1967 Jaguar MkII 3.8 MOD

Description

Only 2,300 miles on rebuilt engine; unleaded head; over £30k spent on maintenance and upgrades; converted from auto to manual overdrive; later S-Type electric seats; new MOT; driven to the sale

First registered in Suffolk in February 1967, this Jaguar MkII 3.8 started out in life as an automatic but appears to have been converted to manual overdrive in the mid-1990s  when the engine was also fully rebuilt, an old MOT confirming that it was showing 8,980 miles on the clock at this time.

There are lots of invoices for subsequent maintenance, including a cylinder head rebuild in 2015 to make it suitable for unleaded fuel. The brakes were overhauled at the same time, the bill for this lot coming to around £1,800.

In 2019 the car was sent to Jaguar specialists M&C Wilkinson of Doncaster for a major overhaul which ended up costing almost £32,000. This included rebuilding the front sub frame; major overhaul of the brakes, steering and suspension, the latter uprated with polybushes and Gaz adjustable shocks; new wheel bearings and splined hubs; fitment of 123 electronic ignition; high torque starter motor; new fuel tank; new wiring harness; recored radiator; heating system overhauled; wiper motor rebuilt; new door, boot and windscreen rubbers; new seat belts; new carpets; new headlining; repairs to the sills and floor pan plus much else besides.

A new set of painted MWS wire wheels were also fitted (including spare) shod with a new set of Pirelli Cinturato tyres at the cost of an additional £1,328. It was then discovered that the bores were worn and the engine needed a full rebuild, for which M&C Wilkinson quoted £10,197 but by this time the owner had had enough so he sold the car on.

Notes on file state that the engine was then rebuilt by Jaguar specialist Chris Forbes of Coventry, although there is no invoice for this. Old MOTs show that the indicated mileage at this point was around 9,700. Various other new parts were fitted over the next couple of years, as shown by invoices on file.

In February 2022 the car was sold by Turn Two Classics of Northants to a gent in Kent, the invoice showing that it cost £22,995, the ad outlining all the work that had been done to the car to make it a reliable daily driver and confirming that the engine had indeed been rebuilt by Chris Forbes. The ad also mentions that it has been fitted with seats from a later Jaguar S-Type with "fully working electric adjustment".

The Kent gent looked after the car well and fitted various new parts, also treating it to a service by Maidstone Sports Cars in September 2023 when it was showing 11,194 miles. They also got the overdrive working correctly.

Our vendor acquired the car from the Kent gent in November 2023 for very nearly the same amount as he had paid for it almost two years before. In July this year it was sent to those good chaps at Much Marcle Garage near Ledbury who rebuilt the carbs to get it running smoothly and checked all the compressions (cylinders 1,2, 5 and 6 were 180psi, cylinder 4 was 175 and 3 was 170). These are all within the correct 165 – 185psi range for a 9:1 high compression engine (the standard 8:1 compressions are 140 – 155psi).

Although it is exempt from this test, it has been MOT’d every year, flying through the last test immediately before the auction with just a couple of advisories for minor oil leaks (show me an old Jag that doesn't leak oil! – Ed).

There are some useful spares in the boot including lots of refurbished wooden trim parts and the original air filter box which was replaced by a more modern type when the engine was rebuilt.

As you can see in the photos, this Jag won’t be winning any concours awards but it looks perfectly presentable as it is and you won’t be scared to leave it in the supermarket car park. The odometer currently shows 12,047 miles so it has only covered around 2,300 since the engine was rebuilt and it was driven some 20 miles to the sale.

It has been starting easily and running nicely as we have moved it around on site, with healthy 40psi oil pressure, although the vendor advises that the passenger seat electrics packed up a month ago when he was using the car as bridal transport for his daughter's wedding and her dress got caught in the works - oops...

A quick tot up of the bills shows that over £40k has been spent on this car in the last seven years to make it fighting fit mechanically. A solid and usable 3.8 with bags of raffish charm, it looks mighty tempting at the modest guide price suggested and could be smartened up over time as desired.

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]