What do you think of this damaged XK8 as a rebuild prospect?

[SimonR]

A quick update - I viewed the car yesterday and it was a mixed bag. The accident damage wasn't any more than could be seen in the pictures, however, there was a bit of surface rust here and there (particularly sill ends and a tiny bit on the rear wing). The rest of the floor looked OK as did the rear suspension mountings, wing bottoms and rear lower panels.

The most tatty bit (apart from the accident damage) was around the upper door seals, where the aluminium had corroded. I also hadn't noticed in the pictures that the driver's door had a massive mark on it, too.

The interior was actually very tidy with a good headlining, near perfect seats, no damp and only a very slightly ripped A-post trim. The glovebox was broken and just opened to the floor - I didn't bother to investigate this too far.

I checked all the electrics and everything seemed fine, the radio code was in the documentation and the A/C worked.

On the test drive (in a private industrial estate) it accelerated smoothly through all the gears, engage reverse smoothly and braked in a straight line, even though the brake disks looked a bit marked to me (It's not been driven since November). The front bushes were all in good condition, as were all the rear ones that I could see.

The engine oil looked fairly new and there was no evidence of HGF. I started it from cold and there was no rattle or smoke and it started on the button with no drama.

There were a lot of good points, but I figured that at £3500, the extra damage to the bodywork and unforeseen rust made it look a lot less inviting. i discussed my thoughts with the seller, who agreed with my assessment and said 'make me an offer' - so I offered him £2500. We settled on £2750 so I ended up buying it, almost by accident.

I need to source a passenger side headlight so that I can get it home (please let me know if you nave one you wish to sell!) and hope to drive it home on Friday.

[mike020150]

An interesting tale. Hope things go well with the repairs and look forward to reading more about your progress with the project. Mike.

[Andy P]

Good luck Simon,hope it all works out well for you.
Safe driving.
Andy

[davidr]

Hi Simon - just to give you encouragement, I undertook a very similar project with my XKR convertible. It too had suffered a little 'tap on the nose' and had been sat unloved outside for several years. The front nose panel had to be replaced, the interior had suffered from the damp, it hadn't been run in years, the paintwork had gone dull and there was a bit of rust in the sills.
After a fair bit of work I think it came out OK!

[andypryce]

Nice one! Life's too short..

[Andy P]

After a fair bit of work I think it came out OK!

Looks very good David.
Also it gives alot of satisfaction at the end.
Great stuff.
Andy

[SimonR]

Thanks for the encouragement folks - and @Davidr - the transformation of your car is sublime - you must be so pleased with it.

I've located a suitable donor car (an XKR in Platinum) from a chap in Coventry so I can get a new bumper, wing and headlight next week. Due to the timings not lining up very well, I've also had to purchase a replacement N/S headlight lens assembly to allow me to drive the car home from Nottingham to Cambridge. It's currently MoTed and taxed so I'll post the paperwork to the DVLA when I pick it up on Friday and tack it onto my insurance policy to keep things strictly legal.

I'm going to speak to a PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) specialist about the rear wing damage, but if it needs paint in that area I'll probably grind back any rust I can find and have it all professionally sprayed at the same time.

I'll post an update once I've got it home.

[JimMann]

Hi Simon, as Mike said earlier, this would make a great series of articles for our Modern XK column in the magazine. A short piece now about your search and finding a suitable purchase, followed later with an article about the work you eventually complete to get the car back to your desired standard.

If you email me at modernxk@jecmodels.org.uk I will give you some further insight into sending me the high resolution photos without clogging up the email system.

Regards
Jim Mann
Modern XK Coordinator

[SimonR]

No problem Jim, I'll be in touch.

I've just transferred £2500 to the seller via bank transfer. And now have a headlight lens to take with me so if it all goes according to plan I'll be home with it Friday evening.

It's my birthday the following Thursday and I have to stop thinking of this car as an early birthday present .

[SimonR]

Hello to all those who are still reading!

Today was the day of reckoning - was my trust in the seller well-founded, or had I just given a scammer £2750 of my money and would I turn up in Nottingham to find both car and seller notably absent, along with the cash?! I will admit to having a bit of a wobble over night - especially when I found out via a txt conversation with the seller that there was no V5c for the car, because it had come through an auction, and that he couldn't meet me today but would leave the keys with the garage next door... On the surface of it all, this was ringing all sorts of alarm bells!

The good news is that I needn't have worried - my initial assessment of the seller and my reading of the situation was actually correct, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this approach to car buying as it is a bit nerve wracking!

My fiancé, three year old daughter, and I arrived to find the car waiting exactly where he said it would be, and picked up the keys as arranged. My worries were unfounded as it turns out that the garage owners and employees were all driving JLR products, sourced by their neighbour.

I knew that I'd need to repair the headlight prior to driving it home and, although I couldn't find an affordable headlight in time, I did find a lens in its original box and was gambling that there would be enough of the headlamp left to enable me to affix it and get basic light function.



It wasn't pretty - however, the good news was that the missing section of the headlight meant that I didn't need to get in via the wheel arch to undo the downward-facing T40 screw.

Once what remained of the headlight was out, I needed to address the deformed front wing. Passers by were visibly taken aback to see a man using a crowbar to manually adjust a Jaguar sports car's coachwork! It was an easier task than I thought and soon I managed to get it pryed out far enough to allow a correct-shaped headlight to be mounted.



A combination of good luck, brute force and gaffer tape soon had the headlamp assembly ready for re-mounting into the car, and once it was screwed and bolted back into place I bent the leading point of the wing back down to make it safe for any pedestrians that I may mow down on the way home. A quick test showed that all but the sidelight bulb were working as they should. Result!

https://youtu.be/somtMYBKw1I

After a few more checks (fluid levels, tyre pressures, essential electrics and brake function) I decided I was as happy as I was going to be about the car's condition so I took it for a 1.5 mile journey to meet up with my two family members at a nearby playground before heading off for Cambridge in a two-car convoy.


(I removed the gaffer tape from the number plates as well)

What a lovely 125 miles that was - the car performed faultlessly and about half way home I realised that I'd completely forgotten I was driving an 20 year old GT car that hadn't been on the road for 4 months. It just felt completely natural and was extremely comfortable - I think my subconscious thought I was back behind the wheel of an XJ40, a car in which I've driven many very happy and relaxing miles. We stuck to motorways and averaged over 65 mph and the Jag did a very reasonable 33mpg, arriving home in the dark - good job I'd made time to fix the headlight!



I'll have time for buyer's remorse tomorrow as it is a pretty tatty car in many places, but I can see potential and a few panels with a bit of paint will make the world of difference. I also now need to see if I can contact the previous owner to get the other keys and service history if they still have them.

Cheers for now!

[mike020150]

It looks as if the gambling has paid off - well done! It will make a fascinating story as you tackle the outstanding tasks. Mike.

[poprivet]

Great project Simon, I enjoyed the walk around https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=somtMYBKw1I
Looking forward to updates.

[SimonR]

Cheers Mike and Pop - I've been sitting indoors watching the rain come down for much of today and only managed to get out to the car this evening.

https://youtu.be/mWXPHE9fRXc

There's a proper walk-around video showing all of the car's faults, (or at least all those I know about!)

Here are the after-market door/window seals that I'm considering: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175621696442

And the replacement rubbers that replace the aluminium/rubber seals that go around the tops of the doors: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175584477641.

That solves the problem for less than £100 - worth thinking about but please do let me know if there's a better option.

[andypryce]

Nice when a gamble pays off, too often they don't! Keep us posted.

[SimonR]

Spent a very happy couple of hours today taking the damaged front panels off the car.

https://youtu.be/JY-nOkYlOBc

I found a bit more damage than at first was visible, which is always the way.

The black fiberglass panel that spans the front of the car will also need replacement, as will one of its mounting points as I shared the end off it trying to get the big bolt out. Ah well...

I'm off to Coventry on Friday to pick up the panels I need.