I’m helping with the reassembly of an XK140 OTS that was taken apart many years ago, and we’re trying to identify all the missing parts. There are two missing panels that close a rectangular space between the bottom of the scuttle and the bottom of the wings on each side of the car. This rectangular space is below the air vents and measures approximately 2 inches by 12 inches.
Does anyone know the part numbers for these closing panels and if replacements are available from suppliers? Also, does anyone have photos of these panels in case we need to fabricate them?
Maybe closing panels isn’t the correct term. What I’m trying to identify are the horizontal panels below and to the rear of the vertical panels in your photo. I think these panels attach to the lower bolt hole in the vertical panels and then close the horizontal space parallel to the chassis beneath the air vents. This space is about 12” X 2”.
I see the space you mean, Mike, but there is nothing in it on my car nor was there when I took it apart. The LHS is partially blocked by the battery box support anyway. Maybe the DHC did not have these panels although I can find no reference to them in any of the parts lists I have for any of the model variations.
Eric, on my XK120 OTS, these spaces have folded sheet metal panels filling them, so I assumed there must be panels for the XK140. But I cannot find any mention of these panels in the XK120 Spare Parts Catalogue or XK120 Explored. Without something to close these spaces, I would think the front tyres would propel rain water up into the cavity below and adjacent to the air vents.
I’ll try to post some photos of the XK120 panels later today. Thanks for your help!
Here’s a photo of the panel filling the horizontal space below the air vents on the right hand wing of my XK120.
The upper side of the panel fits under the bottom edge of the front wing.
The lower side of the panel abuts the bottom edge of the sill.
The right side of the panel abuts the bottom of the vertical “J-shaped” panel shown in Eric’s photo.
The left side of the panel abuts the cavity below the bottom door hinge.
The XK140 OTS I’m helping reassemble is missing these panels. If they were original equipment on the XK140, I’m wondering what the part numbers are and whether they are being sold by any of the XK suppliers.
Similarly, my 140 DHC has no horizontal panels closing that space.
All along I have assumed they had just rusted away, and didn’t get replaced by anyone.
Does anyone have a picture of what they may look like on a 140 ( if they do exist) ?
Your photo is interesting. I have had my XK120 for some 56 years and I do not recall it ever having those panels, although like Gary states, given the mess the car was in after 10 years exposure to road salt I suppose they could have rusted away I have, subsequently, fitted some made out of aluminum mainly to protect the area below the door hinges. Not so much from rain as, unless I get caught in a shower, it does not get exposed, however, when the manure spreaders switch fields and deposit spill on the country roads it frequents, well, that’s a different story.
I went on bring-a-trailer to look at the underside photos of XK120s and XK140s. Most of these panels seem to have rusted away, but I found a few cars with the horizontal panels still intact.
This panel is known as the Road Dirt, Mud and Water Collection System. After a few years it is known as the Dirt and Rust Redistribution and Road Replenishment System.
After a few more years it is known as Air.
There is just enough left on the left side of mine to recognize that it once was what Mike has. The right side is just a few shreds of rusty steel.
I’m replacing this area right now on my 140DHC, which is a remarkably rust-free '55 car that (genuinely) spent its life in California - and was stored since the early eighties. I dismantled it last year and there were no panels like those described present. The fourth photo Mike has posted in post #9 looks to me like the underside of the hinge frame structure, not a weather-proofing panel. I think the horizontal metal visible is the base of the bottom channel of this structure, which fills easily with water and rusts through.
It may be that earlier cars, or possibly owners aware of this problem, made up closing plates to fix to this channel which helped to stop water and spray getting up into this area. However this would also have the knock-on effect of stopping it leaving, too. Luckily we now have better proofing systems, such as Dinitrol. For my part, rather than fit a closing panel here I’ll make a couple of drain holes in the channel.
