It’s one of those things you may not have given much thought to but it’s quite literally right under your nose. We’re talking about your classic Jaguar car’s steering wheel.

If you’re a little on the tall side then you may have experienced that getting in and out of your classic Series 3 Jaguar XJ and XJS can be tricky. This is due to the size of the original 16” diameter steering wheels fitted. At KWE we prefer 15” or 14” inch wheels, which makes things a bit easier and we find gives a much-improved feel for the road.

Here are a few more useful pointers that will keep you on the right track when choosing your steering wheel from KWE.

• Our preferred aftermarket type of steering wheel is the Moto-Lita range which offers handcrafted wood and leather rimmed wheels; perfect for any classic cars such as the Jaguar XJS.

• Our leather

At KWE, we find that most classic car owners prefer the features of modern in-car audio systems, but not many customers are satisfied with the way modern head units look once fitted.

In cars built in the 90s onwards it is common to have non-standard single DIN units whose apertures, when removed, will not suit standalone aftermarket units. This Jaguar XK8 is a good example of a modern headunit that can’t be retro-fitted with an aftermarket Bluetooth unit.

While the FM radio facility has not changed much in the last 40 years, the sources of recorded music have. We started with 8 track cartridges followed by cassettes. The digital age produced CDs and devices such as the Apple iPod and MP3 music files capable of being stored on a USB memory stick. Advances in technology now allow drivers to stream directly from a smartphone to the headunit via Bluetooth.

But what if you want to

We’ve had the pleasure of working on this increasingly customised V12 XJS on a number of occasions. On its latest visit to our workshop, we’ve been asked to install our Digital Engine Management (DEM) system. The system will release more power, and will allow us to optimise the fuelling and ignition for other modifications, such as cold air inlets.

Modifying these engines would normally have little or no effect, unless the fuelling and ignition is re-mappable. Without specialist knowledge of the original firmware-based map and ability to re-blow vintage eproms, this is not really possible.

Our modern Omex system, however, allows for full re-mapping. This XJS was dyno-tested at just over 300bhp, prior to any modifications being carried out. Once the installation of the system has been completed, we will be able to check on the gains we’ve made.

Another advantage of the modern engine management is the much-improved reliability. The old Lucas system