In a fit of temporary insanity, I bought a salvaged 2008 XKR coupe at a salvage auction last week. Has 27k miles, and in excellent condition (if you look at it from the rear).



Has anybody here attempted such a project? Anything in particular to watch out for? Parts seem readily available.

I'm sure to be back posting here over then next several months, as the triage phase continues...

Thanks,
-John

PS - if the original owner is still lurking, would love to hear about your ordeal...

 

hopefully you've got experience repairing aluminum bodied cars - my understanding is they can be quite an ordeal.

 

Wow,
Best of luck to you on your project... You MUST keep us posted to your progress (with pics please)!

This is not a car I would want to try to resuscitate... Although aluminum is pretty easy to work with if you have experience, the parts cost are astronomical...

Vince

 

Temporary insanity is right, although the insanity may not be as temporary as you'd like...

 

LOL , that's the statement

BTW, I appreciate OP's guts I would not dare to do same thing

 

Wow - big job! have the dash airbags gone off? If that's the case you'll need a new dash, or at least one with bags in tact as they're part of it, not modular, which is the only issue I see, along with locating a very good jig to check alignment. Keep us posted.

 

Love it! Great to see someone having a go, hope all goes well and let us know what comes up as work progresses. Are you using a Manual of any kind? If so which one or ones are you referring to. Wish I had the guts I know of a 2008 XKR with body damage 20K miles up for $19000 but I don't know body work so mu moment of insanity was short lived.

 

A body shop down the street from me just did major work on a newer XK and my mechanic said it was quite the task. At least there's enough Jag dealers and repair shops in MA to help you out.

 

Nice one Jgraff, thats some project though.

We have some very knowledgable people here who can help I'm sure.

Look forward to your posts, just make sure they're pic heavy as I'm sure there'll be a lot of interest.

 

When I purchased m 2008y XK, I discovered that the quarter panel had been replaced. Some of you may remember the original post and the flurry of exchanges. The dealership adjusted the price, accordingly, and put a 5 year 100K warranty on the entire car, as well as, the body and paint work.

One of the interesting outcomes, as it relates to this post, is "no one" was able to actually tell that the quarter panel was replaced. I ultimately verified the work by finding an independent body shop, authorized by Jaguar USA, that performed the inspection.

The body shop owner showed me where and how the work had been performed. He went on to say that Jaguar will not sell any of their aluminum replacement parts to anyone outside of the system. Specifically, the shop must be recognized and certified by Jaguar, before the body parts are released.

I did not "verify" this, as it really did not matter at the time. However, I did find out that the work was performed by the Jag dealer in Southern California.

With this said, it raises the question, do you think that you may run into a "problem" getting body parts? I hope not, as I and others support what you are doing!

Good luck on this project, we're pulling for you...

 

Thanks for all the feedback and support.

- I agree that the biggest risk is damage to aluminum structural components. And that is difficult for me to assess until I can get more parts disassembled.

- The airbags did not deploy. A bit of a mystery, given that it must have been a bad collision. Maybe the car was parked at the time?

- The interior is in perfect condition, instruments power up fine, doors open and close smoothly

- I have been surprised at the availability of used parts on places like ebay. In my research before the insanity took hold, i could find most of the parts for reasonable price (e.g. fenders, radiators, bumper cover, grille, headlamps, etc).

- In fact, i already bought my first replacement part, the front bumper re-inforcement. Here is the old one...



and here is the new one... ($300 on ebay)



I'll keep posting from time to time....

BTW - does anybody know if the radiator is different on the 08 vs 06 car?

 

This is fascinating. I will read this thread until you finish repairing the car in 2016!

 

Yeah I am def subscribing to this thread. Very interested in how it will turn out. Lots of pictures please.Thumbs up for taking on this project.

 

A massive undertaking but anything can be accomplished with skill, time and money.

When this is completed, will you need to have the vehicle inspected / passed by State or independent engineers before it can go back on the road?

Graham

 

Made some progress with the triage... Here is a pic:



There is structural damage to both the left and right front side-members (part #12 in the diagram below). These will have to be replaced, as well as associated parts (e.g. side-member extensions, etc).

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To do this requires pulling the engine. My plan is to pull the engine, and strip as many parts as possible my self. Then take to a shop qualified for the aluminum structural work, and have them re-install the parts, and do the alignments.

Then I can re-fit the engine and body panels my-self. The shop manual gives step-by-step instructions for all of this, and doesn't look too bad (famous last words?)

Of course this is lots of work, but surprisingly the parts are actually not super expensive, and I bought the car at auction for < $10k... So in the end I hope to be in good shape... naïve???

 

You are the man if you get this car back to its former glory!

 

Looks like a once-in-a-lifetime project. By all indications, it is quite doable but, will require LOTS OF work. Good luck and keep posting, please.

I once did a similarly major project on a twin-turbo RX-7, including the total rebuilding of the engine. I got it all done in my garage but, afterwards I categorically decided: NEVER AGAIN :-). I did it as a challenge, thinking that it would be slightly more work then rebuilding one of my crashed race cars. Well, needless to say, it is a WHOLE LOT MORE work to rebuild a street car.

Suggestion: take lots of pictures, notes, drawings to help you remember what goes where. After weeks or months of being apart, personally, my Alzheimers would kick in and I'd be left with a big bin of left-over parts.... not good :-)

Albert

 

looks like a lot of work.. good luck!..

 

hi all:

finished most of the triage, and have come up with a parts list. left off some of the smaller items. this list includes structural components which I have learned can only be purchased by the authorized shop.

Would love to hear from anybody who has any of these parts (come on all you modders.... what do you do with that old intercooler after you upgrade!)

Engine should be out by early next week so I can get access to the structural damage...

 

You need to locate a rear end part out to keep costs down, the waiting and locating can take a while, but a wing here, a bonnet there...the beams etc are all factory to specialist so I wouldn't be worried about 2nd hand panels fitting, it looks patchwork until it's out of the paint booth

+! Lots of pictures