Hey!, I was just wondering if anyone has taken all the plastic covers and guards and trim pieces off from under the hood and under the car? I might get some pushback on here but I have a strong inclination to throw it all in the recycle bin. It really blocks access and I’m a no frills kinda guy. Do you think it would cause excessive road noise or unwanted heat transfer? Or leave any particularly vulnerable parts unprotected? The x350 really is nice to work on but with every job it’s 20min of removing plastic junk before you can get started.

 

I've removed a few pieces, e.g., the access hole cover by the brake booster for the number 8 spark plug, I just leave it off. And I replaced the OEM insulation at the back of the firewall. The size intake I'm running also means the plastic engine cover has to be left off as well. i would be more careful around the ECU / cabin filter and leave those in place.

 

If you plastic parts you take off are in good shape, then sell them. Others may want them.

 

Well, you could take the doors off and then it would be faster to get into the car.
Whilst you're at it, dismantle the dashboard and place it on the passenger seat. Much easier next time you have to fix it. /s

Not my Jag, but a few days ago I ran over an opossum. I missed it with the wheels but must have hit the sump or suspension or something. On the good side from the OP's perspective, I imagine this opossum might have broken an irrelevant yet expensive piece of plastic.

On the bright side, if I lived in Australia a kangaroo might have written off the whole car.

(My wife was very upset about the opossum. Probably because I ran over the family cat 3 months ago, and now have to park on the roadside unless I positively identify where the new kitty is. She just doesn't understand how tough it is to look after a Real Cat)

 

The parts are mostly there for a reason which mostly is not only aesthetics. The parts under the car not only improve aerodynamics, which might not be so important in the US because of the strict speed limits, but they are a damage and dirt protection to the engine/transmission and body, as well. If you remove them, you will have at least to additionally protect the body with underseal to prevent corrosion, which can also be an issue with aluminium.
Under the bonnet, if I wanted to remove something, it would just be the parts mentioned by scooterforever, but I keep them as, for example, the spark plugs do not need to be replaced that often and I run the standard intake. The big plastic above the radiator not only covers the parts, it also helps to channel the air flow through the radiator to improve cooling, so I would not remove that.

 

The air intake hose to the throttle body, from a 4.2 S Type.
Fits in there nicely, no resonator box, & less money.
Used it, when my original needed replaced.
Looks less cluttered under there now i m h o

 

Yes! I would buy the engine undertray.

 

When the undertray or engine cover trim pieces get damaged/broken, I give the customer the option to find good used or NEW replacements but many just say "just leave it off".

They are either very PRICEY or NLA from the dealer so I can't blame them.

 

I recently purchased a 05 VDP. I did not have any of the plastic panels under the car. They are called under trays. I had to purchase new ones from a dealer. The quarter plastic panel under the radiator costs around $350 to purchase and I paid about $225 for the next plastic under tray. First of all, you cannot find either of the panels to buy used. I looked for almost a year to find a used one. I went to several salvage yards in Houston. There are no used ones to buy, so I purchased new ones from the dealer. If you want to take both panels off your car, you will not have any trouble selling them for a premium price. I wanted these panels to protect from road trash from damaging the radiator or engine oil and transmission trays.

 

If you are missing the under tray under the engine, You really should get a replacement. If you have not noticed, but the under tray protects the oil filter. If you do not have that tray, all it takes is a rock to punch a whole in the oil filter.

 

Welsh sells the undertray for $ 325.55 plus shipping.

https://www.welshent.com/Exterior-In...gine-Undertray

It`s too much money for a plastic tray, I repaired mine, in a really crude way, and it is in place without any issues. Will send pics when back home.

 

And if you think the parts are expensive now, just store them someplace safe and wait till the car is 50 years old. I restore old cars, ideally to exactly as they left the factory, and anything made of plastic, rubber or vinyl, if its in good shape, seems like its worth its weight in gold. Particularly undertrays are hard to find. Just pay attention how many cars you see in a day, heck, in an hour on city streets, with pieces of plastic dragging the ground under them. Those undertrays are subject to hitting a lot of opossums apparently (tho more probably the result of driver carelessness pulling up too far over a curb or parking block). I'd dare to say its probably the most vulnerable part of any car and treated like an appendix or gall bladder and just discarded when it becomes damaged. In another 30 years, I bet you could even list that undertray on Bring-a-Trailer and watch it bid to thousands (they sometimes list rare parts as well as whole cars) as at that point it will have become what we restorers call a "Holy Grail" part.

 

pdupler, you’re 100% right. We tried to restore our father’s 1959 Ford Zephyr Mk2 and there were some small trim pieces that were reaaaally hard to find. Thanks for restoring cars as they left the factory. There are too many Gas Monkey Garage people these days.

 

headlight cover/airflow duct. these cars are not undercooled who cares. i have two of these sitting around

engine cover looks terrible. garbage can