I am beginning the slightly insane process of fully restoring a MK X.
Lots of problematic obstacles to contend with. Brakes, Steering boxes,A/C, Heater boxes, Cooling System, Wood, Leather and WEATHERSTRIPPING.
NOS pieces are rare and hard to come by and then most will have been hardened by age anyway.
Theres the guy in Austrailia that does some of them (Scotts?) Hard to return them there if they arent very good.
Are UK sources any better and if so Who?
Where do you find QUALITY strips for everything on the doors and windscreens?
I know its probably possible to match a lot of the patterns with generic mold extrusions but, Who carries them and which ones are applicable?
Has anyone here traversed this nightmare?
There are a LOT of seals on this car. Getting the right durometer of hardness is very crucial. ( I dont know why they seem to err on the side of harder- perhaps its easier to get harder durometers out of the molds, but Jaguar seals originally were quite soft.)
A proper bare metal respray necessitates all of the seals to be replaced…
You are correct the seal situation is a nightmare.
I recently posted my experience within the last month or so, search that
I am presently happy with the seal situation on my car
just to add to your nightmare, check the horizontal metal channel at the base of the seal-on body sections…odds on it will be rusted out
upcoming is my idea to fix this
aww,
Please give me a hint( topic description) to your previous experience. Searches here leave a bit to be desired.
Hi, having finished restoring my 420 sedan, I went through the same issues obtaining many parts.
The best solution for weatherstripping I found was a UK firm. C.O.Baines, they have the correct shape and mouldings that are far better than the usual US firms. Then, another word of advice as for the interior kit I very highly recommend Suffolk and Turley also in the UK. Just superior leather. Madierra concepts in California re did my wood. Spectacular job, HOWEVER ask them to not thicken the wood with clear coat, nothing fit and much time was spent removing the clear finish to get the various wood pieces to fit. When finished you will have a beautiful six figure car that insurance companies will only insure for $35k. Also look at EBay.co.uk as many NOS parts pop up. These are not easy cars to restore, so brace yourself. Both of my E types were a breeze compared to my small 420!
Regards,
Allen
I saw a totally stripped E-type in a resto shop, and just laughed, it looked like a pedal car compared to a 420G
No acres of leather, and timber veneer
aftermarket suppliers falling over themselves to help you out
no need to buy a wreck just to obtain otherwise completely NLA parts
E-type dudes buying up our tool kits to insane prices !
For various generic rubber seals you might have a look at what Steele Rubber Products offers. Never used them myself but have seen their ads. Check their website.
Good luck on the project!
Steel Rubber has nothing specific for the Jaguars - I just received their catalogue. They do have a lot of great generic products and some of those might work for some applications. I did not need Bailey channel felt, but some of theirs might work.
Just yesterday, I replaced the window belt weatherstrip and felt on one of the windows on my Mk10. I used parts I just obtained from David Manners (Don’t know where they get them but might be the C.O. Baines mentioned). It took two hours to do the first window, but the result was good and the rubber profile was accurate if a tight squeeze to work in. I think it was difficult because the new rubber is likely stiffer than the original, but not so much that it affected the window opening. Distance of rubber to window can be an issue, but not on mine, probably because it has original shims. This job can/probably should be done without removing the window frame. Remove the felt inner piece and save the clips (the ones from Manners were wrong). Slit the old outer rubber with a razor blade and dig it out of the groove - be sure you get every bit. Start at one end and work the new strip into the stainless trim concave side up - soapy water can help as well as a screwdriver to stretch the slot and a plastic bar to push. Trim with a fresh razor blade when close to the end. The felt is a piece of cake to install. It was cheap from Manners, but is quite expensive from some vendors.
You must look at Tony’s tips about the vent windows using Mk2 rubber. I’ll be using his technique. The scuttle vent is also N/A, but I believe that the Mk2 item will cut-down in a satisfactory way. I have not tried Scott’s in Australia. There is quite a bit of information about door edge rubbers that I have seen here. Mine doesn’t need those, and I have no specific knowledge of them.
I do have one related question, though. Does anyone’s Mk10 have furlex trim around the doors? The parts book shows some piping that looks like it, but mine does not appear to have ever had any, and in looking at lots of 4.2 Mk10s on Saloon data, I’m not seeing any. I’m thinking it might have been a feature on earlier cars.
you can supposedly slide the outer window rubber strips in from the outside, without removing its chrome holder
when you look carefully from outside at a low angle, you can see how this is theoretically possible
I removed that upper chrome strip, which makes the job easy, and recommend doing this, as the 4 small screws want to corrode into place, and I only just got them out, replaced them, and anti-seize
You only need remove the wood trim
I havent seen furflex on the later cars
If you use new profile “seal-on-body” your doors no longer close beautifully, you have to slam them a bit
I tried to take that chrome seal holder off, but found that there were additional screws at the forward and rear of the opening that were shielded by the frame and inaccessible without removing the frame (which I did not want to do). Maybe the other three doors will be different. I don’t think the seal I have will slide in - tight fit - but all that is worth a try. I’m pleased with the result, but it’s some effort.