xk140

After much searching, I've just acquired a 1955 xk140FHC. It is magnificent! I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about the car before buying it, however, I was surprised to find that under the floor mats, the floor is WOOD!
Now I know Jaguar made extensive use of wood, and this floor is in superb shape, but is this the way it would have come from the factory or has someone sometime in the past 47 years done a novel rebuild? Anyone out there with a similar car looked under their floor mats recently?
Thanks for the response.
jim

Jim, welcome to the forum! In answer to your question, the XK140 had steel under the seats, but the floorpan forward of the seats was indeed wood, in fact plywood! So your car is authentic. Enjoy, you are a lucky man to have found such a beautiful car.

Jim;
Great to have another "XK" on the BCF Forum.. I have a '53 120 DHC that I bought in May '67 while attending college (a short-lived adventure). It is presently in the "Stalled" phase of a twenty-seven year "restoration".. that means I took it apart 27 years ago and it's been in boxes since
The good news is, I've bought most of the parts needed to complete the restoration Now, I just need to finish all the "other" projects and get back to my DHC.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JIM NEWMAN:
After much searching, I've just acquired a 1955 xk140FHC. It is magnificent! I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about the car before buying it, however, I was surprised to find that under the floor mats, the floor is WOOD!
Now I know Jaguar made extensive use of wood, and this floor is in superb shape, but is this the way it would have come from the factory or has someone sometime in the past 47 years done a novel rebuild? Anyone out there with a similar car looked under their floor mats recently?
Thanks for the response.
jim<hr></blockquote>

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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JIM NEWMAN:
After much searching, I've just acquired a 1955 xk140FHC. It is magnificent! I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about the car before buying it, however, I was surprised to find that under the floor mats, the floor is WOOD!
Now I know Jaguar made extensive use of wood, and this floor is in superb shape, but is this the way it would have come from the factory or has someone sometime in the past 47 years done a novel rebuild? Anyone out there with a similar car looked under their floor mats recently?
Thanks for the response.
jim<hr></blockquote>

Jim;
To answer your question, Yes, this it Factory Correct..
I have a 120 DHC which only has an 18" (or so) square plywood "floorboard" at the "front" of the floorpans. the rest of the floorpan is steel with a "tar-like" underlayment.. The 120 OTS has full, front to rear, plywood floorboards.. I don't know what the FHC has, but I assume it's the same as the DHC.. Since the 140's were "basically" a 120 body with "modifications", I suspect the plywood floorboards are the same set-up as the 120's.. The 150's changed totally, I believe.
If you are in need of replacing the wood and are handy with wood-working tools, call a Plywood specialty store and get the Baltic Birch, Marine Grade plywood.. it has more "plies" (seven or nine, I forget) that does the US (CDX) stuff and it's thickness is metric (9mm, 12mm, etc), not in inches, so it will "fit" correctly.. The Marine grade comes in five foot by five foot sheets. Also, paint or seal all six sides before installing.. helps it last much longer as it is exposed to road spray if driven in rainy weather.