www.jec.org.uk

Does anyone know how similar the doors are between the facelift cars and the earlier HE/pre-HE?

I need to repair/replace the passenger side door as part of my 'forever' restoration, but getting a good early door or a skin seems quite difficult. It seems that it may be possible to get a skin for the later door and so I wonder to what extent one might fit. I could probably get away with replacing just the lower half of the door skin If I can put in a neat non-heat distorting weld. May be!
I know the inside of the doors differ.

Hi Roger - the facelift doors are pillar-less so may be different where the window frame would emerge from the door skin?
Whether the facelift door skin has the same profile as the pre-facelift I don't know I'm afraid but I'll be interested to see what you find out!

Hi David
Thanks for the quick reply. A shame you don't have your HE still. You would have been able to make a direct comparison.
I read somewhere that of the 480 panels it takes to make an XJ-S, 180 were changed for the facelift model. I guess that probably covers all the external ones, but may be the lower doors remain the same.......

Hi Roger,

If you wait until the weekend, I'll look at my late facelift and my pre-HE and see if I can establish if the lower skins are the same.

Cheers

Paul

Hi Paul
That would be great.
Thanks
Roger

Hi Roger - I know of someone who has a pre-facelift driver's door skin if that's of interest? (I know you said passenger side!)

Thanks David. I think I'm OK on that side, but I'll keep it in mind if things change. Do you know if its genuine Jaguar?

It is genuine. There's also a driver's side rear quarter panel and bonnet amongst other things.

Roger,

At the weekend, I tried to compare the doors on my pre-HE and facelift cars. I looked at them visually and also measured them in certain dimensions. As an example the measurements of both doors were taken:

- from bottom of door to the waist crease line at the forward edge
- from bottom of door to the waist crease line at the rearward edge
- the length of the waist crease line

Recognising paint differences and manufacturing tolerance, the doors were identical between cars, in all 3 measurements to within 1mm,

I couldn't measure the exact profile but looking at them visually, I think the lower half of the doorskin is identical to both cars. Certainly, if I was effecting a repair, I would consider using a skin from either era and work on the assumption that I could get it to fit.

Hope that helps

Good Luck

Paul

Beware of the cut out hole for the door handles, they look as though they will be different, but assume metal could be added easier than taken away.
Jim

Looks fairly conclusive that you could use either a pre- or post-facelift door skin - interesting bit of sleuthing by Paul!

I've been looking for a few bits on eBay and found some pre-facelift passenger doors there - I do wonder if you'd be better off spending the time travelling to pick up a good 2nd hand door, or paying for it to be couriered, rather than using a new skin (or half skin) and making good.

E.g.

£65 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294916696036
£180 (delivered) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294458385728
£149 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304340083634

Is the mirror mount set back further on one side on the facelift like the earlier one is?
I assume this also varies between right and left hand drive cars.

Good points from Jim and Pop.

I dont know but I think the door handle cutout MIGHT be the same as it only seems to be the central part of the facelift that protrudes through the skin? But sadly, I'm not going to strip my doors to find out!

As regards the mirror mount position, I'll measure those at the weekend.

Cheers

Paul

It looks to me like the door handles are in completely different places - much lower on the facelift which is clear in Paul's comparison pictures

Guys
Thanks for all the input here.
Good to know the lower section appears to be the same.
Also, good to see there are HE doors available. The problem is getting one of them to me in Aberdeenshire and whether they are really as good as the advert says once it arrives.