new member

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:15 pm

HI ALL,
Just registered on the site although I've been a JEC member for 5 years

I'm coming to the end of a 4 year full restore of a 3.6 manual (yep don't know why either). Already a member of a another forum based club so I know these forums can be superb places for a chat. glad to be here

SimonR · Postby **SimonR** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:32 pm

Welcome Jon,

I'm also very new around here and have the same car as you, although mine finished its 4-year restoration about 12 months ago!

Is that 'don't know why I bothered' or 'don't know why it took me so long'?!

I bet you can't wait to have the car finished - the sound of that engine and your back pressed into the seat in 3rd gear will make it worthwhile I'm sure.

Have you got any pics of the resto?

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:31 pm

Simon,
cheers for the welcome

yep I've got loads of pictures, I'll sift through and see what I can post. I can't wait to feel the old girl accelerate again.

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:55 am

OK I've put a couple of photo's together. Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg ( I have about 500 photo's of all area's worked on) but it does show what I have had to do.

The Boot

How it was when I bought it!!!

http://static.flickr.com/28/57120536_44fd5e69e6.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/26/57120537_a64b62ea5f.jpg

With the rust removed!

http://static.flickr.com/32/57120538_0e227b6e0b.jpg

Re-building

http://static.flickr.com/29/57120540_0eb9a8230f.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/29/57120541_71008ac9f6.jpg

Sprayed

http://static.flickr.com/25/57120542_82a3bd066c.jpg

REAR wing and lower Quarter panel

http://static.flickr.com/28/57129258_53062f9cb9.jpg

and totally re-built

http://static.flickr.com/30/57129259_a633bad3d2.jpg

And where am I now?

Panels painted. This pictures shows car primed and waiting for first guide coat to harden off

http://static.flickr.com/33/57129257_e3d3c0adc6.jpg

Steel wise I think XJS's are sacrificial anodes for all other cars on the road in the 1980's.

I've replaced or repaired:-
radiator cross member
inner front wings
Outer front wings
Bonnett
front windscreen scuttle
A post base (both sides)
Outer sills
inner sills
Floor pans
Rear seat pan
both doors
boot
rear window scuttle
rear butresses
boot spare wheel bay
rear wings
rear lower Quarter panels

Mechanically I've rebuilt:-

All front suspension
All rear suspension
All brake components
replaced seals on gearbox and engine
All fuel lines (from tank to injection system)

As I said at the top I have photo's up the ying yang for everything, but this gives you an idea of what has to be done to a poor XJS for a total restore

SimonR · Postby **SimonR** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:31 pm

Wow, I really like the look of that. Funnily enough I have some very similar pictures of my car's rebuild and it went in exactly the same places. That lower rear wing is a real rust trap, eh? I really admire people who can weld bits onto cars, I've never been able to and it's on the list of things to do before I die. That and buy an a Aston Martin DB5!

I like the rear axle assembly: is that powder-coated or sprayed? - It must be very satisfying converting a great lump of rusty suspension into a beautifully restored assembly.

Also, how long has this taken you? - I guess you're a wages-slave like me and do this in your spare time? No wonder it's taken a while.

Anyway, it looks like you're going to have a cracker when it's done.

SR.

Brakebuster · Postby **Brakebuster** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:12 pm

wow

thats a lot of bodywork there m8,
and i thought i had a lot to do on mine,

the complete drivers side A pillar behind the door hinges has been replaced from the windscreen to the sill along with the whole inner front wing ( both sides ) and complete front section of the sill , two replacement wings, two replacement doors ( drivers was 10x worse than the passengers ) , two replacement headlight frames and the full width flat panel between the headlights as well as the lower scuttle section,
i still have to let in a panel around the aeriel hole on the rear drivers wing, and repair the rear lower panels, the inner sills need a little work to ,
replacement boot plinth and possibly a new bonnet, as mine has rotted on the inside where the hook is for the latch , but no where else

the good news is that there is no rust in the boot or floor at all, and the majority if the sills are fine ,

you car is lookin great mind, would love to see more pix if you can,

BB

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:44 pm

Cheers for the nice comments guys.

SimonR.

IRS. I debated the powder coating method for the suspension but seeing what can happen to steel when the powder coating breaks down and water gets underneath it (front suspension turrets!!!!) I decided to go back to bare metal and re-spray with corroless and black top coat.

Yep I'm a wage slave with a family so it's only done in my spare time. my job can take me away aswell so it's not been easy to fit in. At the moment It will be 4 years this month (I'm keeping a running total on cost but am scared to look until I Finish!!)

Brake Buster

Mate I have loads of photo's I'll see what I can dig out and post under bodywork!!!.My bonnet was rotted on both corners where yours has gone but to keep costs down I broke aV12 XJS which had been stood in a field for a while and had no MOT and was dead cheap. It gave me loads of spares which I used and also a fair amount of panels of which I used (after full preperation) (wings, Floor pans, Boot floor, rear window scuttle, Front wing closure panels etc), Two of the panels I took were the corners for the bonnet which I sand blasted and replaced the corroded ones on my bonnet (I could'nt use the V12 bonnet because of the bulge). It's not a difficult job if you keep the bonnet straight and cut out the old spot welds carefully. I don't think you can notice I've replaced these panels and to be honest although it took me a couple of evenings it saved me the cost of a new (second hand) bonnet.

Some people in the club will probably think I'm mad but hey. She won't be original when I'm finished as she has just jags body kit fitted, a TT extractor exhaust on the way from AJ6 and the cracking wood trim in the cabin is being re-furbished to another material (watch this space as it may not come off!!!!). I try and keep costs down by doing everything myself, unfortunately I'm not in the higher wage tax bracket so cost had to come into the restore, however I am lucky enough to be trained in Mechanical Engineering (not automotive

) so I have had equipment and processes at my disposal where I work and my bosses have been happy enough for me to use these in my own time when needed!!

Brakebuster · Postby **Brakebuster** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:54 pm

JonC , pics would be great,

i have added a few to my list just to show the b4 and afters of the tinworm problems, as can be seen below , there wasnt much holding the drivers door on my car !!!

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/phpbb2/ ... 7NGY-2.jpg

or the wing on to be honest, lol

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/phpbb2/ ... 7NGY-3.jpg

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/phpbb2/ ... 7NGY-8.jpg

BB

Brakebuster · Postby **Brakebuster** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:09 pm

but its getting better..........i hope

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/phpbb2/ ... NGY-10.jpg

BB

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:19 pm

My posts and inner wings were no where near that bad!!! infact i only had to repair the bottom of the posts, and the inner wing top edges were really good. Mind you when I rebuilt this area with new wings I waxoyled the world and made sure all the seams and joins were sealed. Where did you start with the repair? (nice job !) is there a new panel out there to fit? How was the alignment for the door hinges?
Must say my butresses looked very similar and that was a repair I did'nt find easy. I had to replace the rear window scuttle as well so keeping everything aligned was a bit of a mare!

Brakebuster · Postby **Brakebuster** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:18 pm

its strange, my floors are ' perfect ' compared to your boot section ??, but the front has almost rotted away,

the whole outer A pillar section is still available for around £130 , it compromises the whole pilar from the first wing bolt on the top under the screen, round the door aperature and down to the sill, it also had the door seal rubber channel in it , this channel is a seperate piece , the whole top inner wing has been replaced from the a pillar to the top of the headlight bucket, and the front section of the sill has been grafted in to complete the rebuild in this area,
the door hinges themselvs provided an accurate fixing to hold and shape the replacement panel to start with, after i cut out all of the rot ,

i was quite surprised to see that the jacking point allthough cosmetically rusted has not suffered structurely and the vertical tube is solid roght to the bottom, and just the ' cup ' on the underside needs repairing,

i have managed to buy a whole rear quarter section from the JHT for £84, they are still offering this discounted part for sale at the moment,
http://www.jdht.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... d=-1&top=Y

there are other parts like floor sections for £60 to,

i only needed the offside buttress section, so the rest will be saved for repair sections,
i think i have at least another 18 months of work before getting her to paint, which will be white again , with a genuine TWR kit ,

BB

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/phpbb2/ ... NGY-11.jpg

Telsmoneypit · Postby **Telsmoneypit** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:23 am

This is what we want. The dirt. There's plenty of pics of shiny XJ-S's but very few that expose the truth!

I guess I got lucky with my car. I replaced the O/S wing earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised at the lack of rot in the inner wing area.
I'd post a pic but I am unsure of how to do this.....any advice?

Terry ( well versed in metal but stupid when dealing with silicon)

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:12 pm

Tel, I'll post a "how to" with the pics under a new subject in general. it's not the easiest thing to do if you haven't used forums or are computer illiterate (like me!)

franck · Postby **franck** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:04 am

JONC, are able to send me the whole photos you have (why not on a CD) to help me to begin to restore my convertible.

jonc3725 · Postby **jonc3725** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:16 pm

franck,
PM sent

happy new year

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