I wouldn’t call this car a “survivor” as the term is used with old cars. At a minimum original paint and interior should look decent and usable, as in it has survived the test of time and came out looking pretty good. Both are gone, nothing to save. Definitely a candidate for a full restoration. My car looked about as good as this one and I ended up replacing half the body.
Gotta say, I’m a bit skeptical by the swearing to secrecy about past ownership from the seller, seems a little too convenient. I don’t get it at all. I’ll assume the buyer is embarrassed by the price paid, I don’t get the secrecy on that either. Two things most car guys want to know first.
I had thoughts of running it as a band find special for a few months, but there’s no to left and I’d be wasting some precious winter months just to do that in the spring. No car shows for months anyway…
I have no problem telling who I bought it from, but it would be pointless because if you don’t know him, it can’t make a difference to you.
As to the previous prior owner(s), It’s none of anyone’s business because they weren’t involved in the transaction. Plus, the car could have been the subject of a family tug-of-war, passed as part of an estate they’d rather not be reminded of… Not my place to make their phone ring about this car.
I chased a TD for 5 years. It was part of an old man’s estate. The son and step-mother were in a nasty lawsuit over everything from the car to silverware. I stopped trying. When the car eventually changes hands do you think either would want that ‘history’ re-hashed?
Let’s let the family that used to own this car have their privacy because it’s none of our business until they chime in on their own.
Yea, a bit strong. I was using that term to describe the fact that it hasn’t been patched to death, ground to bare metal, fiber glassed, or modified with a different engine, doors, hood (save the 140 grille), wheels…
The Heritage Certificate says Suede Green/Suede Green, French Grey hood. Where the white wheel came from…? Offered as an option, but why on a green car?
I was thinking, as often is done with cars like this, applying possible previous celebrity ownership of a car to inflate the price and then saying, but don’t tell anyone, sounds suspicious. Personally I’d go for the best car in the best condition I could afford, some really get caught up in the provenance thing.
Best of luck to you, looks like a good starting point, expensive but good. Might be some merit in the idea of making a beater quality driver out of it if the intention is to flip it. Sure loser to make it look like new, I should know.
I lose money on every car I restore. It’s a hobby.
If I wanted to take a ride on someone elses’ ownership, I’d have had it documented. I didn’t. I don’t care about that. I mentioned it in passing because some people DO know of the history of this car, A gentle prompting was all it took and have been told me more about the previous ownership than I got from the seller. Nice to know, adds nothing to the value.
Monte, I don’t know you other than through this forum, perhaps you’re a nice guy. I hope so. I find that just about every one of your posts contains a not too subtle jab at best and a streak of contempt at worst at everyone here who’s just trying to enjoy themselves. Your posts on the electric XK’s is an example. I can’t tell you how you can change this, but I can say that I’ll be ignoring your posts if I can’t block them.
I tend to agree with Nick on this question. My car was purchased in 1978, taken apart by my father in 1990, and then sat in his garage until he died in 2015. If it were in the condition today it was when purchased, it might have been tempting to just do a mechanical restoration only. It would have looked cool, but I question whether it would have been rewarding to own and drive. The car’s “patina” included a mangled bumper, rust in the lower fenders, cowl stiffeners, sills and B pillars, disintegrating seats, carpet and steering wheel (actually just about everything in the interior), copious amounts of rat droppings, and rusty wire wheels. Anything which was repaired or replaced would have to be artificially aged or it would look like Frankenstein’s monster. I didn’t think I would enjoy restoring a car without improving its appearance, washing a car that still looked dirty when you were done, or sitting in an interior that made you want to take a shower when you got out. That said, I keep photos of any old survivors I find online and refer to them often to see how these cars were put together back in the day. I would love to see a more complete set of photos of Mitch’s 120 before he restores it. But you usually hope someone else will maintain their car in original, unaltered condition so you can study it. Owing it yourself might not be so great.
I’d love to do that, but I’ve got a local rep for rescuing the bedraggled and forgotten gems. All I’d hear is “when ya gonna restore it”.
Below are three more recent ‘as I found it/after I finished it’ examples spanning 2013 to now.
'sides, there is nothing I want to watch on TV more than seeing a crowd around one of my cars at a show, so I work in the shop 2 to 5 hours a night til they’re done. This “I’ve been restoring it for 22 years” story isn’t for me. I tell people that if the lawn mower has been pushed up to it and there are lawn chairs leaning on it, they’re done. Might as well admit it and sell it to someone like me. That is exactly what happened with this 120.
I agree. The longest I ever took over a restoration was my Cooper S, which took 5 years. That’s too long, but I kept getting sidetracked… and the painter runs a crash repair shop and fitted the full paintjob in as and when he could, so I got a really cheap, but top-quality paint job which took 18 months. Swings and roundabouts…
Generally, two years. After that I get bored and want to do a different car. And another golden rule, for me at least, is never repeat. I restored 4 Healey 3000s, but got bored in the middle of the last one and sold it half-done. I think my 140 may have to stretch to 3 years, but it shouldn’t be longer than that. It will be my first and last Jaguar as none of the others interest me - next up will be something quite different. I have a '67 2CV AK350 van hidden away in a lock-up, next in queue…
Bicycles and lawn-mowers? Absolutely and utterly banned from my garage and workshop - interesting car-related stuff only. I have a garden shed for the other stuff.
ps - love the ice tyres on the black car in pic 5!
Did we mention.to obtain a set of .the Jaguar Factory Technical Service Bulletins…(TSB) .a bit over 200 TSBs in the date range of the XK120-150…about half apply…as many are for Mk7 or other models…but they are very important…and note the many changes made over the years in production, ie valve train, or piston, rods, brakes…everything…and how a change in one part affects others. A TSB set Makes fine bed-stand reading…with a note/pen in hand. Some simple but still important to avoid damage: …a head to manifold stud depth; some complex–a valve head thickness that affects other parts as well, and for early engines…if one was to install the 3/8 cam…the tappet guides have to be modified. There are cautions and instructions for rebuild of the brake M/Cyl. The vendor for sale sets I have seen are not complete…A number of us have very complete sets, my set has many of my own notes and cross references that pertain to the 120, as sometimes a later TSB revises an earlier one. I’d say a knowledge of what is in the TSBs is quite critical for any work, as the Factory Service Manual was written much prior thus can lead on astray when later parts are used.
Nick
