Tips needed for dropping XK 140 body onto chassis

Hopefully, within the next month I will be at the point where the body of my XK 140 OTS can be reunited with the rolling chassis. I have studied the famous factory photo and read a few snippets of advice in the archives, but I haven’t seen anything which fills me with confidence before undertaking such a momentous step. Here are my questions, in no particular order. Any help if appreciated.

  • Should the radiator be installed before or after the body is joined? How about the carburetors or any other engine attachments?

  • Should the front fender supports (moose horns) be installed before or after? How about the cross bar?

  • Are there any areas where clearances are particularly tight? The fuel lines at the pump look problematic to me.

  • Are there any parts which should be attached to the body before it is lowered?

  • Should felt strips be installed anywhere the body rests on the chassis or only in certain areas? Is there a better material than felt to use for this?

  • Will the spacers affect the fit of the bonnet and boot lids as well as the doors? When in the process should the doors, bonnet and boot lid be mounted?

  • Is there anything else I have forgotten or need to be mindful of? It is always what you never thought of or didn’t worry about that jumps up to bite you.

Thanks for your help.


Here just before I put the body on the chassis.

Bob:

Did you check “Big JIm’s” videos in the archives? He did a body-off on his XK140 FHC a year or so back and posted a series of videos on YouTube of the process.

Chris.

Peter, My chassis looks a lot like yours now but I have the fan and radiator mounted so I could run the engine. Do you recommend having the bonnet latch base mounted beforehand? That is something I have not done.

Chris, I did watch Big Jim’s videos. They were helpful but it was hard to see all the details of his prep before dropping the body.

@Nickolas has excellent advice.

Mine is the 120, so there may be some differences.

  • Should the radiator be installed before or after the body is joined? How about the carburetors or any other engine attachments?

I installed the body with the radiator and carburetors in place. No problem, though you need to lower the body slowly and check progress frequently to avoid foul ups. You should also mount the two radiator finishers either side to the body beforehand, their felts in place, otherwise will afterwards need to slacken the radiator securing rods and tilt the rad backwards to get the finishers in place.

  • Should the front fender supports (moose horns) be installed before or after? How about the cross bar?

Definitely yes for the moose horns (longhorns), otherwise you will not get it in place afterward without cutting it in half and rewelding it in situ - which you do not want to do. The cross bar is optional, but it will be less work installing it beforehand - also to adjust the bonnet side fitment. In addition to slinging the longhorn loosely in the body before lowering onto the frame you should do the same with the steering column, padding it well where it passes through the firewall to prevent scraping the paint. it can be mated to the frame afterward but requires pulling the wing outward for clearance, which has potential to mess it up.

  • Are there any areas where clearances are particularly tight? The fuel lines at the pump look problematic to me.

Fuel lines no problem. It is, as you surmise, a tight fit around the radiator, why you need to proceed slowly, but also in the rear where the sides of the spare tire compartment will just clear the frame outriggers.

  • Are there any parts which should be attached to the body before it is lowered?

As above.

  • Should felt strips be installed anywhere the body rests on the chassis or only in certain areas? Is there a better material other than felt to use for this?

I installed the felt strips around the fuel tank, but not between the body and frame. Yet to be determined if that was the best approach. I suspect there are a few options other than felt, though I can’t recommend any offhand.

  • Will the spacers affect the fit of the bonnet and boot lids as well as the doors? When in the process should the doors, bonnet and boot lid be mounted?

Yes, the spacers affect fitment. The doors, bonnet and bootlid should be mounted to the body with the cockpit braced up to prevent flexing. The boot spacers under the rear upward sweep of the frame have to be right, otherwise the rearmost door shut gaps can be affected. The bonnet fitment is affected slightly by the positioning of the triangular mounts on either side of the engine bay that bolt to the frame - adjustable after the fact in conjunction with bolting in the longhorn.

  • Is there anything else I have forgotten or need to be mindful of? It is always what you never thought of or didn’t worry about that jumps up to bite you.

Whatever wiring you can do ahead of time will make finishing the job easier, but it’s been nine months since I did the job so invite anyone else to chime in.

Nick, Thanks much for your very helpful response. One more question, and this may vary between the 120 and the 140. The 140 moose horns or longhorns could be mounted ahead of time either to the chassis or the body. Which do you suggest? From memory, the crossbar on a 140 passes through two holes just inside the grill. If the crossbar is mounted beforehand, the horns would have to be mounted to the body. This would prevent the radiator from being mounted beforehand as it is attached to the bottom of the horns. Maybe it could be done either way, it just being a case of which is easier.

It may be a different situation with the 140 - others with specific experience with the 140 should chime in - but with the 120 it is not possible to mount the longhorns to the chassis and then lower the body because the body will most definitely not clear. One doesn’t mount the longhorns to the body, either, but slings the thing loosely in place, lowers the body and only then wiggles the thing into position and bolting it to the frame horns. Care must be taken to clear the middle of the longhorns such that the tie plate into which the bonnet latches can be bolted to it.

I would install the longhorn afterwards, they can be moved around a lot.
And the crossbar can only be mounted afterwards.
Maybe better to remove the radiator, and install it later.
This is a very near fit, almost impossible to lower the body without damaging it.
I installed the bonnet latch before, because the bolds are difficult to get to afterwards.
I would not leave the bonnet and boot lid when fitting.
But the doors should be installed.
I used long studs and spacers for the two mounts under the rear window shelf.
I gave me a great reference point to lower the body, and those spacers are very hard to reach after the body is lowered.

Here is how they did it at Browns Lane. Four man crew, plus pipe operator ready to put in the Lucas smoke. :grin:
4-point sling with upper cross bar, special attachment bar in the rear, probably some sort of padded hooks in front. No radiator. No inner lower valence panels. No floors. Brake supply tank tipped over against the engine. Cow horn bar probably slung up inside the body.


When I did my Mark V body, I had a four man crew and we just lifted it by eight hands.
PICT0025
I had extra padding on the chassis, and was able to remove it afterwards and adjust the various pad thicknesses by just jacking up the body where needed.

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Thanks for the additional advice. It sounds like the radiator should go in later as it mounts to the horns on a 140. There are spacers between the top of the horns and the underside of the fenders so these would probably be loosely mounted if at all prior to dropping the body. My body hangs from a wooden structure my father built when he pulled the body off the chassis 25 years ago. It freaks everyone out until they realize that he found the balance point and the whole body will hang perfectly from a single eye bolt. Sometimes it helps to be the son of an engineer.

As did the factory engineers. You can’t see it in the picture, but the whole body is balanced at the angle they wanted it and hanging from a single crane hook. All a matter of spreader bar lengths and sling lengths. The center of mass will always be directly below the hook.

When I was with International Harvester, one of my projects was on a team figuring out the center of mass of a bulldozer. We picked it up at a down angle, took a photo, and drew a vertical line through the crane hook. Then picked it up at an up angle and did the same thing. Where the two lines intersect is the center of mass.

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I am a regular follower of this forum but not a contributor. This thread is of great interest to me as we are finalizing a jig for my 140 for the metal work phase. The body is separate from the frame and although a while away, we are thinking of the process of reuniting the two. Our plan is to restore the chassis, complete paint and then bring them together. I will be following your efforts closely. I will try to get a good photo of our jig and send it soon.

Doug, My original plan was always to build a running chassis and then have the pros do the body work and reunite the body and chassis. After some initial discussions I found that the metal shop and the painter preferred I didn’t put the engine in. It would just get in their way. At first I relented, but eventually said to hell with it and put the engine in. I am very glad I did as it allowed me to start the engine for the first time in 45 years and to trace and correct various fluid leaks and fitment issues when everything was exposed and a dream to work on. It means two trips to the paint shop: one to paint the under body and engine bay, and a second for the final paint with the body on, but it is well worth being able to sort out these issues with the body off. It was also much easier to drop the engine onto the bare chassis. Now I just have to figure out how to drape the body over it.

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I built a temporary cross bars with an eye to hook a wire come-a-long hooked to the rafters.
I had the chassis pretty much complete and running including the cooling system
when I lowered the body down.
I used pieces of cardboard to protect the radiator and a few tight areas.
It was a one man operation at 1/4 inch down at a time.
Hope this helps. Gordon

I fitted the rad first and the carbs . I think the only tight spot was getting sills past the outriggers , and yes keep an eye on the fuel pipes at the pump . I was doing it on my own , if you have some watchers it would help .Good luck .

Peter, and others,
I am interested in trying to determine whether the 5 screws attaching the ‘mounting plate assembly for bonnet catch’ to the body and to the chassis, should be painted body colour or not.
I have taken the liberty of marking up Peters picture, circling the mounting plate in question, already painted body colour and attached to the chassis.

Here is a picture of my ‘140 mounting plate, the arrows show holes for the screws in question. The green arrows indicate holes for screws into chassis, the red arrows indicate holes for screws into body.

I am proposing:
If the already painted mounting plate is attached to the chassis before the body is attached to the chassis, as Peter has done, all the screws would remain unpainted.
If the unpainted mounting plate is attached to the body before the body is attached to chassis, then only the screws attaching the mounting plate to the body would be painted body colour.
If the mounting plate is attached after the body is attached to the chassis, all the screws would remain unpainted.

So, is it even possible to attach the ‘140 body to the chassis with the mounting plate first attached to the body ?
Is it even possible to attach the body to the chassis with the mounting plate first attached to the chassis ?

Thanks for any help !

Looking at the book Jaguar XK140 explored from Bernard Viart.
All components of the mounting plate assembly, Bonnet Catch Assembly and Guide plate are Painted Body Color.
Nothing mentioning if the bolds and screws are Painted, but all bolds and setscrews are a different color in the drawing.
For an example they do mention that all components from the Bonnet hinge including the setscrews are painted body color, and setscrews are in the same color as the rest in the drawings.

Regards, Peter Jan

It’s apparent there are differences of approach to dropping an XK140 body back onto its chassis than the same manoeuvre with an XK120. I did the job back in April last year and recorded the process on video.

I’ll start a new thread showing the process. Link here:

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