Description

1964 Jaguar MkII 3.8 Automatic

Only 500 miles on rebuilt engine and gearbox; recent repaint; XJ6 power steering; leather door cards; new carpets; competition wire wheels; Coombs spats; a wonderful example of this sporting saloon
As the Heritage Certificate confirms, this lovely Jaguar MkII 3.8 Automatic was built in December 1963 and was finished in Opalescent Gunmetal with a red leather interior. Supplied new via KJ Motors of Bromley, Kent, a copy of the buff logbook shows that it was first owned by a Kathleen Hinwood of Bromley who took delivery in January 1964 – what a nice start to her year that must have been.

She seems to have kept it until 1969, DVLA print-outs implying that it then had four or five further owners in Kent and London before being acquired by a Colin Hinwood of Poole in 2002, although whether he was related to Kathleen, we do not know. He bought the car from Black & White cars of Bournemouth when it had covered 67,250 miles, the invoice showing that he paid precisely £13,008 and 26p! He kept the car for 11 years and clearly looked after it well, as evidenced by a good chunk of invoices on file, a show plaque during his ownership stating that the car had never been welded and that the mileage was genuine.

Our vendor (a Mr Winwood – how curious is that?) acquired the car in 2013 and drove it home from Poole to Worcestershire. By this time the opalescent paintwork had lost its lustre so in January 2016 he had the body stripped to bare metal and repainted (as shown in photos and an invoice on file). The bodywork itself was excellent and needed no attention other than the removal of a few dents. Coombs rear spats were fitted along with a new set of competition wire wheels (slightly wider at the back than the front) which give the car a most sporting look.

As is so often the case, one thing led to another and before you know it the whole car was being spruced up. The interior woodwork was removed and refurbished, including the picnic trays, a new set of carpets were fitted along with new door cards made in red leather rather than the original Vynide. The original radio still worked fine but new speakers were invisibly fitted behind the door cards and extra wiring was added for a modern stereo which was discreetly fitted under the dash (since removed but the wiring is still present).

The engine was stripped and rebuilt by Malvern Rebore with a reground crank, new bearings and gaskets, new piston rings, new exhaust manifolds etc. The carbs were overhauled and a new high output dynamo fitted along with a new distributor cap, coil, Kevlar plug leads, regulator box, heater control valve and a new fuel tank sender unit. The gearbox was also rebuilt but this proved unsatisfactory so a reconditioned Borg Warner unit was sourced in America and duly fitted. The power steering was also replaced with a more modern set-up from a later XJ6 and a manual choke conversion kit was fitted, operated by a switch under the dash.

Numerous other jobs have been attended to (new engine and gearbox mountings; speedo cable; rev counter generator; fan belt; brakes; suspension parts etc), most of which are covered in invoices on file although other bills have been lost and some things were paid for in cash.

Since the restoration work was completed, the car has only covered around 500 miles (the odometer currently showing 76,740 miles) and it had another oil change and a full service in March this year when it also passed its MOT with just a couple of advisories (rear axle tie bar bushes split but serviceable; n/s/f jacking point corroded).

As you can see in the photos, the car is now in sparkling condition and was driven some 30 miles to the sale on a very warm day with no problems whatsoever. Starting promptly and running nicely as we have moved it around on site, with good 40psi oil pressure, it is only reluctantly for sale due to family illness and is ready for a new owner to enjoy right away.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com