That’s why I mentioned Lofty England, Jaguar’s Service Manager and Racing Manager at the time, later rose to Chairman and CEO. He was 6 ft 5 in tall. He must have sat in 120s from the very beginning, certainly must have driven them at the race track. I wonder if he owned a 120 and did anything to his car?
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Because, like almost all subsequent upgrades, it’s a better car.
Im 5’11”, and I fit fine in our 140: NAAAAAWT so much our 120s!
So I already did that to mine and it looks great. And when I die or run out of my 401k the next person can undo what I have done!
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April 15th 1955 Ray Kroc started McDonalds!
Thus the need for more room in cars, also ever enlarging cup holders.
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Daniel, actually the “big” problem of ill causing dietary intake didn’t begin until some 20 years after Micky D’s 1955 debut - there is a disturbing relationship between things like “diet” soda and the fattening of the population as a whole. It seems like more recently many long term studies are reporting the sad fact that all those “zero” calorie substitutes for sugar and other artificial ingredients might not kill us outright on contact - making them “safe” - but that the human body is not well adapted to them over time. In other words those safe substitutes are making our bodies bloat. So what we are seeing the effects of over engineered and highly processed food - this is how the human body is reacting.
I agree with the diet stuff. I used to drink 10-15 Diet Coke’s a day for 15 years never lost any weight, but since I stopped 4 years ago I’m 35lbs and 4 pant sizes smaller.
I think the originator of this thread was concerned with abundant verticality, not rotundity. In that vein, shortened pedal stems have already been mentioned.
This subject has come up several times on this forum, and two other ideas that have been suggested are smaller Moto-Lita steering wheel and bucket seats as were used in the C-Type.
I’m 6’2” and 230 and can’t fit in a std. 120 OTS . I’ve got a 15” MOTO LITA wheel and have taken the seat runners out of the seat and barely can shift gears without opening the driver’s door. I don’t see how a bigger chap could fit.
Try the new pedal box kits available - moving the pedals away from you, into the engine compartment.
Guy Broad perhaps? Others?
Also take out the soft top - lets the seat go back slightly more.
I also have a 120 OTS and am, well used to be, 6’2". I fit.
DHC and FHC are however tighter for some reason.
It’s just a matter of taste, Daniel. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with pastel colours. They’re just not my favourites. When I first acquired my BRG E-type 36 years ago I disliked the colour and did a total conversion to black. It was stunning in triple black and I loved it. But after 30 years of a black E-type I grew tired of the colour and did a total conversion back to the original BRG, which I now prefer over black. Who knows? I may decide to change the XK120 back at some point, but the decision will come down to what I like.
There are varied perspectives on original colour. Some, many even, think changing it detracts from factory originality and there are those (hello Pekka!) who would rather put up with a colour they do not like than change it to a colour they do.
When I brought home my 120 26-odd years ago the first words out of my wife’s mouth were “You’re not going to repaint it that colour, are you?” However, we have been debating what colour exactly the car should be painted. She wants it in OEW, I want it in silver. Maybe I should cut the baby in half and respray it back to original, but then neither one of us would be happy.
May I suggest poiple?
But John, you are thin and fit. Many of us are slothful and chubby. Sorry guys but if you do not fit and don’t want to modify … why not get a 140? It is A better car in nearly every regard.
John feng
Sure, Paul, but I do subscribe to a certain degree of “correctness”, and poiple wasn’t offered. My leaning at the moment, and I know that Patti will go along, is silver over black. I might be happier with silver over red but she doesn’t like red interiors and we both like black (if you plumb the archives you’ll find that our departed friend Jerry hated black interiors). For a '54 silver/black is pushing the envelope a bit as they were not a standard offering, but they were still factory colours that would have been available under special order. My reasoning isn’t entirely dogmatic. Maybe a little mercenary. At some point or another this car will form part of my estate and it will bring a better return to my heirs if done up in period correct colours, especially if the car has won a few JCNA concours. Resale value in fact would be the only incentive I might have to have the car judged. But #1 is a combination I enjoy and believe looks best for the car.
At one point awhile back I was mulling over red/black which elicited pushbacks from a few - “resale red”, “too common” etc. That’s ok. Chalk that up to the personal preference thing. I’ve had people at car shows ask me if I’d changed the interior in my BRG E to black, “because it would be far nicer in biscuit”. When I pointed out the copy of the heritage certificate behind the windshield to one fellow his only remark was “too bad”. Chalk that one up to personal preference, too. However, when six or so years ago I was mulling over a covered headlight conversion for my Series 1½ the pushback went beyond personal preference and trespassed into the realm of ideology. One lister bluntly said, “if you want a Series 1, buy a Series 1”.
It’s the ideology I object to. These are cars. They’re not idols to be worshipped. In a hundred years, maybe two, almost all of them will be gone and those that are left will be owned by the wealthy or reside in museums.
Yes, if you ignore aesthetics. The heavy cast grille, the chrome adornments like the beads down the middle of the bonnet and trunk lid, the heavy bumper treatments …
The same sentiment can be expressed re: E-types. The Series 2 is in many ways a much better car than the Series 1, but the aesthetics are what elevates the latter.
To each his own.
Thank you!!
I will post this on my gravestone…
My Rover has a red interior, and though I too, never was a fan of red interiors—if it had white piping, Id like it better!—but it is as-delivered, and Ill likely just keep it that way.
I actually feel sorry for the classic car owners who defer their own preferences and enjoyment to making a choice based on what might make the car more marketable in the future after they are gone. What such choices ignore is that the future of the classic car market is fickle, so you might as well enjoy your car while you are alive. If you follow auction results there have been many classics that have shown declining interests from buyers. One example that comes to mind are the '55, '56, and '57 Thunderbirds whose bid prices have been lateral if not declining. Probably most Jag Lovers here have driver quality cars that will never see the auction highs of a proper rotisserie restoration. That is not a bad thing really as most proper restorations actually represent a serious monetary loss even at high end auctions. I know that there are show winning home restorations where the owner/restorer only counts material costs to convince themselves of what a great “investment” they have made - ignoring the value of their ~ 1,500 hours of labor. Most restorations coming out of a quality shop gift their owners with a bill of $120,000 to $180,000 not including the cost of buying the car in the first place. I’m sorry, but classic cars are rarely a true money making investment for their owners. So lets call it what it is, an indulgence - and I say we should enjoy it in all of its here and now hedonistic joy!
I’m with Patti on this one!
My favorite comment on red leather is
“It’s great on hookers boots”
To your first point, I subscribe to a happy compromise Thomas - something you like that doesn’t detract from marketability. It is also possible that a colour change will increase the marketability of a classic car if the original configuration appeals to a smaller number of people or has become outdated. That latter point is especially relevant within the context of colours preferred in the 1950s and early 60s - think aquamarine or pastel pink bathroom fixtures.
To your second point, shifting valuations, the XK120 itself is an excellent case in point. Before the '08 market meltdown Condition 2 roadsters, especially SEs like mine, were fetching prices approaching $200K, almost twice what Condition 2 Series 1 E-type OTSs were commanding. The current dynamic has flipped with S1 Es now well ahead of 120s. The driver, I suspect, is generational as those who lusted after XK120s in their wild oats years are dying off or heading into nursing homes. Another reason is XK120s are more than a little funky to drive. It would be entirely reasonable to expect a similar dynamic will unfold with the E-type over time though to a lesser extent given the car’s entertaining handling and timeless design.
To your third point, I try not to think about how many hours I have into my cars. I bought the 120 in July, 1991 and have been working on it off and on ever since. Worse, it was an aborted amateur restoration when I took it home, so there were already hundreds of hours put into it, much of which had to be undone because of panel fit inaccuracies. There is no way possible in my estimation that all those hours - mine and those of the two previous owners who poured their labours into it - could ever be construed as a wise financial investment. The investment in personal gratification, however, is undeniable. As much as I look forward to getting this thing on the road (maybe next year?) it has been fun raising it from the dead.
Nickolas, yours is the very best reason to own your 120 - because you are having fun, you are enjoying the journey. To that end I wish more owners would subscribe and to think less of their car’s future auction value.
Thoughtful compromise is good as long as the choices are appealing to the decision maker. What I think is important is keeping it fun - and if you truly love a non original color then nothing should stop you from making the car in your vision. My lumped XJ12 was originally Silver, but even if I repaint the car I will go with its current red color - probably actually going with a more modern red tint coat.
It is not hard to see where the classic car market is going, the long term trend has seen increasing numbers of classic cars receiving modern fuel injection engines, overdrive transmissions, and modern suspension upgrades. This is good because it means that owners want to enjoy driving their cars. One of the great unspoken truths in the classic car market has been that many classics get bought and then sold after rather brief ownership. Auction houses will tell you that they have often seen the same car through its lanes many times. No I am not talking about car flippers, and yes I know that some cars remain in single ownership for 20 or 30 or more years. Here is what happens: a younger enthusiast falls in love with the body lines or heritage of a particular car and buys it - then they find it less than satisfying to drive and it gets sold off. This cycle can get repeated several times before the car finds a sympathetic owner. So I say if you like the style of a classic there is nothing wrong with remaking it your own with non standard colors or with the installation of modern drivetrain and suspension.
