Jaguar XJS – rust repairs almost complete
December 11, 2024
Well, fun and games were had today getting the final body rusty bits repaired. Pete started the day by doing some final grinding on the
1993 Jaguar XJS
1993 Jaguar XJS Restoration Work
December 10, 2024
Today, Pete has fitted the DAB antenna, hands free microphone and made adaptions to the way the stereo cage fits in the dash using some
XJS Progress
December 4, 2024
Pete has continued to work on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. A final attempt at separation of the AC fan from the motor failed and it
XJS Service And RepairsXJS
November 28, 2024
Pete has had another busy day working on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. He started with the removal of the nearside tail pipe, this was very
More XJS Progress
November 25, 2024
Peter has made more progress with our 1993 Jaguar XJS. The front and rear brakes were checked over and he cleaned up any loose debris.
Jaguar Strip Down
November 21, 2024
It’s been a busy week in the headlines for Jaguar and it’s been a busy week for Jaguar in our workshops too. Peter started with
XJS Appraisal
November 14, 2024
Technician Jonn has been conducting an appraisal on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. Here are his notes: Reposition nearside exhaust. Slacken centre clamp. Use gearbox jack
Jaguar XJS – rust repairs almost complete
December 11, 2024
Well, fun and games were had today getting the final body rusty bits repaired. Pete started the day by doing some final grinding on the rear quarter and getting that ready for primer, once that was done he moved on to the other rusty areas along the driver’s sill.
The trailing edge of the drivers arch had a small hole so he traced the extent of the rust and cut out back to good steel, only a small patch required here and looking much better!
And then the tricky bit, he had to make a stand to support the weight of the car so he could move the ramps support arm out of the way, there seemed to be some rust and damage from previous jacking attempts right where a two post ramp arm locates, this stand worked perfectly. It also meant that Pete could cut out and replace with hand fabricated sections the damaged/rusty section as he had all he space needed.
So that brings to a close the last of the body repairs on the old gal, there are still more items to tackle with the exhaust but that’s another story.
And there we have it, at long last we have its stereo firing on all speakers. This lovely head unit has been a challenge to fit into this car but it’s been well worth the effort.
She now has Bluetooth audio and hands free capabilities, DAB radio, traffic announcements and much more alongside the stylish classic looks tucked into dash.
1993 Jaguar XJS Restoration Work
December 10, 2024
Today, Pete has fitted the DAB antenna, hands free microphone and made adaptions to the way the stereo cage fits in the dash using some hand made rubber spacers. He has made a minor repair and location change to the sun visor clamp as this was sitting wonky and looks to have done so from factory.
We are awaiting an adapter for the DAB antenna connector to the back of the head unit and then this can be fitted in place for the final time. The Bluetooth, remote, and hands free functions are working as they should be. We are also chasing some interior parts for around the window switches and for the interior lights. Once these items have arrived that will conclude interior work on this big cat.
Amongst other things, the rear trailing arms have the new bushes fitted, have had a light shotblast, a fresh coat of paint and all now reassembled into the car. Pete had to fabricate new locking bolts to replace the worn ones and found a broken grease nipple so that was removed and replaced. The AC fan has finally come free of the old motor by drilling the shaft out and using a big hammer! It’s now mounted into the frame with it’s new motor and new fittings ready to go back in after we replace the condenser unit.
As Pete told us, a picture says a thousand words in this next section. Over the last couple of days he has been working on more rust repairs. The car has has had some extensive cosmetic and structural surgery. Removed a previous repair to the front of the nearside sill that was well below our standards and it highlighted just how poor this was done previously. We have found further rust holes behind it, this has now been cut out and new steel parts hand made to suit the shape of the car. Welded, dressed and primed. There has also been a lot of work replacing the lower rear quarter the same side. More rot was found on the inner panel, this has all been replaced and the new rear quarter welded into the car and trimmed/dressed to fit perfectly. He has even maintained the position of the original spot welds keeping this spots. Next we will be on the drivers side for similar repairs.
Much the same as the passenger side in fabrication needed, inner had slightly more rot than the passenger side but Pete has made replacement steel sections for this, all that remains is a final weld dress and then it onto the lower sill and jacking point repairs. Starting to be a very solid car now.
XJS Progress
December 4, 2024
Pete has continued to work on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. A final attempt at separation of the AC fan from the motor failed and it is stuck solid. He is still working on a fix that!
In the meantime, new front upper shock bushings were fitted. While Pete was doing this, he replaced the double lock nuts that were fitted with a single lock nut. This makes things much simpler for any future work and more reliable from a safety aspect.
The rear trailing arms are off the car now, unfortunately at full droop of the suspension, the smaller bushings are beyond service, as are the front body end bushings. Pete will replace both ends and refit these.
The removal of the bushings was challenging and required the forward struts to be removed to allow the bolts to slide all the way out of the mount points on each side.
The intermittent fault with the headlamps is now resolved -, a suspected blown bulb on the passenger side was traced to a loose connection at the h4 plug to the bulb. The side lights, dipped and main are all working as they should now.
The horns have also been sorted, one new unit and a clean-up of the old working unit and both high and low tones are back.
XJS Service And RepairsXJS
November 28, 2024
Pete has had another busy day working on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. He started with the removal of the nearside tail pipe, this was very well rusted in place and required a lot of persistent persuasion with some wood and a big hammer!
He could then start cutting the rear quarter and preparing for the replacement panel work, some minor repairs to the inner rear quarter will be needed prior to fitment of the external metal work. With the arrival of all the service items, it was decided to crack on and get the car up and running again and leave the metalwork for the moment.
The new steering rack arrived and was fitted, new washers and hardware was fitted too.
The window switch has also now been fitted to cure that intermittent fault along with the headlamp relay unit.
Overall a productive day clearing a good chunk of the items listed from the appraisal.
More XJS Progress
November 25, 2024
Peter has made more progress with our 1993 Jaguar XJS.
The front and rear brakes were checked over and he cleaned up any loose debris. He made minor repairs to the driver’s front backing plate as it was misshapen leading it to catch the upper arm ball joint bolt.
The rear brakes were checked over and no problems were found. The pipes to the callipers were all checked too and found to be in good shape before Peter checked the discs all round.
Peter then fully drained the coolant system ready for fresh antifreeze, and a seized clip was replaced to ensure no leaks.
The air intake to sensors were removed for cleaning and a new filter.
Jaguar Strip Down
November 21, 2024
It’s been a busy week in the headlines for Jaguar and it’s been a busy week for Jaguar in our workshops too. Peter started with us at the beginning of the week and he’s already making great progress on some of our cars. Work has commenced on the Jaguar XJS as he has been stripping down the rear, to repair the rusted areas. He cut out the nearside rear sill and fabricated new steel sections. He welded the new parts to the car as he went.
Any parts removed from the car have been safely stored ready for refurbishment (if needed).
Peter also removed and tested the AC fan unit.
XJS Appraisal
November 14, 2024
Technician Jonn has been conducting an appraisal on our 1993 Jaguar XJS. Here are his notes:
Reposition nearside exhaust. Slacken centre clamp. Use gearbox jack to raise nearside of system and knock backwards to get pope into rubber mount above axle. Secure clamp once in position. Slide driveshaft cover down shaft and fit new grease nipple to driveshaft inner uj. Grease uj and refit cover and secure. Top up engine oil. Top up power steering oil. Secure Ho2s sensor wire at offside inner wing.
Customer complained of head lights coming on by themselves. Check relays. Terminals very corroded. Clean terminals and refit. Possible headlight logic relay or headlight relay fault. Unable to fault on test
