another rusty tale in the ongoing saga of my 1989 V12 XJS,

for whatever reason ( left out in the weather i think ) the front of my jag was dropping off,

this included , but not limited to

both front wings
both lower front scuttle sections
both doors
both inner arches
both front lower sill sections
both headlight mounting brackets
and the complete front radiator cross section , and lets not forget the disintegrated drivers side lower A pillar ( hinge mounting section)

this sounds bad, and to be honest , looking back it was quite bad, but didnt put me off the job in hand.....replacing it all

two used wings and doors were obtained, but the rest of the new metal was all bought from David manners ,
as usual, pics of the rust, lol






this last picture is what was lurking behind the windscreen washer bottle, in front of the drivers wheel below the wing , only the one skin had rusted out, and was fairly easy to repair, but i doubt most peeps even know about this place, let alone that it rust out as in the picture

BB

 

then all that was needed was to cut away the offending rust , and replace with nice new sections and whole panels , this took some time and effort ,



a similar, but smaller repair was needed on the nearside of the car


for the nearside sill section , i made a card template, and transferred it to a piece of old bonnet, cut it out and bent it up to shape in a vice with a hammer and dolly , after test fitting, welded it into place, ....




next the drivers door hinge section


and then for the inner arches on both sides , these were spot welded along the visible top, so to look stock after completion , the rest was MIG welded in


then the headlight bracket supports and front section , all offered up for a test fit before welding in


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this picture shows the front slam panel all refurbished with a new radiator, aircon cooler and oil cooler installed, along with a new aircon dryer unit , all the water pipes had been replaces and the fan removed so i can install an electric one later in the build ( now done ) , the cross brace strengthening bars had also been refurbished and reinstalled , looking nice and clean at this point

BB 8)

 

Ouch, that looks like rust that one would find up here in Alaska! Great job with the repairs, though, makes me wish I had a MIG welder.

 

Stories like this always amaze me, knowing that I would probably never attempt that much repair work. I doubt that this is your first repair of this sort. Very nice job, and certainly wish you the best on the rest of the work. You'll enjoy your car that much more, just knowing what all you went through to save it. )

 

thanx for the kind words chaps.......

it has taken nearly four years to date, and i have one last bit of welding to do behind the RHS back wheel , the part that is down the inside of the boot.....sorry - trunk, lol

This is the very first time i have done any project before, and have self taught myself all the bodywork requirements,

i have fully refurbished the interior of the car which is in Mulberry leather . Recaro sports specification ,



the engine is sweet, but i have fully plumbed all new pipes and radiator as well as installing electric cooling,

it wont be long before she is back in original Jaguar white paint again

the picture below was a few months back, i have since fitted out the interior , and the new bonnet ( oops....hood ) is on and all lined up properly and two replacement door hung, all totally rust free



wish me luck


BB

 

here is a more recent picture of the beast....


she is up in the air because i was rebuilding the entire front suspension with all new bushings etc

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Very nice job! I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you put the steering wheel on the wrong side! (jk) Great job!

 

Thanx Ken, i will take that under advisement, lol

i can now add that as of Sunday night this past week i have finished all the welding on her, and am now down to all the prep work for the repainting to come,

it will be a complete, all trim off, all glass and rubbers out, doors/bonnet and boot off ( along with the body kit) paint job , in original Jaguar White

BB

 

Can't wait to see the finished pix.

 

wow... I wish had the know-how to tackle something like that- great job