• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

1958 Jaguar MkI

Share this page

Wow! Looks nice.

As always with these cars, rust, rust and, of course, RUST! Look carefully underneath. The "crows feet" barces at the front are particulary vulnerable, and a good indicator of the state of the rest of the car. Rocker panels, of course......

Mechanical issues should not be a biggie, parts can be obtained and they are simple to work on. If the body is solid then the rest can be sorted with relative ease.

I'm sure that one or more of the guys with more extensive knowledge will chime in with their input.

Good luck, and PLEASE let us know how you get on. These are great cars.
 
This does look like a really good project.

The bits missing in the picture are readily available as are most parts. However, trim parts can be expensive.

Further to Steves input check carefully arond the sills and jacking points, particularly between the doors. The rear splash plate area of front and rear wheel arches is another rust favourite. Other things; the 3.4 is more desireable than 2.4 as is the overdrive gearbox. This appears to have a 3.4 badge on the front.

So far it's still below 2k (reserve not met), but expect to have to spend quite a bit of cash and time to get the car properly sorted.

If you have never driven a Mk1 (or Mk2) before (as it looks like you may not get to drive this one) try to do that first. They are an acquired taste that not everyone acquires!

Weak points on these cars (if not maintained in top condition) are steering, brakes and gearbox, and, if not well maintained, engines and rear axles too. Overheating is often a problem due to the age of the car, radiator and engine block become clogged with hardened deposits.

If the description is 100% genuine it could be an excellent opportunity, but you will get what you inspect not what you expect!

Good luck
 
Looks good. If the owner is up to snuff, a good tank flush and tune with carb rebuild and a transmission flush along with driveshaft and diff lubed sounds pretty tempting myself. Thse cars run very well and are pretty comfortable. When mine was running I had no issues. I let it set after rebuilding the engine and the brakes and hoses rotted, so have not driven in a loonnngg time. Have it all apart now to rebuild and restore.
You will find taillights and front turn signals are very expensive and these look great. Depends on the reserve, looks like a $20K -$25K when completed, IF the owner is on his story. Don't have the funds myself, would save me a ton on mine.
 
Sent the owner an email to set up a meeting. Will let you know what happens. Let me know if there are any tips that haven't been discussed yet.
 
Looks like a meeting will happen tomorrow. Check the listing again, the seller added pictures of the dash - disassembled. Anyone have a wiring diagram I can use? :smile:

Perhaps the most significant hurdle has been overcome - my Signifcant Other likes it too!
 
Lovely! I really like the color combination. Hope this works out for you, Peter!

Mickey
 
Good luck, Peter - I showed Jerri the photo & she asked me if I had a way to get it here! That's probably one of our favorite old saloons.....
 
Meeting the onwer tonight after 6:30pm. Of course it is SNOWING - AGAIN!!! Arrrgghhhhh......I will be SO happy when that silliness STOPS.
 
Check with XKS Unlimited they have an original MK1 repair manual, which has the wiring diagrams.
 
Ok, went to see the car this evening. Seems very well cared for. The guy was on the up-and-up near as I can tell. Car is pretty clean over all. Checked the undercarriage for rust, didn't see anything to speak of except the rotors all have a thin layer of rust on them. There were clear signs that upkeep and maintenance was done on the car - new exhaust, new lube fittings and bushings and things of that sort. One thing I did spot which has me curious is a round ring style mount at the front of the inside of the left fender. Anyone know what that is for? Is there some sort of canister that should be there?

As the pictures show, the front seats are out and so is most of the dash and gauges. Quite the rats nest of unconnected wires! Seems it all started over no back-up lights. I did find out the Dad was a car nut and had a Healy before this one. Drove the Jag to shows and all over.

How big of a job will reconnecting all the wires really be? Most are marked in some form but I do not know what the method was. To my unfamiliar eye, it appears rather daunting.

Still thinking on bidding. Looking for some input.
 
Silverghost said:
How big of a job will reconnecting all the wires really be? Most are marked in some form but I do not know what the method was. To my unfamiliar eye, it appears rather daunting.

Still thinking on bidding. Looking for some input.
Click to expand...

Peter -

Does the car "speak" to you?

I'm sure the wiring looks impossible, but with a proper diagram, lots of patience, input from folks here on the Forum, and a keg (or whatever quantity your choice of tranquilizer comes in!), that can be overcome.

It's at $6200 now - 2 more days to go. You have your better half convinced; that's a huge plus right there! If the car is calling your name, decide what your absolute top dollar would be and place the bid.

Mickey
 
Hello Peter,

The round mount is for the oil bath air cleaner. A lot of people pulled them out and went with K&N's or pancake filters.
I refurbished and use mine, as it is set up to receive colder air from the horn grill, which gives a bit of boost.

So, did you buy it?
 
Dan is right! It is the intake for the old oil bath air cleaner. Peter, I have my dash top and bottom off at this time ( about 20 years ) but I can see the wiring very plainly. If you buy the MK1 I can get you the wire colors off mine so you can match yours. The brake servo is in the right fender with the front horn grille as a cooler.
 
I didn't buy it. Winning bid was $8260. My max was $7500. In the end I just didn't feel up to doing all that wiring.

I wonder what will come along next?!!! :smile:
 
Good try! Wouldn't have bid that high myself. Keep watching things will come around. Was watching the Barret-Jackson auction and the prices are way down from last year.
 
$8260 was pretty high for a car in disarray.

There WILL be others...
 
Looked pretty nice , the car was solid looking . That car for $8260 seems the bargain with the history . . Don't know how many other deals that someone might come across guess better keep an eye QQ on the obituaries .
 
Silverghost...I just joined this list, and live in Gurnee...

I have finally accepted that I'm never going to get my Jaguar Mark 1 2.4 finished, as I have just lost interest. Too many other things going on in my life.

Right now, I have been putting it back together, following a pretty significant restoration. See the work that was done at this URL:

https://cudatah.smugmug.com/gallery/2244852_6snuG#117111249

Right now, the car has been bead blasted to bare metal, all of the rust fixed properly with new sheet metal and leading (no bondo at all...see pics), A nice paint job (see pics), I have the refinished wood for the interior, new biscuit interior for it, bolt-on spoked chrome wheels (see
pics), a NOS front grille.

Right now, I've been putting the biscuit interior on the seats, I've added sound deadener to the roof and floors, started putting the chrome bits back on, etc. I have all the parts for the car, including some beautifully redone wood for the interior.

If anyone is seriously interested, let me know. I do not have a specific price in mind right now, as I am more interested in someone who really wants one of these cars to have the opportunity to get it. So, if you are interested, let me know, I can provide more pictures as you request, and give me an offer. Who knows?

Michael Menard
Gurnee, IL
 
Back
Top