Disassembly and Paint Stripping continued...
Both halves of the body plus the bonnet and boot lid have been stripped of paint, with no significant "surprises" found. This is great news. The body now awaits its turn with the media blaster for final stripping and rust scale removal, although our body shop is so full at the moment that space is more of an issue than time.

The chassis and myriad brackets and fittings have returned from the powder coater and are now being reassembled. This work usually progresses quickly, as our technicians have assembled more XKs than they probably care to remember. The rear axle has been freshened with new bearings and seals (the original ring and pinion were in excellent shape and remain) and the casing painted. The steering rack has also been rebuilt with new bearings, bushings and seals. The rack and pinion proper were not sufficiently worn to warrant replacement, but every other wear item is new. The front suspension will be re-assembled with new polyurethane bushings and the ball joints replaced. We will re-use the original torsion bars, but the rear leaf springs will be replaced with new units as the originals were badly worn and contained some broken leaves.

Next Installment: Mechanical Restoration/Re-Assembly Continues...