North West Casual Classics

For this month Teresa chose one of her favourites in the club – and no, it’s not her own!!  She has many that she would like to own but the one below owned by John H is at the top of her list.

This Jaguar Mk2 was built in December 1962 and first registered in 1963.  It has a 3442cc 6 cylinder engine with a manual 4 speed gearbox with overdrive.  It’s top speed was 125 mph with a 0-60 in 8.5 secs – though probably not these days!  To buy her new in 1963 you would have had to pay out a grand sum of £1,200.

This vehicle was in daily use until the early 90s and in the mid-90s the owner then decided to have the car restored.  But, for whatever reason after stripping it down the project was abandoned and the car was left in a disused garage until 2009 when John H bought it.

It was a rolling shell with no doors, bonnet or boot lid.  The shell had been brush painted with red lead (which probably saved it!), the rest of the car was literally in boxes with a few parts missing.  The first job was to bare metal the shell and assess what parts needed replacing.  After sourcing the missing body parts and new door skins, the body was primed and painted.

The next challenge was to strip and rebuild the engine, gearbox, carburettors and all the electrical motors, a new wiring loom was also installed.  The original wood interior was sent to a specialist firm who stripped and re-veneered it.  All the carpets, door cards, head lining and leather seat covers were supplied by BAS in South Wales and then painfully installed.

John has tried to keep the car as original as possible – the Motorola radio, Dunlop SP tyres and lap seat belts.  The only upgrades are electronic ignition, Cooper Craft brakes and Kenlow fan.

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