Thanks - have decided to make it roadworthy and just start driving it Maybe I'll swap the engine later, but it seems to be perfectly healthy, so I'll keep it as it is for now.

 

3.6 is a good motor they get up and go

 

Removed the passenger side front wing today. Went smoothly, except for one seized bolt that gave me a hard time. Front wing itself is in good shape, with minor rust on the inside. Other than that, the only real issue is the flaky metal around the cable loom grommet. This is probably also the cause of the wet footwells the car has been suffering from. The inner wing and the sill look fine. Next time, I'll take on the other side.

 

Good call regarding the engine. I would do what is needed to get the body roadworthy again and then to enjoy during the summer. If you decide to pull out the engine, the 4.0's with transmission sell for little money in Germany. If the engine gets a service (oil and filters) you will see how she performs and wether you can live with that or not.
Chances are that with wet footwells the fuse boxes will need attention in the future as well. But as long as you do not have any electrical gremlins that haunt you I would ignore them.

For additional plesure you may want to consider to redye the seats. Easy job, satisfying result and changes the look of the interior.

 

Checked the other side. Looks similar, only really rusty around the grommet. I'm happy!

 

There is a reason these cars rust there - a design fault.
I managed to correct the problem of rusting at the grommet with the accompanying wet footwell, take a look at this old thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...carpet-174425/

hth

Larry

 

Hi, yes, that's a great thread! Did you have it welded in the end, or did the silicone stuff do the trick?

 

No, just impaling the rubber hose on the end of the drain channel stopped the area from getting wet.

Larry

 

Welder wasn't too worried by what he saw. Apart from the footwells and the boot, the car's floorpan is solid. He advised me to just treat the cable grommets and seal them; welding isn't really necessary. All in all, a good result!

 

After finishing all the rust proofing, I took the car to the specialist's. There, they renewed all the fluids, replaced brake pads, rotors and hoses, welded everything that needed welding. When they took it for a drive, the intermediate exhaust pipe fell off, so that was replaced. And after they took it for another test drive, the alternator packed it in, so that was replaced as well. Now it's parked in front of my house, with a fresh MOT. IT drives beautifully, apart from some knocking noises originating from the rear suspension - probably shock absorber bushings that need to be replaced. But all in all, I'm well chuffed!

 

Sadly, I've still got a puddle of water in the driver's side footwell. Water is entering the interior directly above the fuse box. Not good. It starts dripping as soon as I pour water on the plenum, so there must be a hole there somewhere. Time to remove the plenum cover again and check the plenum for holes.

 

Thanks for the update, Morroco! You're getting there.

Larry knows about those leaks above the fuseboxes and has posted his solution. Maybe he'll chime in here.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks - I've read somewhere that the sunroof drains are located behind bungs right above the fuse box. Water seems to originate there. I'm going to remove those bungs and check them out. Even though I don't have a sunroof, this seems to be too much of a coincidence.

 

On my car it wasn't actually the sunroof drains that dripped down on to the harness/big grommet, it was the windscreen drain channels.

link to my thread on the leaky footwell syndrome:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...carpet-174425/

 

Hi,
ah yes, you traced the leak to the cable grommets. I've fixed those and copied your modification and have determined that they at least no longer cause any water ingress. But there's still more work to do.

 

My guess is the leak originates from the little foam-filled (and rust-prone) boxes underneath the windscreen pillar. Similar to the car in this topic: https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...odiesel?page=3

I'm hoping my car isn't as badly rusted as the one in the topic and that I can get away with mastic and filler.

 

I've



been driving the car for a few weeks now and it's great! Bushings of rear shocks are worn, but other than that everything's fine. Plus, the fact that I've saved this car from a certain demise is very satisfying.