Jaguar/Daimler S3 corroded floor

[RB CV8]

Inspecting a Series 3 Daimler that I was interested in buying, I discovered some underbody corrosion that put me off the car, but I would appreciate the opinion of someone more familiar with the model before I give up on it completely.

From inside the car with the carpet up, I noted a line of corrosion where the passenger side front floor panel meets the transmission tunnel. Looking from under the car, there is a "chassis" rail adjacent to the tunnel, and between that and the floor it appears rather crusty. The rail itself looks and feels sound, but it is possible to push the floor upwards slightly away from the rail over a length of a few inches (though the "crusty" area is perhaps 12-18 ins in all).

The corrosion has started beneath the car and is not a result of water ingress inside.

The car is appealing in other respects, with no other issues elsewhere underneath, and even though I don't particularly want a "project", I don't want to pass it up if this is, in reality, no big deal.

I would appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone more familiar with rusty Jags than I, especially if they have dealt with this sort of issue; should I reconsider, or walk away?

Thanks.

[larrylamb11]

I would be very surprised if it had rust there but nowhere else! If it has gone there I would also expect to see corrosion around the rear radius arm mounts and front of the sill, inside the front wheelarch etc. Its been a good few years since I was playing with these old Jags and they did rot ferociously - at the end of the day, any rust can be fixed, it just depends how deep your pockets are. What you describe is a classic area for it. If you really like the car I would try and get another look at it and do a very thorough investigation to see where else it has rust - like I say, it would be pretty remarkable to have rot there but not in the radius arm mounts or anywhere else. If it turns out to be genuinely rust-free other than what you first spotted, you can make a value decision across the repair cost spectrum, ranging from whacking a plate over it to doing the repair properly (a reasonably lengthy if straightforward job which involves stripping out the interior etc.).
At the end of the day, these old S3s are getting pretty thin on the ground and finding a nice one is harder and harder. A rusty one is a proper money-pit though.

[9mm]

It surprises me that the rust has started underneath. That model is prone to leaking, the front footwell insulation soaks up the water and the front floors can rot out. Harder to spot nowadays as so few are daily drivers so when you wheel them out of the garage to inspect, the footwells are bone dry. What are rear radius arms like where they meet the rear sill area? That could be terminal/uneconomic to repair.

[swisstoni]

My biggest motoring mistake was buying a bad one of these. Their ability to rust is staggering. As previously mentioned, that rust on the floor is most likely from the inside. They used to corrode around the front and rear windscreens and this will have been repaired over the years with varying degrees of success in terms of water tightness.

I was prepared for rust to appear on doors, sills and valances but faced with the prospect of having to have the screens out and the apertures repaired properly i decided to abandon ship.

I'm glad I did but I still miss that car. If it didn't want to bankrupt me I'd still have it 10 years later.

[RB CV8]

Thanks all for the input.

The car is far from a rot-box; the only area of concern on the outer body is at the base of one wing, and the overall appearance is that of a lovely car. It is a low-mileage car with loads of paperwork and the interior is mint.

Radius arm mounts are solid, and although there are a couple of localised areas of flaking underseal that have resulted in some surface corrosion, there is no "rot" underneath other than the area I have described. It is only the passenger side too; the driver's side is fine.

The carpets and sound-deadening are undamaged, including the strips that line the ribs in the floorpan, and the metalwork in the footwells, other than a line where the nearside meets the tunnel, is clean, sound and with no signs of having been damp, which is why I am convinced the problem began underneath and not as a result of water ingress. No real surprise in that I would have thought, given that it is two areas of steel joined together.

The car certainly deserves to have the problem dealt with properly, not simply patched, I am just not sure I want to be the one to do it. My intention was to buy a car I don't have to have any remedial work carried out on any time soon, as I have enough on my plate already.

I'm not confident of accurately estimating how much this work might cost me, so I'm erring towards leaving it, which is a shame.

[swisstoni]

Possibly get a Jag restorer to give it a once over?

[Sid's Dad]

OP, your instincts are shouting a loud message to you: walk away!! Understandably, you've looked for a reason to ignore your instincts and buy it, but your instincts are not budging. I agree good series 3s are hard to find (actually they're quite easy to find: Turn up at Hurst Park or Robert Hughes with about £10k and you can probably choose your colour) but they aren't exactly hen's teeth.

You already know what to do - walk away - so don't let the rest of us talk you into looking for more reasons not to!

[RB CV8]

The fact that the car is my preferred spec in my favourite colour was deterring me from just giving up the idea, however, after a thoughtful lunch hour in the office I have decided to leave this one.

Thanks again all.

[lowdrag]

Sounds to me that the rot is in exactly the right place for aircon drain tube blockages. A very common occurrence.

[richw_82]

RB CV8 said:

From inside the car with the carpet up, I noted a line of corrosion where the passenger side front floor panel meets the transmission tunnel. Looking from under the car, there is a "chassis" rail adjacent to the tunnel, and between that and the floor it appears rather crusty. The rail itself looks and feels sound, but it is possible to push the floor upwards slightly away from the rail over a length of a few inches (though the "crusty" area is perhaps 12-18 ins in all).

I would appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone more familiar with rusty Jags than I, especially if they have dealt with this sort of issue; should I reconsider, or walk away?

Thanks.

Hi,

I'm assuming the 'rail' you describe is the one that has a right angle section to it running along the edge of the transmission tunnel under the car? If so it forms part of a double skin with the floor panels laying over it at quite a width. The original floors lay over it then are stepped (the geabox mount is bolted through it) and are joined in the middle at the top of the tunnel.

The rust starts in the joint between rail and floor, and swells, breaking the floor away. If not stopped it will creep along the length, and the trapped moisture will start breaking through the floor panel. If its not gone too far, you can have the joint blasted, treated and sealed. If its gone badly it will need cutting out and fresh metal putting in.

Based on your post about rust at the base of the wing... have a look inside and inspect closely the inner sill/floor joint (its usually covered by the side carpet pieces and difficult to see properly.) Check right in the very front corner. Series 3's have a party trick of rusting the inner before the outer thanks to poor sealing windscreens. The moisture goes straight down the inside of the front door pillar into the sill. A usfull tell tale is often rust around the puddle light switch or a bubble on the panel joint near the front door hinges.

The sad fact is if you have an original unmolested S3 sat outside for any length of time, it will have water in from the screens somewhere. They weren't sealed properly.

Just read that you walked away - probably the sensible decision. The rust described can be cured, but bear in mind the iceberg principle. You'll not see half of what these old girls can hide.

Regards,

Rich

(now getting S3 withdrawal. 5 months without one and counting.)

Edited by richw_82 on Thursday 3rd October 09:59

[RB CV8]

Rich - that description tallies precisely with what I have seen and confirms my suspicions that the problem emanates from underneath. As I have said, the car deserves to be repaired properly but I am not pursuing it.

This is all good info and expereience for viewing other examples though, as I still fancy one.