Hello all,
While I usually post messages over on the E-Type section of the forum, lately I’ve been contemplating buying a XK120 OTS to join my 69 E-Type OTS in my garage.
Trying to educate myself about XK120’s has been somewhat of a steep learning curve but thanks to knowledgeable forum members (especially Rob Reilly!) I’m starting to feel more comfortable in judging the car I want or (in the case of a recent offering from Beverly Hills Car Club) one’s that I don’t want.
However, the issue of how to correctly value a car vis-a-vis the seller’s current asking price is not really an area I currently feel all that comfortable with. For instance, especially troublesome to me is the question of the true value of “matching numbers”.
In many classic car classes (take the Corvette for instance) those words seem to be bandied about as if only those with it are worthy purchases and the ones without are relegated to the bottom of the heap. I wonder how true that is in the classic Jaguar world? And more specifically how “matching numbers” or perhaps more correctly “non-matching numbers” should impact on the “correct” price I should expect to pay.
While I certainly have my own answers I have no idea if I am right or wrong.
Which is why I’d really like to hear comments from members of the XK forum - who I am sure have miles more experience then me with XK120’s.
So, consider the following:
Two identical XK120 OTS’s sit side by side on the side of the road. Both have exactly the same paint color and quality, both have the exact same leather interior in the same condition, both run the same and mechanically are in the same condition. But one has all matching numbers (engine block and head, body and transmission ) and the other does not.
Which one is worth more, and how much more, and why?
Thanks!!
Chet