Look at what I found! This car was parked up for 11 years. The PO was saving it for his retirement. Unfortunately, he passed away. Car has 56000 miles. Will be picking it up sometime this week. I inadvertently attached the wrong file. The images on the original post cannot be opened up. see my corrected post below.

 

Congrats on your new project :-).


Cheers
DD

 

That's about the story on the one I picked up (58 for mine) -- the mechanics are very clean.

 

I can't click on the pics to make them larger.

BTW congrats on your new purchase, hope it recommissions OK and there isn't too much work to do.

 

Had a brain fart when I was posting the pics. Here we go>

 

Hey Fraser, I re posted the pictures

 

Is that a 'classic' 80's carphone I see there?

 

Yes sir. and I believe they can still be reprogrammed and made to work. Will figure out that later.

Jose, if you read this post and you are interested, I can offer you some side work on your days off.(I pay well). I have three other Jag projects going on right now.
I may also need you as a peacemaker (LOL). This car was found in Deland through a friend of mine.

 

So, I have finally started the restoration on this car. After a good cleaning of all the electrical connectors the car finally started. it runs very good. I completed the interior and pretty much everything works.
Now to the main issue. I just ordered the steering rack bushings and the three piece windshield seal kit from Coventry West. I have to remove the front and rear glass to repair the usual rust spots. Has anyone attempted to remove the windshield from their series 3 car? Given that I am replacing the seals, can I cut the old seals to remove the trim or should this be given to the pros. I figured if I removed the glass, then I would only have to pay for the installation. the guys around here want $300 to remove and $300 to install. Any input or advise will be greatly appreciated. Will be posting some pics as I go along with this restoration. Thanks

 

Never done it personally but I've watched it being done. A few things:

- for the record, the rubber bits you've ordered are not seals. They just close-out the gap between the metal and the glass. They don't (and were not intended to) exclude water....and that's part of the problem. The glass is sealed by the adhesive that holds it in place but the space between the adhesive and the rubber trim bits fills with water...thus the rust. Some advise filling this space more completely with adhesive (or some form of sealant) before installing the rubber trim. Makes sense to me.




- I see no harm in removing the glass yourself.

Be very gentle with the bright metal (stainless?) trim. It's delicate. Once bent or twisted it'll never fit properly again. Cut it out of the rubber. Don't pull it out.

Also, pay close attention how the glass fits and how the rubber strips are installed. You my have to explain it to the installer who, as likely as not, will have never done the job on a Ser III. It's a little tricky if you're not familiar with it.

Others will chime in with more

Cheers
DD

 

Good luck with your restoration ! I only had the front screen out to repair, but can't remember what I did, its too long ago. What I do remember is there is a rubber seating on the lip. The adhesive is put on next to this. At least that was my car, a 1980, it may have been changed later. These windscreen apertures were never right from Day 1, unfortunately, as they trapped water. I think this was because they were designed for rubber seals, not glued-in windscreens.

 

Doug, I took your advice and was able to remove the trim with no damage by cutting it out. Since the windshield already has a crack, I am going to put my boots on and pretty much kick it out. I see what you said about the windshield not seating properly against the frame. Wherever there was rust the rubber gasket just slid out, there was no adhesive touching the glass or the body. No wonder why they leak. The rear glass is complete so I purchased a glass removal kit from Harbor Freight for $20.00. I will be cutting the adhesive out tomorrow, with the help of my neighbor. I am unable to say at this point, which of the three seals go where. When I get them from Coventry West on Tuesday, I will try to figure it out. This way when the installer gets here, he will do the necessary. I am going to try doing the repair with LEAD. If that does not go as I plan, I will figure out whether to braze or use fiberglass. Not sure yet. The rust can be treated on the underside through the front vent. I made a flexible applicator for the naval jelly and testing it I can reach the corners where the rust is. As for the rear, I will drop the catch pan and see what I can do from there. Even if I weld,or braze, I will still have to treat it. As they say, the rust is never only on one side. Will post pics.

 

It's been a good three months since I last posted re this project. I was able to remove the front and rear glass. The front glass was removed junk yard style so I had to purchase a new one. Having learn't from the front glass experience, I patiently removed the rear glass with no problems. I formed and brazed the rusted areas at the bottom of the front and rear glass. The paint work was bubbling on the top, hood and trunk lid and all the areas exposed to direct sunlight. The top of the doors, fenders.
On sanding, I found that the bubbles were coming from rust under the paint. Four gallons of Aircraft paint remover and I was down to metal. I repaired all of the dings and dents. For those of you who have never done this, here is what you need to know. The yellow or beige 1/64 thermoplastic coating used on the Series 3 was used as a leveler. When this coat is removed the bare metal is very wavy. I solved this problem with two gallons of epoxy primer, three coats and block sand, three more coats and block sand, three more coats and block sand................ Finally when it was all level again, I sealed it with Matrix 2K primer/sealer and was finally ready for paint. Three coats of single stage Acrylic Urethane and I had enough of the body work. Here are some pics of the finished product. Now that the car is looking good, I have to deal with some braking issues

 

Looks awesome!

 

Oooh-la-la


Cheers
DD

 

What a transformation ! YOu must have worked really hard on that car.

I'm glad to hear you got down to bare metal for your repaint, because the TPA paint used by Jaguar then was a real disaster, and makes resprays very difficult unless totally removed.

 

Nice Work!!

 

Thank you guys. As far as the exterior being complete, I am pondering on whether I should have eliminated the side moldings. What are your thoughts on that? If I get enough static from the forum, I will go ahead and remove them, weld up the rivet holes and respray the lower portion of the car.
I still have to do the rims. I am looking at a cheap powder coating unit from Harbor freight. I have never done this before, but I will first experiment with any old rim that I have. I have a commercial oven in my outdoor kitchen which I don't use. The oven size is 36x40, so it is big enough to fit the rims. The plan is to do it in two phases. The Silver, then the black. Since I do all of my work, what the heck, I give this a try.
List of things still to do.

Braking system: Brake Booster and caliper service-Rebuild or Replace. Brake pedal rock hard. When I depress the pedal my RPM drop 900 to 600 with an apparent misfire.
Front caliper not releasing properly. Will be checking others, but I have to resolve the booster issue first.

Front Suspension: Upper and Lower Control arm bushings, Ball joints (As needed)

IRS: Signs of oil leak. Not sure whether it was wet with brake fluid from the broken brake line. Will have to pressure wash and inspect.

Interior: Rear Seat cushion and Back. Where can I get the skins cheap. Looking for used. Black needed, but any color will do. I will have them dyed. I will be removing the headliner in the next few days to redo it, once I figure out how to remove the sunroof.
Sun visors- Foam deteriorated.

Electrical: Will do complete inspection and clean up of all connectors. Looking at 7 inch headlamp conversion. Not sure yet.

Another 3 months before I have this car road worthy.

 

That is one nice car. A lot of work by you has made it nicer.

Although Thermoplastic paint has been soundly criticized by many, I think my car still wears it's original Grosvenor Brown. Imperfect, but shines up well . And, no burnt clar coat.

Someone changed the front wind screen in the past. One side of the trim not well replaced. One item of my evergrowing task list.

He,he. my son uses a cast off home oven to do his powder coat and ordinary enamel as well. The decrepit VW based dune buggy in my drive wears a set of four wheels in white oven baked enamel. With a set of armoralled used tires, the best part of it, by far!!

My XJ wuzza six now wears 7" XJS lattice wheels. Pristine, courtesy of a KIWI Mr. Clean XJs owner. Nice wheels and tires go a long way in vehicle appearance. It's 6" Kents in fair to middling condition are in my old office!!!

Yeah, my 94 Jeep Gand Cherokee still has all of a car phone, except the handset!!!
I have a feeling that wireless has changed technology since then. Mebbe not. I installed one in my 88 Tbird soon after getting it near new. Expensive air time, but very useful in my business. Both Jeep and Tbird had the hands free feature.

Carl

 

Looks like you have a great starting point!
So much easier to work with one that is sound....
It's going to make a really nice car for you.

Cheers
David Boger