Had my new (to me) XK8 for about a month now, and am gradually finding all the little problem areas that aren't obvious at first inspection.
As with many UK cars, there's a bit of rust around the front wheel-arch - not a great photo - but I think I have caught it just in time. Have wire-brushed the rust, treated it with neutraliser, and repainted and undersealed the whole area. Jaguar seemed to use a white caulk of some sort which has gone hard over the years and allowed water to get under it. The other side doesn't seem quite so bad, but it will get the same treatment anyway. There's also a bit of rust on the rear chassis on both sides where it curves up over the wheel arch - have done a temporary sealing job for the time being, but will probably need to get a bit of welding done to fix it properly. Other than that, have found very few major issues. Some previous owner went to a great deal of trouble to fit a new boot (trunk) moulding with a release button, got the wires threaded through the conduit, and then never bothered to connect it - I can only assume that he/she lost his/her nerve when he/she realised it was necessary to either remove the fusebox in the boot or all the side trim below the doors to connect it to the right place. Not an urgent job, but , one of these days ........................
I'm intrigued by the bonnet badges - I know the stainless mesh isn't original, but has anyone else got a Jaguar badge in the centre grille, and a V8 badge on the bonnet ?


Cheers,
David.

 

Several folks on here have moved the badge to the center grill, looks nice. The V8 emblem is the first I've seen. Definitely not stock. Aston maybe?

 

Very unique grille treatment with the combination of mesh and the splitter. I do like the badge there as well.

 

Thanks. Yes - I like it too - I just didn't realise there was anything particularly unusual about it when I bought the car.

Cheers,
David.

 

Is it just the photo, or is that V8 badge off centre?

Graham

 

Saw that V8 badge today on a Ford Explorer, so not an Aston badge I guess. Unless it's a shared parts bin thing.

 

It just went from good, to bad, to worse. I liked the idea that it might be from an Aston, then resigned myself to the idea that it could be from a Ford, then did a bit of research and found it came from an Amazon at the modest cost of £2.55p
And ............. it might not even be in the centre - will be getting the tape measure out later to check !!


Need a large drink now to dull the pain !

 

Eh, remove the V8 badge. It cleans up an otherwise gorgeous front end treatment!