Underbody

Repairing all of the body under-structure - sills, jacking points, wheel arches, inner wings, front cross-member, crows feet and brace.

The photos above were sent by the vendor and show that the floor, exhaust and suspension have been relatively well protected and aren't in too bad a state.

The photos below show the worst area of rust. The front RH jacking point has rusted through and there's a big hole running along the jointing flange along the sill.

Monday 23rd January 2017

The S-Type doesn't have an MOT currently and it wouldn't pass one either as the biggest and first challenge I have is to sort out the rust underneath. Fortunately the place I bought it from was next door to a place with a commercial vehicle inspection pit so with a little negotiation I was able to drive it on and have a good look. It was not all good looking as you can see below..

The next area of concern (as is typical for mk1, mk2 and S-Type/420 cars) is the brace to the front crossmember and crowsfoot. It was difficult to tell how much was surface rust and how much was more serious so again this is my first task when I collect the car. Fortunately replacement panels are available and I will get metal bashing if I need to patch things up.

Saturday 28th January 2017

To do my initial inspection I have taken off the front bumper and front valence (which is good enough to be cleaned, repainted and reused).

Behind it though, the lower front crossmember, braces (which you can see in the picture above running at an angle from the bottom right) and probably the crows feet (the panel wth the holes in under the side and indicator lights) all need replacing. As I suspected this area is quite bad but fortunately replacements are off the shelf parts from specialists as they are typical areas to rust and are shared with the mk2.

www.martinrobey.com/jaguar/interactive-parts/diagrams/37/mk1-mk2-240-340-v8-daimler-underframe-outer/

landieman.com/2016/08/16/remaining-body-repairs-part-1/

This is where the internet becomes very useful as there are people out the doing similar things..in this case in New Zealand with parts from Martin Robey.

Sunday 5th February 2017

Well it has been quite an intense week! I spent 9 hours last Sunday and Tuesday and Wednesday evenings learning about how much needs doing and starting to cut away the rot underneath the RH side of the car. The sill is quite rotten along the bottom flange and the rear jacking point doesn't tie into the sill reinforcer anymore either. The RH rear wheel arch needs quite a lot of rebuilding too and there's a lot of filler lurking around the rear door shut. I have also found the (structural) RH longitudinal that runs underneath the floor is rotten at a key point too. I've really got my work cut out (cutting out quite literally!!).

I have placed an order with Martin Robey for the front crossmember (it'll be about 3 weeks for the crossmember to come into stock) and the other bits for the front end rebuild so in the meantime I'm going to concentrate on the sills and wheel arches.

Pictures above showing the cut away outer sill which reveals the rusty sill reinforcer and joint to the inner sill. I think there's enough to work from though to put my sheet metal working skills to the test!

The view above shows the view down the sill from the now cut away rear wheel arch. The outer sill is on the right and the sill reinforcer has holes in it. The vertical elements are sound, where they go horizontal is where the rot lurks.

The picture above is of the cut away RHF jacking point. A lot of the jacking point where it is welded to the floor is sound but the jacking point itself was not in a good state!

The sketch above shows what I think it going on and shows where I'm going to need to rebuild.

The picture above shows the axle stand under the trailing arm mount. There's a strap connected to that mount that bolts twice into the longitudinal. The bolts were in very rusty metal and crunched out rather than undid so I've had to cut out the longit too..

The picture above shows the start of the 2mm thick longit patch panel I've made with holes for the bolts which need captive nuts welding in. Fortunately for me, the next village 2 miles away has a fabrication business that have lots of good sheet metal off-cuts for me to use.

The pictures above show the trailing (radius) arm 'strap' removed from the car. The plate with the nuts welded on then the plate welded into place (handy tip from a colleague - always weld on nuts with the bolts fitted or you'll probably distort the nut making it useless!). The blackened panels show where I have been rust treating and I will get some rust protection into the longitudinal before welding up the rest of the longit.

Tuesday 7th February 2017

Did a few jobs this evening. Nearly finished boxing in the longit as shown in the above right picture. I also took out the RH fuel tank and the straps as they both need rust treating, plus I need the tank out of the way as I'm going to need to cut, clean and weld in new steel around the rear of the rear RH wheel arch and rear wing.

The fuel tank has surface corrosion on one side but is showing no signs of leaking so I'm going to rust proof it and tidy it up as much as possible before reinstalling.

The inner wing (below right) needs taking back to bare metal and rust treating lower down and new metal replacing the leading edge of the rear wing and the bottom flange but it is looking good and well protected further up.

It looks like it is a replacement fuel tank due to the Martin Robey sticker.

I will be rooting through the two large folders to cover the car's history in more detail at some point.

I also removed the rear bumper as I need it out of the way to sort the body and I'm wanting to take off the tow bar which isn't in keeping with the car in my opinion (wonder if I'd get anything for it on eBay..?).

Wednesday 8th February 2017

Finished work late this evening so didn't have too long. Very unglamourous job as well - removing underseal from the fuel tank to get back to paint or rust! I used the petrol that had been in the tank to scrub it all off. Looks like the tank has been replaced in the past as it has a Martin Robey sticker on it!

I'm pleased to find that the tank is sound, more pictures to follow showing the rust treatment!

I also took the fuel tank straps (one of which I've had to repair), two of the bumper irons, radius arm strap, front indicator brackets and rear seatbelt reinforcement plate home to prep and paint with POR-15

Saturday & Sunday 11th & 12th February 2017

On Friday I collected a box of body parts from Martin Robey in Nuneaton. The cross-member isn't ready yet but I have the rest of the parts to build up the front end and both of the RH jacking points.

I was intending to work on the rear RH jacking point but the rear suspension radius arm needs to be moved first as this sits just inboard of the jacking point. I struggled to get the bush to detach from its mounting point under the chassis longit so decided to make progress on the rear of the wheel arch and the lower part of the rear wing.

Above, I have cut out the bottom part of the wheel arch

This is the view into the RH fuel tank cavity. There' a little surface rust but most of it is sound. Only the lower part of the wing needs cutting out and replacing.

This is the view up to the hole for the fuel filler neck and fuel pipe.

Above (top) is the rusty lower wing with the work in progress inner and outer panels I am making from sheet steel.

Here you can see where I got to on Saturday, having welded in the inner panel I have made.

The view from the inside before I have ground the welds down a bit

I spent a long time fashioning this panel to fit as well as possible before welding in place.

..and the rebuilt lower rear part of the wheelarch/inner wing.

I have also cut out the old RHR jacking point with an air hammer/chisel. It took a lot of persuasion to come off.

New (left) and old (right) - The vertical reinforcement you can kind of see on the new part simply wasn't there which wasn't ideal!

Above location of the removed RHR jacking point which needs cleaning up and repairing now in preparation for the new jacking point.

Tuesday 14th February 2017

I spent a very unromantic Valentines Day evening grinding and welding in preparation for the new rear RH jacking point. In the end it made sense to cut a section out of the longitudinal and weld in a fresh plate.

I then did some trial fitting for the jacking point before welding the two separate pieces together. My next task will be preparing the sill reinforcement and inner sill ready to weld this in place.

I have rust proofed and primed any exposed metal in the fuel tank cavity and applied some U-POL seam sealant (in the light yellow colour). I will spray in Dinitrol anti stone chip paint before re-fitting the cleaned up fuel tank.

Monday 20th February 2017 - RH Inner sill and rear jacking point

Key to repairing the whole of the sill starts with this inner sill repair. I have cut and ground back the rusty inner sill to good metal and have prepared the repair section above to weld in place from the inside face as shown on the RH picture above. It isn't particularly clear on the picture on the left but on the right you can see I have included a flange which the sill reinforcer and the outer sill will both be welded to.

These 3 pictures show where I have got to welding the rear RH jacking point into place. I'm determined to ensure that it is really well located with good welds all around on the inside and outside faces as well as on the vertical reinforcer. It is really good to get to this point as it shows I've made a lot of progress since coming across the rotten rear jacking point. I'm looking forward to completing the rear wheel arch and sill so I can get onto the exterior repair panels around the rear door before moving onto the front jacking point.

Tuesday 21st February 2017

I spent this evening completing the jacking point welding, rust proofing (hence the black colour) and repairing the holes in the wheel arch eyebrow on the rear wing.

Rear jacking point from the rear wheel arch. My next task will be to rebuild the wheel arch in this area to cover most of this back up!

Jacking point from the side looking up. Note the nice new inner sill flange at the top of the picture.

Not so easy to tell from this picture but I have cut out the rusty metal from around the wheel arch and started patching in good new metal.

I'm scraping off the old underseal in the wheels arch to reveal a bit of surface rust or the original red oxide primer (which is good to see). Hard work with a wood chisel but it does the job! Once done I can rust treat, prime, seam seal and anti-stone chip..

Friday 25th February 2017

I worked on preparing to finish the rear wheel arch and tying in the inner sill with the sill reinforcer.

Above I have joined the sill reinforcer with the inner sill. The left picture is the view down the sill and the right picture shows the plate now linking the two from below again. This jacking point is going to be very solid!

This picture shows where I have got to repairing the wheel arch. Tomorrow I'll be finishing it off and preparing the rest for priming and painting.

Saturday - Sunday 25th-26th February 2017

I spent a lot of time this weekend working on finishing the "A surface" outer panel creation for the wheel arch into the sill and the rebuild of the inner wheel arch.

BEFORE I have also resprayed the fuel tank ready to go back in... AFTER

Wednesday 8th March 2017

This evening I sprayed Dinitrol anti-stone chip into the fuel tank cavity and rear RH wheel arch and refitted the RH fuel tank. Ultimately I'd like to make this body colour. While this wouldn't be the original finish it would look really good and make it easier to clean.

FUEL TANK BEFORE

FUEL TANK AFTER

Friday - Saturday - Sunday 11-12th March 2017

This weekend I have continued to work rebuilding the RH sill up to the front RH jacking point and for a bit of a change started working on stripping the wooden door trims and door cards for refurbishment (see the Interior page)

The pictures above show the panels I have made to rebuild the box forward of the rear RH jacking point (I don't know what the use if it is other than to reinforce the longitudinal to the sill and provide a mounting point for the handbrake cable bracket..)

In the image above you can see the underfloor box in place and the rebuilt sill which completes the RH rear structural renovation. Seam sealing and rust/stone chip protection will follow.

The picture above shows where I have cut out the front jacking point that is welded to the longitudinal, the floor panel under the driver's feet and the inner sill.

Due to corrosion on the inner sill I have had to cut a hole in the floor to allow be to properly rebuild and reinforce the inner sill to provide the structure to mount the front RH jacking point. It was necessary to match the panel form on the floor.

With that all done I have been able to weld the new front jacking point in place.

25th March - 21st April 2017

I have spent the last few weeks working forwards down the RH side to:

Rebuild the sill

Replace the corroded panel where the rear of the front wing blends into the sill.

Fabricate a new wing 'baffle' to rebuild the panel the ties in the inner wheel arch to the wing/wheel arch. This is a complex shape so has been quite challenging.

Complete the toe board rebuild where I cut a hole in the floor (wet carpet and feet isn't a good idea).

The image above, though not entirely clear probably best illustrates the complicated area I have been working on. Inside the wheel arch, the lower rear wing into the sill, the towboard/bulkhead and the wheel arch eyebrow. I have discovered reasonably thick filler and original lead loading.

The above images show what I have had to cut out and where I have added reinforcement for the jacking point and sill, before rust proofing prior to adding the outer panels.

Above...fabricating, priming and welding on the new panels work in progress...

Finishing off the sill rebuild and the inner wing 'baffle' ties it all together nicely and will stop water ingress into the sill. I'm really pleased with how this has gone. Just need to finish off tidying the wheel arch eyebrow now before the filling and paint prep can begin.

20th-23rd April 2017

Before I can sort replace the front structure and replace the front crossmember I needed the front suspension out of the way. Fortunately it is bolted to the longitudinals seperately to the engine. The hazy picture above was taken after midnight after a frustrating removal as I couldn't get the steering column to disconnect from the steering box. It'll need a good clean and worn joints and bushes replacing - see the suspension page.

The front longitudinal was a mess and in need some some significant surgery. As you can see above I have set to with the angle grinder and taken away the rot. Fortunately I don't need to cut out the brackets that drop down for the front subframe mounts as that would mean extra work and care to ensure the geometry was correct.

The weather was lovely so I took a break from working indoors under the car to rust strip and repaint the anti roll bar and brackets, plus the brake vacuum reserve tank (different to the standard one for some reason) and the bumper irons.

May 2017

The front longitudinal rebuild is well underway now and I'm getting close to getting the front crossmember ready to fit too.

BEFORE

AFTER

I have been rebuilding the longitudinal in 2mm sheet so it is really strong, it just makes it a lot harder to shape!

The LH longitudinal was in a lot better shape than the RH one. Only the front 10cm needed repairing. This has allowed me to get some rust preventative in the cavity and I'll follow it later with some cavity wax.

I have also been able to continue the repairs to the front RH wing.

Further fabrication is necessary underneath the grille aperture. I'm sure part of this is available ready made but it doesn't look too difficult so I'll have a go myself!

These pictures show the very satisfying stage when I finally got the new front cross member welded into place and attached to the RH crows foot. This leaves the front structure much stronger than it used to be. The LH front crows foot will be following once I have made another corner valence repair panel..!

I have fabricated a new saddle below the grille 3 parts, 1 - behind the grille, 2 - below the grille and 3 the reinforcement panel underneath to complete this area.

Then I moved around to the valence underneath the LH indicator prior to fitting the new LH crows foot. I am now concentrating on rust proofing the whole wheel arch and seam sealing, before priming and a fresh U-POL stone chip covering.

August 2017

Having moved house I've not done anything on the car for a month and need to get back on it! I'm working cutting back and rebuilding the LH sill. This is in a very similar state to the RH sill. The vertical parts are all rot free, but the horizontal bits have all rusted through. First of all I have had to cut away the outer sill, then the sill reinforcer, then parts of the inner sill until I get back to good metal. Fortunately the vertical bits have enough left on them to rebuild.

In the picture above you can see where I have been rebuilding the inner sill. Despite some surface rust (which is being rust treated and protected before being boxed back in) I have cut back to where the steel is solid to provide a good weld.

The picture above show the rusty rear LH jacking point and rear suspension trailing arm. Initially the jacking point looked sound, but further checks proved that it needed to be cut out and replaced.

In order to rebuild this rear end of the LH sill I have had to cut through the outer sill and will have to cut through the front of the wheel house to get access..