Reupholstering Seats

[ABZ7836]

This may be one that those with experience shout NO

I have a 1987 XJS with all documents etc etc less than 40K on the clock (genuine)

The seats are in very very good condition but a little bit below the luxury of what I'd expect from Jaguar.... they are leather on the sides, top bottom but the middle section is cloth (would assume this is original) ? I didn't know whether to get them upgraded to all leather (grey with blue piping) or leave them as they are for authenticity

[BigCatXJS]

Hi,
It's something worth considering carefully...

If it is likely that you will be restoring the XJ-S to concours condition or similar with a view to participating in such competitions, then you'd want to keep as original as possible.

Conversely, if you wish to restore and are not precious about 100% originality then go for the full leather. All of the V12 XJ-S came with full leather.

You might want to consider obtaining a Jaguar Heritage certificate for the car; this will contain the original specification. Additionally, a valuation by Graham at the JEC office in Bristol might help decide which route you prefer to follow.

Personally, I'd go with the full leather option, but I'm biased. My XJ-S has subtle non-standard, non-factory modifications

Rich

[dhdove]

I'll offer a different opinion from Rich.

Whilst the part cloth seats may not seem as luxurious as the full leather they are very much of their time and therefore part of what makes the car what it is. They should be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. With only 40k on the clock they shouldn't be unduly worn or have sagged at all.

Perhaps the question to ask is " Am I comfortable in them". I would take a little time driving the car to get an answer to this question and then decide what to do. After you have driven the car for a while you may find that there are other areas where you want to spend your money, I doubt that having the seats reupholstered to a good standard will be cheap

TonyS

[ABZ7836]

I think by asking the question I may have answered it....

As it has lasted this long with no noticeable changes, I think I owe it to the car to 'restore' / maintain it to concourse condition. The seats have very little wear and tear, no sagging (the inside still smells of new upholstery!).

I'm also fortunate in that I do not have to use it every day; just drive it for sheer enjoyment.

Only had the car a week and now set out my aims to strive for a concourse car

Thanks Rich and TonyS

Alex

[ABZ7836]

Sorry, meant to say that you guys helped me make that decision

[poprivet]

I don't know about an '87, but certainly some years the full leather seats were a factory option on the 3.6

So you could perhaps change to the luxury of full leather and still maintain originality?