Club’s October Newsletter

October 2026 Club Newsletter

Hello,

It hardly seems possible that our 10th Anniversary gathering at Avro was two months ago, and now nearing the end of October. But while the anniversary celebrations are behind us, the conversations they have prompted are still going strong.

I’d particularly like to thank everyone who has taken the trouble to get in touch, and tell me how much they’ve enjoyed having the Club or how pleased they are they found it. Some have gone further and shared stories about their cars and the journeys they’ve enjoyed together; others have asked questions, sought advice or simply said hello.

I do enjoy hearing from you, and it’s a lovely reminder of why I started the Club in the first place.

So, this month I’ve decided to write a little about what we’ve been doing, along with reminder that there are always stories worth sharing, and a couple of updates from behind the scenes. Please..

The Best Part of the Club? Hearing From You

One of the pleasures of running an international Club is hearing about the variety of experiences people have with what is essentially the same car – A Jaguar XJS with a soft roof. Some owners have owned their XJS for years and years, others are only just beginning to discover its charms — and the occasional frustrations that come with keeping one on the road !

When members contact me with a question or a problem, I often put it into our Discussion Forum so that other owners have the opportunity to respond and contribute from their experience. The answer may come from someone on the other side of the world who has faced exactly the same difficulty.

Those conversations are useful history information, long after the original question has been answered: they become part of the knowledge we’re building together for future owners, too.

Please keep the stories, questions, photographs and suggestions coming. Hearing from members is what makes all of this worthwhile.

A Change of Seasons — Somewhere in the World!

Here in the UK, the classic car show season is drawing to a close. For many of us that means looking back over the outings, shows, journeys and little adventures we’ve enjoyed this year — and perhaps planning what needs doing to the car before next spring. I myself seem to have an ever expanding list – probably due to the ever exanding number of Jaguar XJS Soft Tops that I own…

If you’ve been somewhere interesting, met fellow enthusiasts or just had a particularly enjoyable drive, now would be a great time to share a few photographs and words with the rest of us. Gallery Photos, Car Albums and even Activity Reports are a great way to do this.

Of course, ours is an international Club. While the weather here is turning distinctly autumnal, members elsewhere are heading into spring and summer. So if your Soft Top is coming out to enjoy the sunshine, don’t be shy — show those of us heading into winter what we’re missing!

Try the Activity Reports as they’re precisely for this sort of thing, as you don’t need a big show or a grand expedition as an afternoon’s drive or a satisfying job done in the garage work well too.

A Little More Light at the Back…

I’ve recently added an Activity Report of my own, following a small project on my 1992 XJS Facelift Convertible. The original rear lights are hardly the brightest things in the world, so I decided to see whether replacing the rear/brake and indicator bulbs with LEDs would improve matters.

The brighter red LED bulbs certainly made a visible difference, as the photograph below shows: the original bulb is on the left and the LED on the right.

Original bulb on the left, brighter red LED on the right.

Naturally, it wasn’t quite as simple as changing the bulbs! The car’s bulb-failure monitoring and indicator circuit weren’t entirely happy with the change. After a little experimentation, I found a practical solution using a pair of old trailer lights wired in parallel to provide the load the circuits expected.

It’s perhaps not the most conventional modification, but it did the job — and I’ve written up the experience in case another owner is considering something similar. I’m hoping to add more Activity Reports from my own garage over the coming weeks.

Looking After Our Club Website

You may have seen the recent news about serious security vulnerabilities affecting PHP, one of the underlying technologies used by websites such as our Club Website.

Much of the work involved in keeping the Club going happens in the background, and protecting our website and the information entrusted to it is one of those tasks, one that I take seriously. In response to the world wide security concerns, I’ve upgraded the version of PHP our website runs on to a higher better supported version.

This has been quite a substantial change and has needed quite a lot of time spent checking the website and troubleshooting any areas where the newer PHP software affected how things work. I’ll be keeping an eye out for any further security updates that might be needed.

I’d appreciate it if you happen to notice a page, form, photograph or other feature which doesn’t look quite right or isn’t working as you expect, to let me know. Better to be safe than sorry, so please do drop me a quick message and help me spot something I might otherwise miss.</p

Club Window Stickers — Second Time Lucky!

You may remember that last month I mentioned we’d be getting a fresh supply of XJS Soft Tops Club window stickers. Well, there’s been a little more to that story than I expected!

I wasn’t happy with the first batch I’d ordered, so I rejected them and went looking for another supplier. Happily I found a new supplier that could produce exactly what was needed and those replacement stickers are in stock and ready to order.

Our new Club window sticker — available now.

They’re a neat way of showing your Club connection when you’re out and about, and perhaps starting a conversation with another XJS enthusiast who doesn’t yet know about us.

They’re available at £2 each, plus postage.

So if you fancy displaying one in your Cabriolet or Convertible — and helping to introduce a few more enthusiasts to our Club — please visit the Support the Club page.