Hello guys.
First of all I want to let you know how much help this forum was for me. I worked for fiat/alfa romeo - as it is usual in germany to "study" a job - as a mechanic several years ago. I can tell you: a british car is a challenge so thank you guys

I promised you as introduced myself in a other thread, that i keep you updated. To do so I need to tell you what the car means to me:
The car was owened my a good friend of mine who worked for the army in Germany. By that time i could drive it once at a longer trip to the Czech Republic and fell in love with the XK8. After a couple of years he had to go back to the US and took the car with him. We always joked and said "your car is doing fine like he knew that i would own it someday. In about 2017 he told me that he bough a newer model (the X150) and keeps the XK8 sitting in the garage because he couldnt let go of it.
Welllllll.... 2021 he made plans coming back to Germany to stay. He then said: If you want the car, you can have it. ---> for free?
YES! I could have if for free when i manage and pay the shipping, transport in a truck to the harbors and the fees (Tax etc.).
By the time he told me that the car had some problems... There was some water coming in *shock* the window doesnt close the right way *ok* and the transmission has some fault *not good*.

Of course i asked for some pictures before i ordered the truck. By that time i thought: well i need to replace some small plates. maybe remove some parts so i could cut it without damaging anything else.
Here you see what made me think that it wouldnt be that bad:










I took the challenge. managed that it was moved to the ship in the US in a closed container. From the harbour in the Netherlands to my adress in Germany i needed another closed container so that car doesnt get flooded on its way.
I thought "if it was in a dry garage over years in the states and in a closed container while i move it, i can find out whats wrong with the window".


After it came here i had to take a hard decision. I let some pictures show you why...








The Problem was, that there was water coming in the left footwell of the car. There was rust everywhere. The seat belt anchoring was useless like the not working handbrake.
As i loved that car i couldnt let it go and made up a plan. lets better call it a huge "to-do-list"

First i looked up why the driver window isnt working... in this forum i found the solution: The Micro-Switch was baad. I oreded it as a spare part from the US, as i couldnt find the same type here in germany. The Switch cam about 5-10 Dollar? The shipping about 20 EUR
I have to tell you guys. As i started to work off that list. I had to deal with a huge amount of problems some mechanics "built in"... We use to say: A car is only as good as the workshop...
The left door panel was lose because a attachment was broken... etc etc etc. (more later )
After building in the new micro-switch the window went up like it should. As i took everything apart i put new sealings behind the door handles on both sides. First point for me.






After that point i took the car apart so I could get the rust problem solved. For that i had to clean out the interior on both sides and the complete rear axle. As i knew that "welding some metal plates" would take for years and wouldnt look good of fit right... i asked a friend of mine to do a little road trip and get a spare part He didnt know that we cut a XK8 Coupe apart which is on a junk yard. That took us a couple hours and i think he might hate me now a little more :P














There is one benefit: As you have everything out of the car you can clean it rly good

The next steps were: finding why water leaks in the car; fixing the hydraulic from the roof (as we cut a hose...); finding the transmission fault. On the way through those steps I found some other problems too

i can post more updates if you want me to? It´s a little rough for me writing on english. I hope you guys could read it.

 

This is great robak, please keep posting progress reports!

 

+1
...and your English is absolutely fine

 

I admire your perseverance. I would have walked far, far away from that "free" car....

 

So many of our cars are here because the labor of love goes along with them.
Great work.

 

Soooo guys. Sorry that i didnt respond faster. Now is the cold time out here in Germany and the Jag is safe in his hibernation.

As mentioned above following things i could fix: Door/Window problem (door adjar switch); rust from below (floor panel).
btw: as the rear frame was out i changed some of the bushes on the rear damper and put new oil in the differential <- as this isnt possible in the mounted position.
Finding the Water leak was kind of f****. A friend and I had to water the car from the outside with a hose for a couple of hours so we could see that there are two main water leaks and some other "interesting" problems.
#1: Water coming in from the A-pillar on the right side. There is a alloy frame attached to the A-Pillar which holds the door rubber. That frame was some how bent so water could leak (time-shifted) betwen the A-Pillar and that rubber holding frame. I took it off - bent it straight (only like 1mm) and put some sealant between it. <--- problem solved
#2: Water coming in from the left rear quarter. That was the main reason for the enormously rust problem from the inside.
The Problem is as simple as it can get: There is a so called "water duct" (HJA8137BA) mounted to the frame of the car at the left rear window. That should prevent water running into the inside panel and drain under the rear seat and foot area. That part was somehow ripped off and missing.
Since my daughter likes to do crafts, we had a very comparable and weahterproof pice at home. I only hat to cut it into form and it was a very easy fix.






So now to the funny part. As i know the history of the car and the previous owner gave me some old bills from the money he spent over the years i could find out that the rear windows motor was exchanged at about 2008/2009.
As i looked where water runs in i saw on the left side the typical foil infront of the window motor (like in every car). As the X100 is concave a normal foil wouldnt work because there is not enough room for it. Jaguar made a more solid clear plastic cover (btw: you cant buy it anymore ). I turned around as a friend of mine put water over the car and i was a little bit confused... the foil on the right side wasnt there.
After i bought that wonderful plastic cover from the US (big part... not able to fold or it breaks...) and spent more cash on shipping and tax than the part cost (part price about 30 dollar, shipping + tax about 80€?) i could figure out why that garage who exchanged the window motor didnt put it back in.... it´s a pain in the *** but i got it done with only minor damage on the foil.
btw.: part number for that "Water curtain" is: HJB8135AA

 

As the car was stripped from the inside it was easy to exchange the hoses for the roof. I had to change them anyway as i cut one of the hoses by doing part of the bodywork. As i took it apart i could see, that the "green shower" was coming soon.

 

I put the car back together from the inside with fresh cleaned carpet and seats. Not sure what that part is called above the driver where the ligh switches are (between the both A-Pillar) --> the cloth came of as it is normal for a X100. I had to let someone make it new again.
As i had some problems with the switches in the dash (should be a known problem - aka sticky switches?) i exchanged the "rubberdome" switches against new micro switches.
So far: The switches still are not working "perfect" as it is temperature depending how the buttons "stick" in the frame. If it is cold: they work fine and jump back. If it is warm you can press the hazard light for example and the button stays in... got to find a solution for that in the future

 

No lets start with some fun work: The known X100 rust problem behind the front cossmember. To solve that problem i had to take out the suspension. the engine mounts etc.
Because the wishbones had faulty bearings (?) I did a complte remake at the front.
For those who do have to go that step: Watch out for aftermarket stabalizer bushings on the 4.2L XKs. They have a metal increase to hold it in place. The 4.0 have that one too but out of plastic which you can kick off. As i wanted to use the better Poly bushes at the front i had to buy those two OEM.
The second point is: YOU WILL RIP OFF SCREWS!!! Jaguar but Steel screws in alloy. As known from physics this isnt a good idea over time - particularly without any grease.
If you see ATF oil dripping from the conector there is no need to exchange the complete hose (expensive and still not a good solution over time...) its the low pressure hose from the steering so a simple solution (see picture) solves the problem. (with the front crossmember off even better).

As you can see, there used to be three layer of metal behind the front crossmember. I wanted to have it like it is original and did the same and welded three layers of metal on it. A choice i wouldnt take again because it makes much more work.

I guess pictures can tell more than a 1000 words

 

ofc there were some more problems on its way (changing water pump or the idler pulley with a ripped off screw..., evap failure, brake switch failure etc....) but i did it and driving it is such a pleasure.
The transmission fault was easy to fix. It hat the oil leak at the connector and ran a little low on fluid so it caused the malfunction light to come on + restricted power.
I had the oilfilter and sealing of the connector exchanged and a oil flush did the job.

If anyone needs helps or tipps give me a note and i try my best.

 

I think I would have invested E 2000 in a two post lift to tackle that job !!!

Brilliant 10/10

 

Wow, great story! Looks like she found the owner she was made for

 

Well done....

 

thanks alot guys

 

Great work, robak.

Good to see another Cat saved.

 

 

A great read---"The Resurrection of the Jaguar". I admire your dedication.

 

well done - enjoy the hell out of her!!!

 

Oh My!! You are so dedicated to this car. Congrats on a job well done. That was quite lot of work and it looks great. I hope for you many many miles/kilometers of pleasure driving That beautiful car. Well done indeed! TM

 

hey. Thank you so much guys.
This forum helped me so much on understanding how that car is built and should be. Thank you.

I hope i can bring in some experiences i made and help others too.

My xk8 aint perfect but its so much fun and pleasure to have/drive and look at.