Hello once again, I went through the body repair forum and found this image from one of the other members, I have pulled my car apart and of course I have the same rust in the same area, I would like to cut the rusted one out and weld the new one in, ( if its available ) if not i,m going to fabricate my own, But if i can get the whole piece and if there is someone in the states who makes them it would be great.? I,m not sure if its called a Cantrail but that is what i came up with doing google search. I,m also looking for a donor car 75 to 83 In Florida if anyone happens to hear of something, No engine or tranny needed just shell to cut up and weld. Thanks in advance.

 

Hello Kris

That is my car again, - not exactly what the area is called

For my rust repair - I did not go down the way of new panels, - I just cut the area out and welded a new sections in it

The original design that hold the door seal to that section is (in my opinion) poor. It lets dirt get into the crevice, and then it lets water in it - and over time - this is what you get.

Discussing with the panel beater, he indicated that if we returned to the stock design - it would again rust out, so we left it as flat steel

The idea now is to glue the new door rubbers directly to the flat steel

There were a few other areas that we scratched our heads and made corrections as well

Original photo below of the area

 

Lower rocker panel. You will need to brace that side when you cut it out.

 

Mine is pretty much gone onnthe drivers side, passenger side is almost perfect. WEIRD.

 

Horrible, I hate rust.

 

I just tracked down the origional owner, This car lived most of its life in St Petersburg Florida on the Gulf of Mexico 200 feet from the beach, salt water in the air. Car was mostly garaged but that driver side panel is a mess, well it's a project car.

 

Or a Sill in British English. That's what it will be called in the parts book.
See some panels available here: https://xjspanelshop.co.uk/#

 

Yours wins the prize over mine

Another place mine was rusted was the area where the clutch would be in a manual car (near the centre hump)

Have you put it on ramps and had a good look underneath?

I stripped everything I could, while keeping it driveable
All the interior came out, bumpers removed, fuel tank came out and a small fuel cell installed.
Under the bonnet, the hood catches came out - the water tank hoses were modified so the tank was free to move around as required, windscreen wiper motor and water bottle came out along with the redundant air conditioning stuff

Car was kept driveable so I could go up and down on ramps when required. That way I could climb underneath her for inspection,
Underneath was pressure washed and apart from one of her jacking points being mangled, was relatively straight and rust free (but I do need to get under her and give her more paint protection as bare metal is showing in places.

It took approx 3 months, after work and on weekends, for me to get into a position where I was comfortable she held no more hidden surprises

I have now owned her for 8 months, and is taking a lot longer to put back together than to pull her apart, but she still makes me smile every time I see her

Cheers
Steve

 

Yikes! It took me 6 years to run into an XJS with no rust. Its original paint so its never been retouched. I have been down that road with an Alfa though, I still feel pretty good about saving that one. So its a personal mission

 

It's all a project, I have time, i have the equipment I'm gonna chip away a little every day it helps me relax. Thanks guys

 

Hey Kriss you are in luck. I have a parts car with good sills. It's an 89 but the body didn't change between your car and this one. I'm in Deland, just a couple of hours from you. PM me and I'll give you my phone number, get some pictures taken etc.

 

Sent you a PM thanks Steve