To strip or not to strip

[cmdrew]

Well I think I have caught the bug. My S2 OTS is shiny but obviously has been quickly sprayed to sell so what lies beneath? It is heavily undersealed, again obviously done recently but a poke around with a screwdriver has not revealed any horrors so far although there is obviously some filler above the rear bumper.



I am wondering now whether to get underneath and in the wheel arches at the back and scrape off all of the underseal to get a better look at the body condition? I have lifted the carpets and the floors look fine but you never know... I suspect this will quickly turn it much more of a strip down than i had anticipated as I would like get this looking and working much better!

[mgcjag]

Hi Chris.....once you start you will be in to thousands of pounds.......so condider very carefully......get a professional inspection first......use a fridge magnet over the paint. ........also consider selling it on and useing the restoration cash to purchase something you would be more happy with....once you start be orepared for it will be off the road for at least 2 years.......Steve

[abowie]

It all comes down to what you can afford and what you want to achieve.

If you want the security of knowing that you have a bulletproof body with good paint and no rust then strip the car and do a ground up.

If you're happy with the look and feel of the car and you just want to drive it then that's easy and cheap.

It really depends on how you view the car.

[mgcjag]

Have you searched for the car on xke data......if its on there there may be photos

[cmdrew]

Don't get me wrong - love the car but I can see I can improve it (over time). No intention of a complete strip down but for example, dropping the IRS out and going through it is something that can easily be done over winter. Bad example though as that looks pretty good! I do however know that it is the body which is most likely to give issues so want to be reasonably sure that it is as solid as it appears to be but there is a lot of underseal in the way! Of course after inspection, I would probably end up undersealing it again!

Next jobs on the agenda are new carpets and harduras, complete the electrical inspection (needs an ignition switch and wiper switch) and set the valve clearances as they all seem to be set at 9 thou which isn't too bad for exhaust but rather loose on the intake side and it does make the engine sound rather 'tappy'. I like tinkering and so far I haven't really found anything which is outside of my comfort zone.

[mgcjag]

Hi Chris....old hard underseal isnt the easiest thing to remove.....iv just done the complete underside and chassis of an xk150......a sharp wood chisel is the best tool that i found to work....and a blow lamp to soften...and a rag soked in white spirit to cleen up......beware useing a blow lamp around your fuel line/ tank area.....yes.....drop out the irs then strip the whole of the rear underside......but think first what your going to do if under the wings its rust/ filler and you poke through to the outside.....its then more work and paint......Steve

[tim wood]

I stripped the inner wings of my bonnet and rear arches which were coated in thick under seal. The intention anyway was a full repaint and doing this myself saved cash.

I used a variety of scrapers and a hot air gun. Not difficult but a messy task. Good gloves are a must ( along with other PPE) hot sticky underseal on your arms is unpleasant!

[cmdrew]

Have you searched for the car on xke data......if its on there there may be photos

Just checked, nothing recorded as yet but I have posted a couple of pictures and a request for any further information as I have no history for it as yet.

[DWW]

When I bought mine I went to my painter to check a few things since there were a few areas of rust bubbling on the the top of both wings. My intention was to inspect the bonnet but after removing some paint we found that those areas have already been repaired and the rust around the repairs was worse than we initially thought that combined with the fact all the bonnet components were welded together.

Next we checked the rest of the body, the news wasn’t good. Three years later and many thousands spent including a new bonnet from Jaguar Classics (6 months wait), a ground up nut and bolt restoration, I got my dream car.

So probably the message here is think before you strip