Hi guys. We just bought this Jag 2 weeks ago and is worst than i was expecting. Now that the money are wasted ,at least to fix it. I will try to upload pics from the start until now. Mostly i have videos wich i will upload on youtube .i will come back with more pictures soon as in this moment all interior is out ,sunroof is out,fenders+bumper+headlights+hood down. I have to replace the floor as there are holes all around,sidepanels need to be rebuilt,and the roof i want to replace it with the one that i have from the other car. The thing is that i donât have any ideea about how to do that. Thanks
New user,so i can upload only 1 picture.
here is the donor car ,you can adjust up and down at the one that i am fixing i can only push or pull,so if anybody can advice me about fitting this one i will apreciate here is the one that i am fixing now. I can adjust by pulling or pushing but not up or down i try to remove the rear bumper but the screws keep spinning,i will have to find out about that i broke the window while i try to remove. The donor car have it,i hope i can be more careful while i remove that one so i donât have to buy one. donor car.i hope i can cut this roof and weld it on the other one. I donât have any ideea from were to start. Sorry,my english is not so good. I apologize sunroof from donor car wich is different from the other one.this one have the motor in front while the other one in the rear. But is stuck,i canât manually spin this one to open it.also bigerâŚi donât know how to take it out,it doesnât fit on the doorsđ¤ donor car dashboard wich i plan to mount on the other car as ther other one is black and i have full white/cream inside .
The donor car have a lot less rust,i canât swap anything as i donât have any papers on donor car,but i hope i can use it to replace the floor,side panels,roof and some frames if i am alowed to cut and weld the frames. I know nothing about restaurations but i am a fast learner and a lot of ambition. Giving up is not an option as i will be loosing money so better to fix it better than it came out from factory and enjoy the rideđ.
Any advice is 1000 times apreciated. Thank you
If you have your heart set on it, check out some of the truly great restorations, and the effort involved, over on E-Type. This XJ40 wonât in this lifetime be worth the time and effort youâll need to put into it. After about 5 years of working full time on the body bits, youâll be just about ready to spend another full 2 years chasing mechanical and electrical gremlins. IMO, unless youâre just determined that this is the hobby you want to pursue, there are much better and more worthy examples of XJ40s to go after that arenât that far gone.
1 Like
Siriusblue i know it.when i bought the car i didnât expect all this. But now the money are wasted ,so at least to fix it and enjoy it. I just canât accept the loss of money.I hope i will finish it this year. All the rust,painting,brakes and suspension.2 weeks ago when i bought the car everything was working except driver window and sunroof.is there any book where i can see the welding points of the body? So i know from where i can start to cut? I am very glad that somebody actually look at my post. I tought i am all alone. Thanks
There were lots of changes between early production cars and late models. The steering wheel adjustment on the late cars is just up and down while early cars went in and out as you have found out.
Iâm not sure why the sunroof has a different mount for the motor, but the Jaguar parts catalog online can show you some of the changeover differences between the various model year productions. The catalog goes by the VIN number of the car rather than year so make a note of both carâs VIN before you go online to look.
If you look up a part the catalog will say things like âup to VIN 698820â - that will mean the part may not fit a later VIN car, etc.
This is a big job you have taken on, good for you!
It will be a lot of work but Iâm sure you are aware of that.
The Jaguar parts catalog online:
https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/parts/index/hierarchy/id/C01/brand/jaguar/
Good luck!
you can have a look at this resource as well, it may help too
Where are you located ?
That is a ton of work. If you are interested, I am going to be putting up for sale an award winning 92 VDP Majestic for most likely less money than youâll have into both cars and repairs. My wife and I have owned the car for 11 years and put abut 10,000 miles on it. It has just over 57,000 miles on it. You could strip, part out and scrap the two cars you have and have a ton of spares for the Majestic. Contact me if you have any interest.
If you question why I am selling, I am restoring a 59 XK150, building a performance based 1988 XJ-S and I have a number of other cars accumulated that need restored, and/or maintained and I am not a wealthy man.
Thank you very much Larry Stephen! 1 more question. The car is on Holland papers but i live in Denmark.so when it is ready i need to have it inspected for registering in Denmark. Any ideea if i am allowed to cut frame from the other one and weld on this one? As i canât find new parts and i am not so good about modeling the metal. Iâve never welded or painted or anything until now,butâŚi am open to learn everything. As you said,big job and i am in a big hurry to finish it. Thank you for your help
Hi Andrei. What you have taken on is a huge commitment in time and money, even for an experienced restorer. When you add in the uncertainty about cutting âframesâ and inspections it further complicates things. If you decide to go ahead there are lots of people on Jag Lovers who will be glad to advise you but first I think you need to take a step back and re evaluate what you are trying to achieve. You have already spent the money on a car that was not what you expected in terms of condition. There is no possibility of recovering that money by trying to fix these major deficiencies. Even the tools to properly do a restoration are more expensive than the final value of the car is likely to be. As has been already suggested, if you are set on an xj40 get a solid one that has been examined by a knowledgeable jag mechanic and sell the two you have for parts. It will be much cheaper and you will have a car to drive instead of a multi year restoration soaking up more and more money. Good luck with whatever you decide.
2 Likes
Some good advice from Geoff - If you eBay good parts, you can recover all your money plus a lot more. There is a large XJ40 population right next door in Sweden and Iâm sure they all need parts! Some parts even fit some XJS cars with 6 cylinder engines.
From what youâve shown in your pics, this is a huge re+re and you MIGHT be way ahead by doing just what Geoff suggests, sell off the bits and get another car that requires far less sorting out with the money you make.
Iâm not saying your project canât be done, itâs just that from an XJ40âs owner perspective, you have an enormous task ahead of you.
You guys are right,is a lot of work that need a lot of things. But i will go ahead.i have another xj40 that is not rusted in the same spots. I only have doubts because i donât have a manual or pictures with the points where the parts/frames are welded,so i can start to cut and weld on the other one. Until now i need to replace the floor,side panels+what is together with the side panels under the car(i donât know the name of many parts),pillar A,roof and in the engine bay a small section. After will be working on suspension and brakes. Now that i see all the rust i am thinking also about giving up. ButâŚthat feeling when i will drive this thing,my workâŚall of it knowing how bad it was and how good i can make it. I just need to do it guysâŚ
1 Like
Fair enough. Good luck on your restoration and I am sure the xj40 guys will be able to give you good advice. Make sure you have correct safety equipment and be very careful about fire safety when welding. It is always a good idea to do some other task for a half an hour or so before leaving the work area after any welding.
1 Like
Hi, I think you need to join a restoration course and take some lessons first. Repairing the metalwork of a vehicle properly requires a high and varied skill set and it takes most people years to learn how to do it to a professional level. I think even highly skilled experienced restorers would baulk at swapping the roof on an xj40. The people who own and run good restoration shops have all the necessary chassis jigs and associated equipment to mount and brace the car to prevent the shell twisting and deforming, they would KNOW what they are doing but probably wouldnât attempt it.
If you canât enrol on to a restoration course at least join an on line one so you can gain a proper idea of exactly what you need to learn.
I hope Iâm not putting you off and I wish you well with your project but the work required for your car is definitely not something a total novice could undertake without some instruction and hands on practice first. Good luck.
1 Like
Thank you for the advice Geoff! Good info about working a bit more after welding. Just in case,you never knowđ
Thank you Casso. I will have to give it a try. I do make all the time research online. Also i am used to work on cars. I do small stuff for my cars. But this is first time when i work on such a rusted car
Keep 'em coming and good luck!