replacements parts - exact copies of originals....not quite

The inner sill panel I ordered from one of the well known UK Jaguar part suppliers was not exactly the same as the panel on my (Series 2 LWB) car although it fits fine. The most obvious difference is that the replacement panel has several oblong holes along its length where there are none on the original. I assumed this was an 'improvement' made by the manufacturers of the replacement part.

I had seen this design of panel used in XJ6/XJ12 restoration articles by both Practical Classics magazine (Series 1 XJ6) and Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club book (Series 2 Daimler Sovereign) on the same subject.

The part no for the LHS inner sill for Series 1 & 2 (LWB) is JS600. I ordered this and received a part visually identical to the ones in the aforementioned articles so thought nothing of it. It puzzled me however why the front seat mounting bracket on it was nothing like the original one from my car and I also noticed that the new panel has no join at the rear whereas the original, inexplicably, does.

Holes drilled in new panel to mirror where spot welds were cut out on old panel. Holes will be plug welded to locations on vehicle. These areas are front seat crossmember and front seat rear mount bracket.

Eliptical cut outs were made in top flange of new panel to mirror old. Again, holes were drilled to mirror original spot weld locations. These areas weld to front toeboard and A post.

This shows how the original panel had a separate section at its rear end. I cut the new panel and welded a flange on to the short length with holes drilled to plug weld back onto longer length. Other row of holes locate on rear seat pan vertical face.

inner face of front end of inner sills - old & new

large 'cuts' show where A post was originally seam welded to sill at front, rather than spots.

Anyway after fitting the inner sill I was peeling the part no. sticker off and found it read AKP381 which is the part no. for the series 3 model. Looking now at my invoice it shows JS600 supplied as AKP381. It would appear the same panel will be supplied for Series 1,2 & 3.

I did have to cut the front seat mounting bracket from the new panel and retained the old one as mentioned in part 3 of this blog and although I replicated the seemingly pointless join towards the rear of the panel to be faithful to the original design I have not yet welded up the 'Series 3 holes' but may do so - being a purist!