Hello again,
thank you for all the suggestions. The servicing is nearly done, and probably in a few days I will be able to pick up the car from the workshop and finally start enjoying it. I am including a couple of (very bad) pictures of the car in its initial conditions when I bought it a couple of weeks ago. You will notice that, as I mentioned, it is sitting on a non-original set of wheels. I bought a set of the beautiful OE alloys and I am currently having them rectified and repainted (thanks again Steve for the ebay link!) so next week I should be able to fit them (can't wait!)
There are still a few things pending (and yes, I am abusing with impunity of your knowledge asking for further suggestions...)
Exterior
- fit a new set of hub caps; I was thinking about putting red/silver ones as these looked the most common choice in period pictures from official brochures and test drives... plus I think these match very well with the red pinstripe
. Are these the right ones?
https://www.berkshirejagcomponents.com/ ... 2x18157295
- have the bodywork polished, as it is in overall good state but has lost some shine on a couple of areas (boot lid)
- replace the central chrome blade on the rear bumper (I am looking for a second hand one in very good conditions, without scratches/bumps... any suggestions on top of eBay?)
- respray the rear bumper (it has a couple of scratches on it) and realign the chrome trim on both bumpers
- replace the RH rear light (the glass is slightly cracked)
Interior
- have a full clean-up and treatment of all leather surfaces
- replace or repair the gear lever leather wrapping (it has a couple of tears above the underlying hard rubber ring... which however seems a bit disproportionate to the housing hence I am wondering if it's original or not)
- check the fuse of the radio system as it looks dead (hopefully it's just the fuse...)
- fix the clock display (the lighting works properly, but the LCD segments are fading away
Other questions
- as of now I am trying to keep the current tires as they are in good shape and mildly recent (2.5 years). However, I noticed these are 245/45 ZR17, which on one hand is one of the officially homologated sizes on the Italian technical document (also according to Jaguar Italy), on the other hand I reckon the car was originally fitted with 255/45 ZR17. The problem is that there are not too many alternatives on the 255s (basically only 1-2 quite old product lines from Toyo, Continental, Dunlop, Pirelli), plus these are relatively expensive (from 200 to 350 EUR per tire!). As a comparison, when it comes to the 245s there are 30-40 leading-edge product lines from established/premium brands (all of the above plus Michelin, Bridgestone, etc.), with price ranges from 100 to 180 EUR per tire.
Would it be better to fit 245s with a top product line (more developed hence with improved performance and safety, e.g., Pzero Nero GT, Pilot Sport 4, Potenza S001) or 255s with one "mature" product line (such as Proxes T1-S, Conti Sport-Contact 5, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT)? I also remember some extended online discussions about the 8Jx17 wheels being a better natural fit for 235/245s vs 255s (which are usually fitted on 8.5Js). Ultimately, which tire size/brand would you recommend on a XJR6?
- I have no clue where the current wheels are coming from. Do you recognize them as OE wheels on any other Jaguar? Otherwise, are these generic aftermarket wheels with Jag hub caps? I also noticed that the hub caps look completely different in shape/size versus what is supposed to be fitted on the original 17 inches wheels.
apologies for the long message, and thanks a lot for your patience!
Cheers,
Corrado
