift XJS.
<edit>Sorry, missed that you were talking about the coupé.

If you have old door seals that no longer work and have no foam in them, a trick shown on Wheeler Dealers is to make a small cut in the seal and insert a length of appropriately-sized rubber tube; this does a similar job to a foam core, of course.