I am new on this part of the forum but have posted on the XJS section having a 96 Celebration XJS convertible. I bought an 02 XKR that I always intended on restoring I was not too bothered about the body but it had to have a very good dealer service history. I ended up buying a car off a motor dealer while I was away for 6 weeks in the States so I bought it unseen obviously not ideal but as I got it for £4,750 I thought I would take the chance! It is 90k miles with full dealer service history and all MOT's, newish tyres and the advert said very good condition with the odd mark 2 spots of rust but £350 would take care of it all. Well I had the car delivered as it was 200 miles away and I was out of the country anyway, as for the £350 well that was a joke! But as I said I was going to restore it and individualise it quite a lot including painting it Ferrari Giallo Fly yellow so it wasn't the end of the world. Here are some pics of the car once delivered in October I don't think there is a panel on it that was not scratched dented or rusty!





















So off to the bodyshop

 

 

 

 

I have taken out most of the interior I have had the seats recoloured the carpets cleaned and all the wood dash carbon dipped along with some other bits including the wheels, I am in the middle of rebuilding the car so I will post some more pics this week once I have all the trims back from the dippers and fitted.

 

Here are some pics of the story so far the pics are taken in my garage with a flash they will be a lot better once its finished and taken in daylight especially the carbon dipped bits as they really do look good in normal light. Obviously not to a lot of peoples taste but I like it, the dials were sent to Lockwood at Leeds who do different coloured dial faces, they don't have a standard one for the XK8/R so I sent my dials off to them and also got them to put on a leaper and I had mine done in yellow. I will post some pics at the end of the week of it finished in daylight. Things like the rear spoiler and the exhaust trims are hard to see in this light but they are carbon dipped as well.

























A before and after driver's seat pic...

 

Just a few bits of trim left to fit around the front/rear screens and side windows but yesterday was lovely so I couldn't resist taking it out ....

 

Looks like you did a quality job, very impressive, both interior and exterior. It is always nice to see such a transformation. Are the seat covers new, or panels replaced, or filled and sprayed?

 

Awesome job, shame the dealer spun you a line on the condition! You went to town on the refurb, looks great. Thanks for taking the pics to show the progress.

 

An amazing transformation.

I'll be honest, I was skeptical about yellow on an XK but seeing the car finished, it looks amazing.

The CF dipped parts are a nice touch, sporty but not over the top.

Curious: how did you dip the window trims? Did you remove or replace the rubber bits to get it done?

 

I also was not certain on the color but it looks great and everything complements the car and is not over the top. Restoring these rolling works of art is god's work, well done!


Mark

 

well done - quite the undertaking!

 

Love the color and the result.
There is something about a coupe.....


Congratulations
Enjoy

 

VERY NICE. I love the Yellow color. That is one thing I have seen very little around here in the OHIO area anyway in the states is rusty XK8's.

 

Well done barefoot!!, amazing transformation, hydro-dipped CF looks outstanding. Phenomenal "Cat Rescue" story. You definitely have a one of a kind.

 

You'll never get your money back but if your car were mine I'd smile every time I saw it. Your patience and attention to detail are more than exceptional. Well done!

How does one get the gauge background you used? The only time I can really see my speedometer, tachometer and other gauges is at night when they are lighted. I'd love a white background to cure that problem.
Again, nice job

RB

 

Outstanding!!!!Love the matching gauges too. I'd love to see black seats with yellow inserts to finish off the whole look. Nevertheless, great job.

 

Sir William Lyons is smiling down on you. Excellent work.

 

I was thinking the very same thing; a white background and black numbers would be perfect.


Mark

 

thats how i redo my cars,by removing panels and painting them all at once,less overspray in the hard to reach places.love the yellow...steve.