So the previous owner of my car had some sort of door handle malfunction and tried to open the door with a pry bar. It didn't work, and it destroyed the door. Thankfully, my parts car supplied its passenger door which got stripped of 6 coats of paint and sprayed in epoxy primer and then urethane hi-build primer. Goes on tomorrow...

 

Man...those dogs are in more pictures than a Kardasian!!

 

Agreed, like a Kardashian, they add unnecessary visual interest.

 

Driver side:



passenger side:



Both sides have a slug/sleeve welded inside the 45 degree angle seen for strength. The bottom of the square tubing is attached to sheet metal that is not structural as the actual frame rail is next to the trunk opening. I thought about welding a flat plate to connect the two but decided against it as it will only matter if the car ends up on its roof. Which, if XJS stability legend is to be believed, the car can't be rolled*.

 

Better looking too

 

I agree. Fine looking dogs.

The car is looking pretty good too. Once the paint goes on I think it's going to look very sharp.

Andy...have you decided on a color?

Mark

 

Factoid:


The senior Kardasian was a noted lawyer. he wanted a plea deal for O.J. but, another more skillful albeit less principled lawyer got him off.


I think the two pooches are better shop companions than those gals. However, some gals are great shop companions. Just not the K offspring.


Coco is a rescue of unknown etiology. He likes to be nearby. As the shop faces the road, he gets to gawk at passersby, canine, feline or human.


That, Sir, is a great project.




Carl

 

Thinking Sepang Bronze (BMW color)-Tell me what you guys think?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes! I think that bronze would be an excellent color.

Mark

 

That door....why would someone even do that? Probably the hardest place to try and lever a door open. If I was that desperate, I'd just break the window.
Car is looking great and the bronze colour would work. I think any subdued metallic colour would work.

 

And of course they dented quarter panel too. The worst is that the door panel was off and I reached in and flipped the latch with about 3 seconds investigating. But these cars are frustrating to people and the guy I bought it from was broken in spirit by it. AND HE WAS AN ARMY CHAPLAIN!!

 

That bronze is a great color. Very popular in my home town in the late 40's. School chum, Billy, bid on and won an ex USGS 40 Chevrolet four door sedan. Company black paint, a tad shabby. It's records showed it had received a rebuilt engine. Physical evidence showed that not to be true. Someone ripped off Uncle Sam. Unusual, of course not.


It ran well and we took it on several camping trips. No issues, unlike prior trips in
ancient T Fords!!


Billy did well in school and rewarded Billy with bucks for a "new and later engine".
And, a paint job. The kid committee came up with baby s... brown". A semi metallic brown. More bronze than brown. Custom mixed.


The old stove bolt ran super and looked great. Off to Texas A & M to become an aero engineer.


Carl

 

So, another insight into the difficulty of a custom build. Imagine restoring the interior of the trunk of an XJS, remove old carpet and then glue in new carpet.

The shooting brake requires an interior panel that hides the mechanicals and is also attractive. But the shape of XJS trunk panel is not flat, multiple curves...

If it were flat then a simple piece of plywood would do the trick but this required something unique...

So I taped off the interior trunk panel and poured two part polyurethane foam onto the interior trunk surface to make a form. Then added body filler to make up up for gaps, then sanded it down and added fiberglass resin to seal the surface. After that, I added a layer of fiberglass cloth to stiffen it. Next is to finish the edges and surface for upholstery.

 

Excellent use of fibreglass for a low volume part! I'll let you in on another trick for fairly flat panels which makes life easier. Lay up the resin and mat on a flat table on some plastic sheet, when it starts to gel up, transfer to your mould and lay it down, plastic and all. The plastic prevents the laminate sticking and helps to transport it and releases from the fibreglass once cured.
It also allows a nice, smooth finish on one side.

 

^ That is a genius idea!

 

Gas tank installed, required some mods to the trunk floor. I cut a section out to match the spare tire well depth.

 

 

 

Straps are made out of strips cut from the roof of my parts car.