Hi all.
I'm new to the forum & I posted an introduction on the new member's page to say hi.
I have a late pre HE date stamped 1981, which has the usual rust in the front wing & sill top due to the atmospheric tank leaking.

I've owned a couple of MGBs & for them you can buy rust repair sections to remedy this sort of problem. As it is a common problem with the XJS, I assumed that some suppliers might make sections to repair the lower front passenger side wing, but I've had no luck in locating any. So I either have to replace the complete wing or have a body shop custom make and fit a repair section. I don't quite have the skills to make one from scratch unfortunately.
Anyone know of any companies that do offer repair sections to buy?

Is the atmospheric tank necessary or can it be deleted, modified or substituted for something better?

Thanks all.
Scott.

 

Welcome Scott

This is a common problem. I removed the LH guard cut the rusted metal out and welded in new bits. Mine was only rusted on the shelf not in the sill its self, so was easy.

I have deleted the atmospheric tank and have only the catch tank on the inner LH side of the engine bay. My car runs at 95°C all day in 35°C heat, in fact on a long down hill run the temp drops enough to cut out the second fan and close the thermostats. I was going to install a universal overflow in the bay but have not had the time.

I have installed Ford AU thermo fans. RH fan runs with ignition ON and LH fan is controlled with the original thermo switch in the water pump inlet.

 

Hi Warrjon. Thanks for the comments. The rust is limited to the shelf rather than into the sill, but the shelf appears to be part of the sill pressing. That will be easy enough to patch but the lower front wing is more difficult.
Of course the atmo tank mounting hardware has completely dissoved as well.
I'm glad you have successfully deleted the atmo tanks & aren't having any issues, as I think I'll do the same.

The car is on historic rego, which saves me about $800 per year over full rego & one of the conditions of that is that you're not allowed to modify the car from standard, so the AU fans are out unfortunately. The South Oz historic rego system is very restrictive.

Avagoodweekend.

 

In the interest of preserving the rubber bellows of the cruise control actuator, and improving airflow within the vee of the motor, the previous owner of my '89 donor car removed the catchment tank, and relocated the actuator to that location. He said it was a very easy modification to make while he had the fender off the car, as the original wiring and linkage were the perfect length for the new location, and there is no heat in the area to hasten the deterioration of the bellows.

 

My catch tank mounting was the same I had to cut the bottom mount from the guard where it bolts to the shelf and make a new one. I also cut the rusted metal from the shelf and welded in a new piece.

The ONLY overheating I had was on a 40°C day when the stupid mechanic (me) left the thermo fan fuse out, so NO fans, she spat most of the 20liters out luckily near a hardware store.

With the atmo tank delete you can not fill the tank on the RH engine bay full, it will leak coolant until it finds its level, then its fine.

I only installed the thermo fans because my fan clutch was stuffed and I still had the old yellow mechanical fan. My car ran cool on the motorway but overheated when stopped. It was a cheaper option to buy the Ford fan unit (from a wrecker). The up side I can remove the fan in under 5min which gives far better access to the front of the engine.

If you do decide to go this way wire the fans on separate circuits with 2x 25amp fuses and seal the fans to the radiator. If your mechanical fan is good then I do not believe there is any point in going electric fans.

 

Here is a picture of my RH shelf, where the atmospheric tank sits. You can see where I inadvertently cut when I cut the guard off. I didn't take pics as I went, but to fix this I welded 2 strips of metal under the shelf so the patch would sit there and not fall through. Then I spot welded in the new bit.

Before welding I sprayed everything with weld through primer including the small strips I welded underneath.

 

Yes that's exactlyt how mine has gone, so I'll be doing the same repair.
My thanks to you and JagZilla for the insight.