Car Album Guide for the XJS Soft Tops Club
Member’s Car Album Guide
What is a Car Album?
A Car Album is the long-term home for the story of an individual Jaguar XJ-SC Cabriolet or XJS Convertible.
Every car has a history. Some have remained remarkably original, while others have been restored, modified, rescued or simply enjoyed and maintained by a succession of enthusiastic owners.
A Car Album gives Club members somewhere to bring that history together — combining photographs, information about the car and personal stories about ownership, maintenance, restoration and the places the Jaguar has taken them.
Together, our members’ Albums are becoming a living archive of the cars themselves and the people who continue to care for and enjoy them.
Your Album Can Grow With Your Car
A Car Album does not need to be completed in one sitting — and in many ways it is better if it isn’t.
Start with what you know today. Add a photograph, the basic details of the car and an introduction explaining how it came into your ownership.
You can then return whenever you have something worth adding. Perhaps you have completed some maintenance, undertaken a restoration, made a sympathetic modification, attended a show or taken the Jaguar on a memorable journey.
Over time the Album becomes more than a profile of the car. It becomes a continuing record of your ownership and, potentially, valuable history for a future owner too.
What Can You Put in a Car Album?
There is no expectation that every Album will look the same. The content should reflect your particular car and your experience of owning it.
An Album might include:
- How and when you acquired the car
- Its specification, colours and interesting original features
- What you know about its previous ownership and history
- Maintenance and improvements you have undertaken
- Restoration work, from small repairs to major rebuilds
- Modifications you have made and why you made them
- Shows, meetings and events the car has attended
- Holidays, road trips and memorable journeys
- Awards or recognition the car has received
- Your thoughts and plans for its future
You do not need an extraordinary car or an extraordinary story. Sometimes the ordinary details of owning, maintaining and enjoying these Jaguars are precisely what other enthusiasts find interesting.
More Than One Jaguar?
Car Albums belong to cars rather than being limited to one Album per member.
If you own more than one XJ-SC Cabriolet or XJS Convertible, you can create a separate Album for each one.
You can also record a suitable car that you previously owned, allowing its photographs and your memories of it to remain part of the Club’s history even though the car has since moved on.
This makes your collection of Car Albums a record not only of the Jaguars you own today, but of your own history with the XJS.
Car Album, Gallery Photo or Activity Report?
The three features have deliberately different purposes and work particularly well alongside one another.
A Car Album is the continuing story and history of one particular car.
A Gallery Photo is ideal when you have one photograph that you particularly want to share, together with the short story behind it.
An Activity Report is for telling members about something you have been out doing — perhaps a show, drive, holiday, visit or other recent adventure with your Jaguar.
In simple terms:
Car Album — the continuing story of your car.
Gallery Photo — one photograph worth sharing.
Activity Report — something you have been out doing.
Would You Like to Create a Car Album?
Car Albums are created and maintained by registered members of the XJS Soft Tops Club.
Membership is completely free and gives you access to the Club’s interactive features, including Car Albums, Gallery Photos, Activity Reports and Discussion Forums.
Once logged in, this Guide also contains a more detailed walkthrough explaining how to create an Album, add your car’s information and photographs, create stories and continue developing the Album over time.
If you own — or have previously owned — an XJ-SC Cabriolet or XJS Convertible with a story worth preserving, we would be delighted to have it represented amongst the Club’s Car Albums.
Already a member?
Log in to see the full Car Album Guide
Every Car Has a Story
Some of our Jaguars have extraordinary histories. Others have simply been cherished, maintained and enjoyed.
Both are worth recording.
The individual details that seem ordinary today — a repair, a journey, a photograph or the reason you bought the car — may become some of the most interesting parts of its history in years to come.
Start with what you know, add to it as the years pass, and let your Jaguar’s story become part of the Club’s history.