The OP is in Australia

 

Sure is. Rockhampton. In Queensland. Australia.

 

Well I got a fair bit done today, the repair patch is welded in place on the bootlid.

Got it all cleaned up for the welding.

All tacked into place, just got to weld it out now.

 

Now for that rear pillar.

I should have moved that rear window, it was just sitting there. fortunately I have a spare.

A couple of gaps to fill, but it will be alright.

 

Well I started to fix a rust spot near tha tail light on the right hand side.


got most of the work done on the bootlid.

 

Nice work. A good chance to get rid of all that moisture trapping sponge they put on there.

veneers- most U.K. XJ40 have this same lifting and cracking on the veneers. Damp, UV light. Changing temperatures over 30 years all take their toll. The only way is refinish there complete set.

 

Well things are going pretty slowly right now, so I have tried my hand at putting some new veneer on, I have applied a oak burr, then given it a Jarrah coloured stain, then painted a gold pinstripe around the edges.

 

I have never done veneer before, I am pretty happy with how it came out, I know it isn't perfect, but it still looks a lot better than it did.

 

Good effort on the veneers. They are not easy to make perfect/ factory standard. It will be a huge improvement to the interior overall.

I only just realised you are in Australia. I have a number of customers in Australia, but they usually report “rust issues not an issue over here”, so I was surprised at the rust issues on your car? I guess you are in a wetter climate somehow? Coastal?

 

Yes there is a couple of places where the weather is a bit funny. I am in a place called Rockhampton, we are not far from the coast, however the green car is a personal import from England I believe, it may have a bit to do with the rust but it is fixable.. The bit of rust to tackle is what looks like a bit of a challenge, it is on the left side of the car, almost right in the corner just below the windscreen. With the cover removed you can actually see the floor inside, it appears to cover an are of around 5 inches across, and about the same deep, my other big hang up is I don't have a shed to work in so I am also working against the elements here, I have come almost to a stop because I need to install the roof liner including the part on the sunroof, the issue here it is a bit wet right now (still raining) It also needs painting and the sunroof also needs a fresh coat as well, hehehe and before I can paint it I need to get all the rust out, I also have a slight issue with the glass, I can't put it back without the paint and because I got the original roof shell out with the rear window out, so I am working myself into a bit of a corner, and Summer time here is wet season, so praying winter to get here so I can get a bit of dry weather and get stuck into it all. All in all though, I am having a lot of fun playing with it. Even get to learn new tricks along the way.

 

Ok yes that explains it.
I heard you had a bit of rain down there.

These things always take longer than you hope. Stick with it.

 

British imports to OZ invariably have rot...usually terminal (by our standards). Well done for setting out to save this old girl im sure she will pay you back!!!

 

I kinda aimed for around 3 years to complete it, so there is no rush by any means, and the boot lid and bonnet may find one in good condition rather than using the repaired one. I don't know anything about Jaguars and so I am not sure what to expect from the 4.0 engine, being power hungry I may look for a little more than I currently have.

 

For me it was something I need to occupy my mind, the reason for buying a fairly run down vehicle cheap the slowly replacing things that need it and repairing those I can, kind of a hobby I suppose, sometimes it works, and sometimes not. my last project was putting a fuel injected 5.7 into a 1985 4 runner, and a mountain of other mods was one of those not so good an ideas but I had a ton of fun building it. So my starting point for this project is going to be a fairly straight forward idea, the colour I am looking at is going to be a 2022 Jaguar racing green, I believe it has a pearl effect in it, and I have a couple of ideas for some dicreet highlights of my own. Please forgive me if I have overstepped the mark with a non Jaguar image, that was my first project vehicle and I just feel really pleased with what I had done. I am also looking into the idea of making new seat covers and using sheepskins with a brownish colour and a golden sort of natural colour inserts, if it works I will post it, otherwise well lets face it who wants to see failures.

The vehicle started like this.

And it ended up like this.

 

Getting back on subject here now. The supercharged 4.0, how much power does it add over the Normally aspirated version I have, and the other engine I am thinking of is the 4.0 V8 engine, I believe they were of a later model but I would like to keep it all Jaguar if that makes any sense. I love power, so for me there will be no going smaller with my engines.

 

I saw a thread on putting the later jag v8 into the '40....not sure where it lived maybe jag lovers? Maybe here. Anyway the thread last entry was some fitting issues with the master cylinder... keep an eye out for it, guy seems pretty clever.

 

Okay, now for something a little bit different, I haven't seen too many body kits for the XJ40, and I have been working around carslong enough to have aquired a selection of bits and pieces I probably would never use but I hang on to them anyway. So I had an old boot spoiler laying around and I thought I would try something a little different, and I stuck it on the boot of the Jag. first glimpse didn't look too bad, and it doesn't look like it would take much to make it fit.

it may be sitting a bit high at the moment, but that was the only bits of timber I had laying around.

I have to admit that it is growing on me, and pretty quickly I might add.

Just have to work out how to make the pedestals a tad taller, I don't think the blocks of wood are quite the look I was searching for.

 

XJ40 did have a factory bodykit for the early 3.6/ 4.0 TWR XJR models. They are pretty rare though, even here on the U.K. so very unlikely any made it over your way.
have a look in the link attached.

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1431006

 

Hi Clive,

The spoiler isn't my cup of tea, but I'm just happy that you are going to keep that XJ40 on the road! Looking forward to future updates!

Cheers,

Don