Here's the pictures I promised of my new adventure from a previous post. As you can see, it's 90% cosmetic...

The hood and fender can be saved, the damage is minimal, even on the inside of the fender.




I think I can save the bumper cover. I have years of experience (in my old life) of plastics and fiberglass repair.




Though the pictures don't reflect it, the damage is not extensive. It didn't even reach the antennae mast.




Note the side bumper, it went under the guard rail. Thank god someone invented the porta-power. This is 98% sheet metal damage.The other 2% are the light, trunk key area and the bumper cover.




My plan of attack- I will use 1/2 inch plywood or foam board to create a template of the body contour at every second or third vertical line and make a jig to hold them upright.




I'll then take the templates, flip them 180 degrees on the vertical while swapping them on the horizontal to create a mirror image of the driver side contour. Then I'll take the porta-power and slowly push out the damage until I get (hopefully) within 1/64 to 1/32 of an inch of the templates. Lot's of pushing, lots of hammer/dolly tapping in my future.




After I removed the headlight I discovered that this will be relatively easy. The porta-power will do 99% of the work.

That big round thing is a rubber mesh ring for new trees. I have four of them and they make outstanding floor padding for the knees and keeping your butt off the cold concrete.

 

daunting but wouldnt it be easier to just get new panels??lots of them about

 

Probably, but I'd rather take a shot at fixing them first as opposed spending up to $8,000 for new parts. Admittedly I'll probably end up buying a new front bumper cover though, that's a hard fix. Besides, I have time, I have other vehicles to drive.

 

An obvious question but what about claiming on your insurance?

 

The insurance...oh THAT pisses me off. From the day I bought this car to the day of my accident I thought I had collision coverage. Unfortunately I had everything else up through comprehensive. When I went to file a claim, I heard "Nope, not covered". I checked my policy and sure enough, no collision. It's no doubt my fault I should have made sure that collision was there as well. Therefore, the repairs are on me. I was looking for a project car anyway, but couldn't find one I felt was worth my time...now I have one.

Kitty had some other minor issues like the front end bushings, stability control failure, and occasional slip-o-the transmission (109,000 miles and I've heard they go out around 120,000). So, as you can see it's in my garage and will remain there for a while so I can take my time and do it right.

 

That is a cool project to do. Have you done this sort of body work before? Ambitious. But, it could be fun and satisfying. Keep us informed on your progress with pics!

 

Prices are so cheap for our cars, especially ones that have good bodies and are not running. I would get a new shell, transfer your good parts and warehouse the rest. The rear quarter is going to give you problems matching trunk shut lines; headlight buckets are $500, etc. Too many parts to repair or replace. Looks like the hood is also deformed.

 

I gasped when I looked at the pictures.
That's one heck of a project, way more than I could handle.
Good luck to you and keep the pictures coming

 

Hi Marvin,
Belated condolences on your mishap, and I'm glad you escaped without injury.

I sense you have the not-entirely-logical affection that many of us seem to develop with these cars. Can't explain it but perhaps, as has been said before, it's all about the journey rather than the cold economics.

The front doesn't look too bad (he says from the comfort of an armchair) other than the nose cone, but the rear O/S would scare me. Having said that, I've seen some amazing things done with bent metal.

I wish you the best of luck and looking forward to the piccys

Mike

 

v

That's a bugger, sorry for what is now obviously a daft question. Over this side of the pond our comprehensive insurance covers for own fault collision damage.
Someone commented about the price of cars, would it not be better to simply cut your losses and get another one? There are plenty to chose from and you can keep your good bits for spares or sell on.

 

Good luck with the project and there is something to be said for doing the work yourself. A lot of self satisfaction.

However as others have said, a replacement donor car is not that expensive and you might even break even parting it out. There's a nice XK8 in the Marketplace for $6K.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/p...0-00-a-152982/

 

I took the bumper cover off and looked for the inner most damage. After sitting there, staring at the front of the car for 30 minutes or so, I spotted the farthest point of damage away from the impact point. I also noticed the passenger side (U.S.) hood hinge support bracket was pushed inwards a bit.


I bought a Porta-Power and began the process of pushing everything back to where it's supposed to be. The goal was of lining up my hood and getting it to close as it was out-o-whack by a good 3/4 inch (.75) at the windshield and caused an over lapping of the driver side fender by 1/2 (.50) inch.


I've attached two pictures of the result. The gap appears to grow by the damage to the hood and fender, but not as bad as it seems in the picture.



The hood closes! The gap grows a little vertically at the damage, an easy fix.


The hood closes with the solid "THUMP' like before....it's a beautiful thing.

 

Marvin, that looks like something even I could work with. Nice fix.


Wayne

 

Fricken nice! It's gonna work!

 

More pictures are coming soon! The rear quarter panel is within 1/8th inch of where it is supposed to be. The front bumper cover is all put back together and waiting for me to go buy some 3M flex patch. The computer I'm on right now won't post the pictures, so I'll have to use a different one....BUT THEY'RE COMING!!!

 

Hi Marvin, I have a used rear bumper cover and trunk lid if you need them. I live just south of Minneapolis. I am assuming you are from Granite Falls Mn. John 952-567-1197

 

No, not Minnesota. Granite Falls Washington State, waaaa-aaay over on the west coast, but thank you for the offer. I'm going to try to save the back bumper cover, but that one is going to be tricky.

 

Well, I sure hope it's cheaper than mine. Radiator shroud, 700. Plus in stall. Pull 3/4" to the right, $400.00. Front bumper cover$1300.00 used lower plastic front support, $268.00. Hood body work???? Complete front end repainted,???????? RF headlight $1024.00 1 bent wheel, 1 chipped wheel. 4 new matching rims &1400.00. 4 new tires $1470. Plus mounting and balance. Matching brake rotors, well you get the point. MY XKR will do 158+(if I can get the limiter flashed off). I want it fixed right!

 

PLEASE post more pictures- I am going to attempt some similar repairs for my car, and would love some how tos to help me along!