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Advice on '59 3.4 mk1 for sale

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JM1NA

JM1NA

Senior Member
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Hi all, I looked at a 3.4 this weekend, OE white with the original red leather interior. Overall the car presents itself quite nicely with decent paint. I did see some evidence of filler at the ends of the rockers where they curl around underneath to the floors. The floors look exellent underneath and I couldn't see much of anything on the tops of the rockers in the door jambs. Fenders and front nose all look great with no signs of filler. Granted, I did not get a look in the engine area as the owner was not around so I would have to check the front area for damage again.
The car has a long maintenance history to go with it from the owner's mechanic. It is an automatic which has a leak and the owner claims the car pulls to the right when coasting so I figure a whole front end rebuild is probably necessary. I would definitely have the car fully inspected by another jag shop here before considering purchase, but if anyone can give some hints on what else to check I'd appreciate it.
Also, what are mk1's like to drive? I live in a city so high speed runs are a bit of a challenge. Would the jag be boring being an automatic? Considering I have an MGB and an early Miata this would definitely be a different animal and would probably replace the MGB.

Thanks in advance!

Ron
 
Hello Ron,

I have a 1959 Automatic RHD Mark 1 that I have used as a daily driver for the past 7 years. I was a bit worried about enlisting an almost 50 year old car for this pupose when I bought it, but with good care, it has proven to be one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. You will want to examine the sill areas closely, look for hairlines at the base of the B pillar. Check the lower edges of the door seams for rust, the spare tire well and under the back seat. Pay close attention to the mounting points for the torque arms and the panhard rod.
Also note the condition of the rubber steering joint, as these can perish and cause a very dangerous issue.
Parts for this car are easily sourced, so you should not need to worry about getting it up to snuff if you find any issues.

The 3.4 offers excellent performance, and I frequently embarass modern cars at stop lights, or when overtaking on the freeway. With the exception of parking, steering is light for a non assisted car, and handling is superb.

The DG250 does take a bit of getting used to. You will want to flush and replace the transmissoin fluid a couple of times before you think about making any adjustments.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, as I have probably been there and done that!

Good luck!
Dan Davis
 
I'm in progress on restoring a 58 3.4 MK 1, have owned for 32 years. I rebuilt the engine in 76 and found it has the city 4:27/1 rear. Very quick to 90, but 90 is all. Am going to restore it with upgrades and an all syncro MKII 4-speed and rear axle. Plan on using it for Rallying and some Track events. Probably take another 5 years at this stage. But, an extremely reliable car if maintained properly and respected for what it is. I never had any problems with the 250 trans, which has the holdout switch, just want more gears.
 
Visit this web site: https://www.johnscars.com/mark.html and click on the Mark Series link in Jaguar Conversions, then click on the Quarterbreed link. All you ever wanted to know about putting a modern automatic behind your 3.4 litre engine is there.

A buddy of mine went further: in addition to the transmission swap, he swapped the 3.4 for a 4.2 litre, then converted it to fuel injection of his own design. His Mark I is very quick.

Good luck with whatever you do with this car.
 
Hello Ron,

One more thing you may want to do. When you get into the engine bay, make note of the cars numbers. Check that they match the engine and body, then look the car up on https://www.saloondata.com/ to see if there is any recorded history on the car.
 
Favorite trans swap is the chevy 350, kits are available as per Roger above. The Borg Warner DG250 is a heavy iron tranny and is pretty reliable to itself. Just few trans shops can rebuild them. I fortunately have the manual specific to the Borg Warns. The earlier XJ6, I had a 73 series 1 which had a different Warn trans, I had it rebuilt and sold with over 150,000 miles on it. The series 2 was the first model along with the S, that had the chevy TM350 and the 12s had the TM400. Just by replacing the old iron unit with these aluminum castings saves a lot of weight.
 
Hello Ron,

a bit of a coincidence, this month's Jaguar Enthusiast Club magazine has a report of a white MK 1 (Which are quite rare) for sale for 1200 dollars in, I think it was, California. Good body but the downside was an American V8 engine and associated transmission.

Alec
 
There was one on EBAY the same??
 
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