On the right and longest side of the J, the shifter is a regular automatic shifter, with the usual P, R, N, and D modes. Most people only use this side and don’t fully understand the uniqueness of Jaguar’s 2, 3 (and 4 positions.

Unlike regular transmission selectors, the J-Gate spacing and positive but smooth engaging makes it easy to manually select a lower gear to suit the road and the driver style. Approaching a corner or coming to a stop, you can comfortably downshift to a lower gear to slow down the car and keep the RPM in an optimal range just like you would with a standard transmission. Downshifting just before passing a slower vehicle will ensure maximum acceleration with no delay unlike what you would encounter in D mode.

The only thing missing from the J-Gate compared to other more modern push button system is a lack of control over up-shifting and it is often better to bring the selector to a higher gear early and then control the up-shift with the throttle.

So if you drive a modern Jaguar, especially the newer XKs and have never tried this approach, give it shot on a nice road, it will make the driving experience even more enjoyable !

In the old days, i.e. for me it was Columbus Ohio in the 70s the process was easy. All you had to do was pull them all off, make a list, then throw them in a bucket and cart them off to the chrome plater, who also did cadmium plating in bulk. For as little as 20 to 30 dollars you would get all these parts back looking beautiful and ready for your show car. Back then chroming was also inexpensive but that's another day's story.

The EPA has since changed all this and one can no longer find a plater that even does cadmium plating so we have to go to plan B. A company call Eastwood has come out with a kit that allows you to do zinc plating right on your workbench. The results are as close to cadmium plating as you can get.

The kit includes a medium solution, a zinc plate, and a battery tray that holds 4 1.5 volt D size batteries. This set-up is good enough to plate small brackets and the endless number of bolts under the bonnet that are plated. Of course one has to remove the parts from the car first, then wire brush them clean, degrease them, then you are ready to go.

The negative side of the battery set is hooked to the part. The part is then suspended in the medium solution. The positive side of the battery set is attached to the zinc plate and also suspended in the solution. Then the bubbling begins, and in 2 minutes you have a new plated part (not exactly).

The first part I tried was the bonnet safety catch from an XKE and when removed from the solution it looked horrible. I had left it in the solution too long and it looked like it was covered with metal sand. Off to the wire brush wheel and to my surprise all the excess brushed off and the part looked great. With further practice the process became a lot easier and with further adaptations one can plate about any part within certain size restrictions. The kit costs about $90 dollars with shipping and is worth every penny. They also have a black oxide kit available now that put the black finish back on all those tools in the kit.

If you have any questions about the plating process give me a call.

When painting, or touching up any painted wheel, an easy way to make this
quick and simple.
1. Apply black shoe polish the edge of tire and wheel.
2. Find an old pack of playing cards. Apply, in an overlapping order around wheel.
3. Mask off valve with small balloon.
4. Spray, or hand paint spokes or steel.

All of this can be done while the wheels are on the car, and only takes minutes.

The shoe polish keeps any mistakes from marring tire. When complete, finish with
shoe polish on tire for a beautiful satin finish

(1) Prefix "P" to a serial number denotes that power steering is fitted (Series I Cars). (2) Suffix "BW" denotes that a Borg Warner Automatic Transmission is Fitted.