SEB IS BACK! XJS woes may now begin.

[DrSebWilkes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFK12Xly5Sw

Well I just wouldn't be me without a video! Please do watch her arrival (and advanced sorry for the choppy quality but I think I can be forgiven for being so excited)

SO I AM BACK

I have already got stuck in and will update you on my findings given I've taken off the offside wing.

But yes I want to say "Hi" again and I hope to discuss my goings on, woes, challenges and highlights! If it's okay, then I hope you don't mind the influx of questions that will probably be coming your way

[davidr]

Hi Seb - pleased to see you've got the car back. Must be a good feeling that she now moves under her own steam!
It looks fairly up together - what's left to do to finish it off?
Regards
David

[DrSebWilkes]

Hi Seb - pleased to see you've got the car back. Must be a good feeling that she now moves under her own steam!
It looks fairly up together - what's left to do to finish it off?
Regards
David

Indeed I am! Sadly I'm back on the school /study routine now but I had a week of fun getting some stuff done on her. I shall be back on my half-term and get the next lot of stuff done. It helps planning quite rigorously ahead of time of what I want to do.


So I got the offside wing off to see how far the scuttle rot had gone as well as clean up rust, and ... LO AND BEHOLD some moron had plugged upthe drainage holes - this lead to the scuttle I imagine accumulating more water than before. Whether related or not, underneath the wing there was a rust patch which I cleaned up and luckily most of it is solid. Is it worth just chemically treating it and leaving it at this stage?



The sill end / top was also visible and ... it's "okay". It could be a hell of a lot worse but there is some rust damage. I managed to get a small peak on the inside of the sill and it *isn't* too scabby so it's not a priority yet. I should point out the following picture is after a goof scrub and non-merciful prodding. The holes would have been tiny / non-existent but I know for this area it is vital to ensure that fresh new metal is there to stop any leakages.



I got the door-card off this afternoon to get the mirror off but I didn't have enough time to finish the job oh well at least I got it off. (There was this really rusty screw holding it in and it was looking grim until I got lucky and it moved a few mms at a time!)

I also got the back-box off the car. I didn't agree with the manual (and if I were doing it again with a "fine" car, I would undo the catalyst --> rear exhaust bolts first) but I undid the boot bolts and the silencer unit just "fell off"!!! I knew it was rusty but geeeeeeez ... quite anticlimactic really xD
Can't save the tailpipe because it has been welded on

[davidr]

Seb - if you can see surface rust treat is as soon as possible. A good rust cure product and then a coat of primer will keep it at bay until you can get some proper paint on. These are the products I use

[DrSebWilkes]

Seb - if you can see surface rust treat is as soon as possible. A good rust cure product and then a coat of primer will keep it at bay until you can get some proper paint on. These are the products I use

Indeed! I thought of this eventuality for the bumpers but it's nice to know it's a good temporary fix (as you say) before I get paint on these places.

What I used for the bumpers, after a good scrub, was Kurust, and then Hammerite Direct-to-metal paint

Looks alright actually! I think that's a good rust-proof layer too

[BrianG]

Seb,
I hope you are successful with your rust proofing efforts. My personal ten pence worth experience of using Kurust, and just about ever other rust proofing product on the market, is that the rust always seems to come back. This is usually a few months after one has primed and painted the area to satisfaction and, just as you have got it looking nice again,the rust bubbles break through again. After many years and many and varied cars with rusted bits, I think the only long-term fix is to cut out rusted areas and weld in good new metal.

[ptjs1]

Seb,

You really need to sort the rust fully on the top of the scuttle / inner wing and also on the top of the sill directly below that area. As you've sen moisture drops down there, falls to the top of teh sill, accumulates and then also rots out the lower part of the outer wing as has happened on yours. Getting those three panels, fully welded, painted and waxed is critical to keeping the tinworm at bay on an XJS.

Good luck

PAul

[DrSebWilkes]

Seb,
I hope you are successful with your rust proofing efforts. My personal ten pence worth experience of using Kurust, and just about ever other rust proofing product on the market, is that the rust always seems to come back. This is usually a few months after one has primed and painted the area to satisfaction and, just as you have got it looking nice again,the rust bubbles break through again. After many years and many and varied cars with rusted bits, I think the only long-term fix is to cut out rusted areas and weld in good new metal.

I must admit this was fear I had at the back of my head. Given that "welding" a bumper isn't really feasible for the bumpers at least, there must be a better option? I just thought with a rust-killer, and then a rust-paint that it should survive. Anyway as you say, I hope my idea works.

Seb,

You really need to sort the rust fully on the top of the scuttle / inner wing and also on the top of the sill directly below that area. As you've sen moisture drops down there, falls to the top of teh sill, accumulates and then also rots out the lower part of the outer wing as has happened on yours. Getting those three panels, fully welded, painted and waxed is critical to keeping the tinworm at bay on an XJS.

Good luck

PAul

Yes, that sounds wise given the structural importance of these areas. I think being realistic given that the car is in a dry place now, there isn't the same level of rush that I had before, so I will get round to cutting it out but I think that will certainly be at a stage when I have the capability (or means) to have it welded.

Just as a question, I swear that the wing at the bottom was somehow "connected" to the mounting plate of the catchment tank, but on my car I just saw some very crusty rust that was sticking perpendicular to the wing but not actually meeting it?

And a second question, I was beginning my clean-up of the offside jacking point area to assess damage - NB the car will stand, and has stood, fine on the jacking points but I don't feel happy about using them, so I use the front cross member - when I wondered what that rubber bung did. After removing it, I felt inside and found this orange (rust stained??) rubber 'stuff' and ... eughh ... yeah no idea what it belonged to or indeed where it is in the car. Pictures -->