Time for my annual weld fest!

Engine bar on.



Subframe out.



Yuck.



Not good.



That's ugly.



That feels a bit better now.



Patch 1





Patch 2





Patch 3





Patch 4







The original metalwork looks like this, so on to patch 5.







Finally patch 6, this one was 2mm.

 

Just when you thought it was all over......

That does not look too good.





So out with the angle grinder again.



When you get to this stage there is a sense of relief.



Did you notice my shiny condenser.

Some angle bar welded in.



I hope to receive some more 2mm plate tomorrow to finish this one.

 

All I can say is wow!

Gus
www.jagrepair.com

 

Wow indeed! This and other rusty XK8s seem to all be based in the UK; is there something in their use cycles that we don't get on this side of the pond? Was this driven in salty conditions or just rainy ones?

 

I can't understand why Jaguar cars in the UK get so rusty. Is it because England is surrounded by the salty sea? Is it because it rains a lot there? I subscribe to Jaguar World and see a lot of rusty late model cars there. Doesn't Jaguar know how to build their cars with with rust resistant treated steel and use modern rust proofing techniques? I love old Jags but I've had some pretty old American cars that had very little rust. My '56 Cadillac was forty years old when I purchased it. My '70 Mustang was forty years old when I got it. My '96 Mustang is thirty years old with no rust. My old '51 Mark VII only has a bit of rust but it's been in California for almost 60 years. I'm glad I live in the Bay Area.

 

WOW!!! Your fab skills seem to be quite accomplished! Living here in the Southeast U.S. makes me appreciate the relatively dry climate we live in, as opposed to you fellow Jag owners in the UK, as I hear so many times how this can cause you a failed MOT. This clearly shows us another aspect of repairs you must keep up with. Hats off to you RD, well done my friend, well done!!

Cheers, BK

 

Its a combination of raining all the time, and then in the winter, salt on the roads in northern parts like Scotland especially. Buyer beware of nice shiny looking Jaguars for sale in the UK.

 

We normally have salt on the roads round here from mid November until into April, its a Jag killer.

 

ouch!!! great job on the repairs!!

 

Living in Michigan in the United States, I never really think of England being similar in car rot to us. We have the same salt situation here too. Most of us just park the cars, so most steel toys seem to be either mint or trash over time.

Beautiful work you did though! Keep up the good fight.

 

excellent workmanship, offering my sincere compliments.

 

Great job as usual RD.

It looks to be from the outside in as the chassis rail behind looks fine. I wonder if it is rusting between the metal layers or from crud building up behind the subframe?

 

I am 99% sure the salt water gets in between the layers because of poor seam sealing and rots it out that way, the rectangular bracing part that comes down from the shock absorber turret also has a large oval hole in it which allows water in. The spot welds on the top of that brace also rusted out which can only be from water ingress from the top and side of that part.

We all know that there is a similar problem with the part welded to the underside of the footwell, all down to poor design/seam sealing.

I just has a look at the patch that was put on the other side by my back street welder about 6 years ago (before I bought a mig), it is also starting to rust again, so I will do the same to the right side as I have done to this side.

 

PS, I have also decided to get rid of my polybush set up on the front control arms, top set was replaced about 2 years ago and the bottom set have been on for 4 years, they are all starting to creak again and are very stiff.

The good news was that all the control arm bolts came out no problem, they were well lubricated before going back in last time.

I am also ditching my CATs and will fit standards shocks in their place, I'll make a video comparing the compress and rebound differences if I get the energy.

With a first quick check the compression of the CATs shock feels twice as stiff as the non cats so looking forwards to a smoother ride.

 

How many UK cars are garage kept? I would guess 80% of the XKs in the USA are in a garage every night. Also I would guess a majority of XKs in the US are a 3rd car and as such those in northern climes are stored all winter.

Could that be part of the reason why there is so much rust in UK XKs?

 

 

This car has been garaged since I owned but driven year round till 2016, its now a summer only car. However Jags of this era are known for rusting while other brands did not.

I had a 2002 Audi TT that I sold when it was 10 years old at the the same time as a bought the 10 year old XK8, I bought the TT when it was 2 years old and drove it for 100k miles, summer and winter and it was never garaged. When I moved it on it had no rust whatsoever whereas the XK8 chassis rails were obliviously already gone.

 

Six years ago a had a mobile welder came to my house and do this to the other side, he actually welded in two plates.



So what does it look like now?



So this is what I did today, lots more cutting and welding.



First part.



Second part.





Third with 2mm.



Then on to strip down the wishbones.



The grease on the poly bushes was dried out and there were signs that the bolt/tube had been rotating.





I have had enough of poly as they really are not fit and forget, in my climate they need greasing every two years.

So back to rubber, some new parts that arrived today. I also got the large plate to go under the radiator support, better late than never.



Interesting to see the difference between the front and back lower arm bush. Some places sell the same part for both, but using them like that will cause premature failure.



Finally, does anyone know the part number for a spring with white/red paint markings?

 

Well that's the last of the welding done today for this year (I hope).

Panel beneath the radiator support bar.



Finished off with three drain holes added.



Next will be painting, seam sealing and cavity waxing.

 

I admire your tenacity. Rust must be a way of life in your general area. If ever there was a location crying out for a 100% completely carbon fiber vehicle, you win hands down....