Today's project was to install rocker covers. I didn't care for that orange peely chip guard stuff and thought the car could do to look a little nearer the ground.

Before:


I like the simplicity of the OEM ones vs what is available in the after market but wasn't eager to drill holes in the rocker for the stock clips so I opted to use 3M double sided molding tape instead.

Cleaned everything with 99% isopropyl alcohol to get off any road grime and wax and also also cleaned the surface of the cover where the tape would be.

For the 3 tabs nearer the rear, the tape is double thick so that it is almost flush with the lip of the cover. This is the part that runs across the quarter, where the body is a single piece. From the door forward, the lip tucks into the rounded edge under the door and fender so having the adhesive surface inset a bit gives a nice tight fit.



At the front and rear, I put a line of tape along the fender flange on the car. This one was easier to put on the car rather than the cover.

I was a little concerned with using tape at first, but with a strip basically running the entire length at both the top and bottom it should hold pretty well. I can get a hold of the cover and shake the whole car without it budging at all.

Per XKRacers advice, I set them a little higher than stock so as to cover the unsightly chip guard. As such, there is a little gap between the bottom flange and the pinch weld under the rocker but it doesn't obstruct the jack points or anything.

Much better:



All said and done, I think it looks pretty good, even with the earlier style front bumper (that's on the list too, at some point).

 

Great result - looks good.

Graham

 

Looks great! Definitely give the car a finished look. Jim

 

Looks good. And I do love the coupe!

Two questions-

1. Where did you purchase the sill covers?

2. I'm assuming you had them painted to match OE before you installed them, yes? What did that cost you, ballpark?

Well done!

 

Thanks for the kind words.

1) I got them fom Jaguar (C2N3410XXX, C2N3409XXX, C2N3522XXX, C2N3523XXX) and it was about $300 for the parts.

2) Correct, they are painted but I sort of cheated on this part. I am originally from Ohio and my dad has a body shop there so I bought the parts from Jaguar Cleveland and he painted them for me.

If you got it done at a shop local to you I'd guess $250 or $300 maybe. There isn't much too them.

The Midnight on mine has been easy to match and doesn't have many variants, just be sure they add the flex agent.

 

Looks great. I'd consider those.