I’ve
owned my 1999 Antigua Blue Jaguar XK8 convertible for a few years now and,
there’s no polite way of saying this, she was starting to show her age in
certain areas.
Tin
worm was becoming evident on the rear arches, the nose cone and bonnet had
picked up some scratches and stone chips and a member of the family, who shall
remain unidentified for the purposes of this, had been unfortunate enough to
reverse her into a low brick wall, leaving a significant dent in the passenger door.
There
have been worrying cases of XK8s of this era being found to have major rust
issues in the floorpan. This was designed with a double skin and a step where
the two levels of the floorpan meet, which unfortunately acts as a trap. I’ve
seen XK8s that are outwardly immaculate put up on ramps to reveal severe
corrosion that amounts to either a very hefty bill indeed or, in fact, a one-way
trip to the scrapyard.
So
it was last month that I decided the time had arrived to stick mine up on a
ramp, have a good poke around and address the issues that we had already
identified. For the purposes of this we took her over to Autoclassico at Henfield,
South Gloucestershire (www.autoclassico.co.uk). Mike Mercer and his team are
very highly regarded by the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club (www.jec.org.uk), among
others and a quick wander around their yard is enough to show that very many
classic owners put their trust in them, from servicing to complete rebuilds.
Cars in the yard ranged from E type, Series II and Series I and III XJ Jaguars,
a very original 3.0l Mark One Capri, an Oscar India Aston V8, a gorgeous little
Fraser Nash sports car and a glorious coachbuilt 1930s Daimler van.
Firstly,
up on the ramp and a look at what was potentially the biggest task we faced,
that floorpan. And immediately things were looking less foreboding than I was
concerned they might – it proved to be almost entirely solid, save for a bit of
surface rust that we cleaned up before applying a thick coating of rust
proofing to safeguard the immediate future. “This is becoming more the
exception than the rule these days for XK8s from this time,” says Mike. “If you’ve
got one and you haven’t had a look, now really is the time to get it up on a
ramp for a poke around.”
Next,
the rear arches and the sills. The amount of metal we had to remove to be
certain we had caught all the rot turned out to be a little greater than I had
imagined and looking back at the pictures I think it’s a blessing that I chose
to get this done now rather than leave it any longer. Autoclassico fabricated
replacements, rustproofed them and welded them in.
Following
this, the door repair. This turned out to be pretty straightforward although
the rubbing strip which runs down the side of the car turned out to be more
problematic. This is just held on with glue and in the following very hot days
has shown itself to be unwilling to remain attached to the car on a couple of
occasions. Mike is confident they have permanently secured it now, although I’ve
resisted asking him how! Some things are better left untold!
Finally
the front end was rubbed down and the areas worked on sent into their paint
booth for the reapplication of a few fresh layers of Antigua Blue.
The
result, as I’m sure you will agree, is stunning. The quality of the work is
beyond reproach. It was a blessing that it transpired that the car hadn’t been
afflicted with the dreaded floor rot, but the price of all the other bodywork
came to £900, including VAT. A very worthwhile investment indeed that has
breathed new life into the vehicle and left her once again looking as she deserves to.
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