Headlamp beam converters

[kevinjs43]

Does anyone know how to convert the standard headlamps on the XK8 for driving in Europe?? I've always put some black tape over the lens section which was marked with a pattern on the glass on previous cars (including Jags) but the XK8 lights don't appear to have any markings to guide you what section to black out....

[GrandTourer]

Kevin,
Firstly, welcome to the forum and BB
There are standard XK8 converter lenses available from Jaguar dealers and sometimes ebay. These are plastic lenses pre-marked which clip-on to the head light units. I bought mine on ebay for about £35.
BTW, the same lenses are also available unmarked and are called lens protectors. Quite a few XKs use them for UK travel to keep the headlamps from becoming damaged.

Alternatively, you could buy a generic stick-on converter kit (Halfords or other Accessory shops). It is a bit tricky to find the exact position on these sweeping XK8 lenses, but if you park in front of a wall at night with the lights on, you should be able to cut down the left beam to the same level as the right one.
I used to do this before I had my converters with black insulation tape - same effect.

The advantage of the clip-on converter lenses is that they also provide protection against stone chips.

[doug424]

Greetings both,
I've found the only way to get good light and have the correct beam pattern is to make your own shadowmask for the headlight.
The beam pattern, LHD and RHD, is created by a flat plate mounted internally between the bulb and the internal glass lense that can be seem from the outside. This plate can be accessed without taking out the headlight, from within the wheel arch. This small metal plate is the only difference between the two markets.
Valeo and Jaguar will not sell the plates, so if you want to have good LHD lights you will have to make the shadowmasks yourself. I have two sets of masks, one set for the UK (to pass the annual MoT) and another set for continental driving.
I used sheet stainless steel to make the masks, which took about a day, and the change over can be done in about an hour and a half. I don't recommend aluminium as it gets very hot in the headlight and a mask made from aliminium might not survive.
I have some pictures to illustrate, if you interested. My car is an LHD XK8 and the vast majority of my motoring in the car is done on the continent.
Hope this is useful,
Doug Barrass,
Ashford, Kent.

[mike020150]

A very ingenious solution! Mike.

[kevinjs43]

Thanks for all you help guys...

However I did go for the "cheap" option, and put some tape across the lamp lenses to mask off some of the beam shining onto the nearside.
I also set the headlights to dip setting no.3 which reduced the extent of the beam travel. But given I was only driving short distances at night, with all the faster/longer drives on the autobahns during the day, I didn't want to engage in too much time/effort to just aviod getting stopped.

And what a fantastic way to drive your Jaguar it was on those unlimited roads..!!!

Thanks again, Kevin.

[charlock]

Hi,

After reading this, I managed to get a pair of secondhand official protector/converters from Ebay. They came with instructions for S-type and X-type but none for XK8/R. Given their shape, they are certainly for XK8/R.

They have three squidgy "buttons" on the inside along the top edge and a metal bracket each which hooks in over the top. There are also some holes along the bottom. Can anyone explain what these are for?

I haven't tried to fit them yet but it looks like the bottom will simply rest against the headlamp glass which doesn't seem quite right given the provision of buttons on the top to space away from the glass.

Do I have all the correct fittings?

Can anyone provide a drawing/picture of the correct arrangement?

[GrandTourer]

Andy,
from your description you seem to have the right protectors/converters.
the three 'soft buttons' are on the underside of the plastic covers and act as spacers between the glass lens and the protectors. The metal bracket (assuming it is of the correct shape) fits into a lug on the car on the upper/inner edge and the protector hooks into the bracket with its 'slot'-hole. You also should have (and maybe you don't) three plastic right-angled clips which fit around the lower edge of the protector and the other end goes into the gap between the headlight and the car body - they just push in and will hold the protector in the correct position. If you don't have them, you may be able to use a different method to achieve the same effect, once you understand what they are for.

It actually sounds more complicated than it is.
I am just off to a tennis match in a few minutes, but if you pm me your email address and maybe a tel no., I will take a couple of pictures of my units and also a picture of the official fitting instruction sheet and email it to you later this afternoon.

Look forward to hearing from you.
regards,
Karl

[charlock]

Karl,

Many thanks and will do.

Sounds like I may have the correct metal brackets but am certainly missing the three right-angled plastic components.

[GrandTourer]

Andy,
got your pm with email address.
Will take some pictures this afternoon and will try to make a close-up of the small brackets and will also take pics of actually fitting the protectors - it'll be one-handed photography so might be a bit wobbly
The instructions also have some diagrams on it.
Will do this later this afternoon.
Cheers,
Karl