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“79-83 280 ZX (FI Car): Description: Semi Triangular Black Plastic, but the plastic in them is not very good so if you
are in a sunny climate they will be brittle. Replacement part is pricey and supposedly not available from the dealer (
Nissan Dealers are scum...). However "Tweeks Ltd." does stock all of that stuff.
“80-83 280 ZX (Turbo-FI Car): I am still trying to find a 280 ZX turbo in a junk yard (I will be going again this
weekend) that has a different vent, and see how they attach. They only have one vent on the passenger side of the hood
but they look pretty neat, a NACA scoop followed by a grille. If you could find two of them, you could locate them
further forward in the XJ-S hood and have "Ram Air" (oooooh cool.)
“The 75-78 280Z vent is different right from left, and would require modification and "dremeling" and is really small,
I'm not sure if it would make a worthwhile difference (to vent or not to vent, that is the question).
“Idea: the 78-81 Camaro Z28 had some fenderwell vents on the side, top rearward portion of the fender; those may be
big, but you could mount them on the hood of the XJS.
“1989-92 Firebird: Small hood vents in front nose portion, could be cool. I need to get dimensions.
“1979-84 Mustang GT. Cowl hood type. Mounts with 4 bolts and allows removal of block off plate for a 1"x18"
opening. This is severe but could be helpful in hot climates.”
You should remember that openings in the hood will allow rain in. Many cars -- including Jaguar E-Types -- have rain
collectors underneath their hood louvers to divert rain into drains and out the bottom of the car. If you just cut holes in
the hood and call it a day, the rain may find its way to an exhaust manifold and create a large cloud of steam. That
might be a little more drama at the stoplight than you need. And that’s not to mention the effect of rain on electrical
hardware and other stuff in the engine compartment.
One other concern I can foresee is that add-on vents might protrude into the engine compartment an inch or so, and
maybe hit something -- like the diagonal struts. Best to double-check clearances before cutting.
FRONT SPOILER: Fido may have only cost his owners $10 at the local pound, but he becomes quite costly when you
run him over with the Jag. The front spoiler, when removed by force, often takes the bottom panel and the front section
of the two front wheel wells with it. The spoiler was expensive enough; the package of four parts starts getting into
some real money.
You will need to get the original spoiler BD45624 from Jaguar to make the car look right. However, the other three
pieces (BCC4462, BAC4350, BAC4352) really don’t show, so you can make substitutes. A tough plastic is
recommended, as any sheet metal or fiberglass would get banged up too quickly in this application. 3/16” black ABS
sheet plastic seems to be ideal, making these parts somewhat heavier than the originals.
For those who can’t find such plastic, it can be ordered from:
Freddie’s
Plastics,
Inc.
P.O.
Box
1319
Plant City, FL 33564-1319
(813)
754-5567
FAX:
(813)
754-0943
They sell it only in 4’ x 8’ sheets, enough to do several Jags. They may cut it into quarters for ease of shipping; this
requires that the bottom panel be made as two pieces, which may be preferable anyway. Some aluminum angle (used
to connect the bottom panel with the vertical wheel well panels), some screws, some clip nuts and a couple hours
fabricating are all that is needed to make a satisfactory installation. One such installation has already survived a
‘possum at 100+ MPH.
DOOR HINGE SPRINGS: The springs in the upper door hinges that hold the door open tend to develop rust problems,
which in turn causes cracks to form at the stress points; they break and fall out with a clank, and then the door is always
closing on you when you’re trying to get in and out of the car. If your car has not yet developed such problems, you