Postby ptjs1 » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:10 pm
Aristocat,
Interesting to hear about your seat renovation. How about posting some before and after pics (or even just some "after" pics) of the work that was done? It's always good for all of us to hear about various suppliers and the quality of their work.
As regards the wheels, are you sure that the current wheels are the originals? I thought that early facelifts were all fitted with 15" alloy lattice wheels. I also thought that the only optional wheel at that time was a 16" alloy lattice. Pepperpots were fitted to the saloons, although there is a similar wheel called the "ogle perforated" that could be fitted to XJSs. But again I'm pretty sure that it was only available for pre-facelift cars. If you post some pics on here, we can identify what wheels you have fitted.
If you're thinking of changing wheels, then if you want to stay "in period" I would go for 16" lattice as that is the original look and gives you flexibility on tyre choice. The 5-spoke alloys CCC4943 are a nice wheel but were fitted only from 1993.5 Model Year. They were updated to a slightly different 5-spoke alloy - MHC6113DA - from 1994.75 Model Year. It all depends how original you want the car to look.
As dh knows from personal experience, Chilterns of Bovingdon seem a good source of varous XJS wheels. The price that you have been quoted of £110 to £120 per wheel to refurb your own seems very, very expensive. I know a number of places that will refurb alloys to a good standard for about £50-£60 per wheel.
Hope that helps
Paul
1995 XJS 4.0 Convertible
1980 XJ-S Pre-HE
Jaguar 4.2 Supercharged engine (but not with a Jaguar body..)