Hi all
XJ12C, 1976
I will get started with rust repair soon. I start on the right side. I need to replace/patch:
- Floor pan (exchange panel available)
- Footwell panel(?), the one in front of floor. (exchange panel available)
- Inner / outer sill. Maybeonly patching necessary, lets see.
- End plates for sill (exchange panels available)

Its the first time I do something like this (still learning to weld) and was hoping for some tips.

I guess tearing all apart at once might be a bad idea? Any tip which order to start with? Remove outer sill first to get better access? Will the car colapse once I start? Good idea to keep crossbar where the chair is mounted in as long as possible?
Many questions... =)
If anybody have pictures from this kind of renovation feel free to post. Havent been able to find much on the internet. I still try to figure out how all those panels are mounted.

Many thanks
/Marcus

 

The biggest rust problem area on these cars is the sill area below where the rear doors would be on the 4-door saloon. Water going down into the cavity below the rear side windows in a 4-door saloon, just rots out the doors, but on the 2-door, it rots out the sills ! Drainage here could get blocked and then havoc ensued. It is probably best to just remove the outer sill first for an inspection and assessment of work. On my 4-door 1980 XJ6 I had the outer sills replaced, but the inner sills were found to be OK. These cars can rust very extensively; have you checked the boot floor and rear wheel arches ? Front wings are bolt-on and the inner wings are then accessible for repairs. There can be serious rusting where the reinforcement for the front shocks is located. I was lucky when I did my car as there were still a lot of original Jaguar panels still around at not too expensive prices. Have you got spot-weld removal tools and all the stuff you need for dismantling ? Whilst I did my own work for the boot floor and 1/4 panels, and also the rear of the rear wheel arches, I let the experts do the sills. They are hard enough to do on the 4-door, and I would think much more difficult on the 2-door car.

 

Before trying to weld on the car do a lot of practice on similar material. The cleaner the metal the better the weld. Be sure to remove everything flammable anywhere close and have a fire extinguisher at hand.

 

Hi again,
I have already done some smaller repairs in the front; replacing the thicker plate that clamps the beam that hold the hood (not easy to explain what I mean exactly).
I have also noticed that practising on similiar material will never be exactly the same as doing it on the car.
No flammable material around anymore, I have only the empty car body in the garage,
What I am trying to figure out now is how the outer sill is actually constructed. It seems that if you order a "new" one you get much less than original panel. Seems to me that removing complete outer sill requires to cut off a lot of other stuff first.

 

Throw up some pics, as you go.

We would all love to see your progress as you restore her from rusty panels and sills to glorious paint and frills.

 

I have a 1971 Series one XJ6 with a similar project ahead. my question is what was the original undercoating and what is a suitable modern day replacement?

 

There was no undercoating in those days!

 

I used Bed Liner in a spray can for the newly installed floor pan and it seems to work fine.
It suitably acts as vibration damper, rock shield and looks better than paint would as it blends better with what's already there.
(';')

 

Interesting, my vehicle and almost every undercarriage photo I see has some sort of texture? All aftermarket?

 

Yes, all aftermarket. In the 1970s aftermarket rust protection was quite a big business area. Ziebart comes to mind, but there were many others.

 

LnrB, did you paint over it?

 

No, I didn't think paint was needed as it was:
a) under the car where no one would see, and
b) black/brown anyway, close enough to the color of what was there that after a coating of dirt, dust and road corruption it was virtually invisible.

And, I had no intention of entering her in a Concourse where some Judge might stick a mirror under to see that it wasn't Perfect.