Have had my S2 US Spec 77 for about a year now and thought I'd pass along photos of a project no one seems to have mentioned specifically. In the attached pics you will see these warp quite badly. Ran into "Mission creep" when I removed the back seat but that is another story. You can see it under rear floor water damage. In my case under the rear seat. Removed & disassembled the shelf, wet the fiberboard down with hot water and used weight to flatten it for a pattern.. Have some 1/8" Tempered Hardboard and the photos tell you where I am in the project. Obvious prep work to be done on the sheetmetal under the shelf before mounting.Sanded, prepped, cut out rust on the trim below the window, cleaned & refastened the vinyl. So far I think the vinyl & foam are in good shape can be reused. Have a question though. The shelf is held in place with two bolts smaller than the holes in the base. Wonder if it should not be fastened down tightly to allow expansion & contraction. Another question is the vent. Since the cover was loose and laying off the side it looks from screw holes, it is meant to be mounted longitudinally. I kinda like the way it looks mounted laterally.. Any thoughts?

 

Yes. but on a diferent track.actually two tracks.

1/ At one time a company in Van Nuys, CA made dash pads to fit. Just dahes. Send the old one or a pattern. they mae anew one. Son had one made fr his 64 chrysler K car. nicely done.

2. The upholstery trade uses a spray. create a pattern or base. spray the fusss on. they look great.

Nce car. enjpy.

Carl

 

all XJ seem to collect water in those corners of the rear parcel shelf, but most people never remove the panel to see the rusting

I think water enters from outside at the corners of the glass.

Mine started warping at the corners so I made a new panel and reused the foam and vinyl. Instead of staples I used headliner spray adhesive folding the vinyl under the new panel.

in my 1984, there are two large plastic screws that hold the panel in place but the holes were larger than the screw heads so I found two large black plastic washers and finished it nicely.

 

Ditto on the adhesive spray instead of staples.

Dave

 

Your repairs mimic my own plan with 3M 90 High Strength Adhesive. That & Weldwood brush on Contact cemet have been invaluable for interior work. One thing that came to mind early on was to lay sealant into the seams around the chrome & the rubber. Would not be visible & I really have no interest in tearing out the window.
Will use a fender washer on the bolts for cosmetics, but will leave them lightly torqued.

 

Completed work on the shelf and installed it. Was able to use the existing vinyl & foam. Found it best to make cuts an inch apart so it was easier to apply uniform tension when gluing. When saving the old vinyl you may not have alot of material for the overlap & don't cut your bolt holes in the board before the vinyl is applied. I used brush on Wildwood Contact Cement but this is true for any. Apply liberally to the porous fiberboard & the vinyl. Always make sure you allow it to dry 10 to 20 minutes, depending on temperature, before pulling & securing it. I worked about 6 inches at a time. Start at the vent box & work outboard on each side. I actually glued the fabric around it first. Remember how it it goes together as you disassemble it.

 

Now will pull the side panels and lube the window mechanism before putting the insulating pads back on the new floor, applying Biscuit dye to the panels, then reinstalling the seats.

 

Very unique mechanism on these and this is a big corrosion prone area. Followed access instructions found on You Tube in "Living With A Classic"
Left side jams mechanically half way down. So much for having the seats back in today.

 

Finally Rear Seat in...all just to restore the Parcel Shelf 1

 

I did remove the rust and repaint the Parcel Shelf base metal.