A former work colleague of mine owns this totally original unmolested MKV, which I just came across some pics of
He has had it for about 40 years, and bought it off the widow of the first owner, who was a near neighbor of his
He is not in out local Jag Club, but instead has it fully road registered
It has about 40k miles, and you would never see a more untouched car
I think he said the only thing he has changed is a ball joint
The vehicle could not have a better custodian, as he is a qualified mechanical engineer, who makes a living doing automotive repairs and trading antiques
He was rebuilding a '27 Chrysler straight 8 engine (I think)
Doesnt show in pictures, but the paint is utterly untouched, I believe the interior is for “export models”. It is clearly very old, and in perfect patina
Very nice to see it. Would love to see more pics if you have them.
Probably not original seat upholstery though.
The ribbed seats are not the Mark V pattern, but were on pre-war and most Mark IV cars.
The door should have a zippered pocket, rather than the ribbed treatment.
Hi Rob, I did ask a couple of folk, including the owner, and the info I was provided is that certain “export” cars came with this trim as original
It may even be vinyl
When you look at it close up, I would be surprised if it is not original, due to the patina, although its first 30 years of ownership are not known to me, other than it had been stored in a shed for some years by the widow prior to my acquaintance purchasing it
I will visit him some time soon, he has fabulous skills and knowledge. Hopefully he will allow me to take pics of the car
Is there anything in particular you would like me to take pics of ?
A JHT certificate might confirm if this was a CDK car exported to NZ as partly assembled.
No MKV left the Foleshill plant trimmed like that, but if the importer in NZ avoided customs or other import costs and had the interior finished locally all is possible.
Tony, get a Chassis Number, and preferaby a picture of Chassis Plate, and that will reveal the important fundamentals.
And of course - PLEASE get me lots of pictures of the tool kit, and if you are energetic also the Jack and Wheelbrace in the spare wheel tray. If this car is truly original, that will be most valuable detail for me, even if there is the inevitable missing tools…
No, I have not come across any evidence that any Mark Vs were issued with anything but the standard seat coverings.
Particularly Australia, which received more Mark Vs than any other country.
Although contrasting piping was possible.
It required large unblemished skins, i.e. cattle that had not scratched themselves on barbed wire, and was considered more luxurious. But it was thus more expensive than making the pleated style seats, and so Lyons went back to the pleats for the Mark VII.
The large panels were easily damaged. I bought my Mark V in 1969 when it was only 19 years old, and already the seats had long rips in them.
So we come across some that have been restored with pleated seats.
And some where the early history has some obscurities and inaccuracies.
CKD cars assembled in New Zealand will have the body number beginning with the letters PP, rather than the normal G for a saloon.
It is unclear exactly how much assembly work was done on these cars by the New Zealand importer, whether it was just putting on the wheels and skirts, or perhaps putting in the engine and gearbox.
Crated cars may have survived the ocean voyage better than those going to Australia, which often had to be repainted when they arrived.
I particularly like seeing those even door gaps, as that is one thing I am having trouble with.
I can’t make out the color; is it pastel blue?
We don’t have many RHD cars here, so I am interested in seeing details of the RHD engine bay, and the foot pedals, including the headlight dip switch and the hand brake. Also the boot, and in general the paint, i.e. where was it body color and where was it black.
Shifting subjects, but I think contrasted piping was very, very common.
Many many contemporary photos confirm this and all original interiors I have seen of the 15 cars originally exported to Finland had contrasted piping, UNLESS the interior was Red or Suede Green, in which case also the piping was of that colour.
But all the Beige, Biscuit, Pale Blue and Grey interiors I have seen had darker contrasted piping.
Cheers!
Ps. Here is #627798 still with original interior trim, headliner and seats and door panels.
627798 1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon 3 1/2 Litre Lavender Grey / Biscuit mfg. 2.2.1950, dispatched to SMK Oy 24.2.1950, 22.3.1950 1st reg. HJ-552, later reg. MR-395 (historic)
owner. Mr. Erik Duncker (* 31.8.1905 Porvoo, Finland + 23.5.1990 Tampere, Finland), MSc in engineering (TKK 1929) Ata Oy founder and owner (Ata Gears, orig. Autotarvike Oy, Tampere, Finland). https://www.atagears.fi/
These photos I took were just on the street one day, I was walking past and saw it parked, took some pics
Mentions of tool kits will probably entice him to allow me to take some pics, as he also trades in specialist old tools, he had a large number of anvils in his garage, not something you see every day.
I want one. Good enough reason to go see him
I note the other pic requests, and question him about the interior
He isnt a Jag guy in particular, but he has kept this car the whole time while buying and selling other older vehicles, as I mentioned he had a '27 Chrysler and a spare engine he had rebuilt that he was preparing for sale last time I saw him
Rob, its one of the endless shades of grey that are applied to MKVII and presumably MKV
It definitely has original paint, as the paint is pretty bad on the bonnet, down thru the primer to metal in some spots
I would personally try and arrest that, but I know some guys like the totally original patina, and its not for me to say otherwise
You are probably right that the interior is a re do, it makes sense that it may have been shot after ~20 years, so it would have been done 10 years when it came into present ownership.
As I mentioned, the owner is not a Jag guy, but he does preserve originality, so it will be interesting to see what pictures uncover
Hopefully we dont find it was molested in its early life
Interesting that Australia got so many MKV, you do see them for sale in all conditions,
I have been tempted a couple of times, I know of one fellow that has several, and a vast shed full of MKV parts
There is/was an immaculate drophead in my suburb, owned by a wealthy retired doctor, but I havent seen it for a long time, he may have passed away.
There was also nice one in our club for a while, the owner got sick of minor maintenance issues and sold it in a huff, wish I had known, I had looked it over, and it was in great condition
My statistics may not now be 100% accurate, but will be +/- a couple at most…but…
There were 10503 Mark V made in TOTAL, with caveats on that number including chassis only to special body builders, and including CKD saloons assembled in NZ, and similar…
Of those, 7819 were RHD and 2684 were LHD
And of the RHD cars, Australia received some 2306 of them new, so certainly the major export market, and given Australian environment and propensity to keep cars longer than the UK/European/USA norm, explains the relatively high survival rate…
Allan Crouch gives sales figures in his book SS & Jaguar Cars 1936-1951.
His totals probably do not include the two chassis for display and the test chassis.
4354 Mark Vs stayed in the UK, of which 1112 were the 2.5 and 3242 had the 3.5 engine.
His Australia figures are slightly different, 187 2.5s and 2105 of the 3.5L.
Most went to Brylaw in Sydney, but some went to Anderson in Brisbane, Brooking in Perth, and Dominion in Adelaide.
The USA received 934 Mark Vs, all the larger engine.
New Zealand got 169.
There is quite a long list of other countries, with Brazil predominating with 557, then Canada with 299, Sweden with 230, Switzerland with 226, Singapore with 130, Belgium 119, Rhodesia 105, and France 102.
The rest are less than 100 each. British India is listed with 74, and there were 3 chassis only to Greece.
Actually Rob, Australia’s Main Distributor for the Mark V era was BRYLAW MOTORS Pty Ltd, and they were Headquartered/Main Office was in Melbourne. They held the territory for the States of Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and the ACT, with Main Dealerships in Melbourne and Sydney, and many minor Dealerships and Agencies throughout Victoria and NSW. But all new cars were ordered from the Melbourne HQ and indeed the factory/now JDHT records show there new car deliveries to either Brylaw Motors, Australia, or Brylaw Motors, Melbourne, Australia, or Brylaw Motors, Sydney, Australia. There was no Distributor in Sydney with this latter adress indicating shipments direct to the Sydney Main Dealership.
The sales reality on the ground is that the largest sales market for new Mark V sales was Melbourne, augmented by sales to regional Victoria, southern NSW and Tasmania. The second largest was market was through the Sydney main Dealership, augmented by central and northern NSW including the ACT. The factory would have no ready knowledge of relative sales through the Melbourne HQ and Main Dealership versus the sales through the Sydney Main Dealership, but informed local estimates suggest about 60/40 in favour of Melbourne. Brylaw Motors did attempt to get delivery shipments of new cars to both Melbourne and direct to Sydney, based on sales/stock estimates, but regardless there was regular road transfer of stock between Melbourne/Sydney to suit requirements of paying customers, and indeed there were road transfers of stock between Melbourne and Adelaide, with the South Australian Distributor Dominion Motors. I, amongst other projects have been trying to reconcile all Australian New Deliveries for both Mark IV and Mark V, but an impossible task, so at best will be a small percentage snap shot…
My statistics show total Mark V sold new to Australia - 2-1/2, 3-1/2 Saloon and DHC - being 2306.
217 to BRYLAW Motors, 821 to Brylaw Motors, Melbourne, 673 to Brylaw Motors, Sydney - plus 258 to Dominion Motors, Adelaide (Distributor for SA, but with an arrangement with Melbourne), 179 to Andersons Agencies, Brisbane (Distributor for Qld and NT), and 144 to Brookings of Perth (Distributor for WA).
WE have previously discussed locally made parts, fitted to Mark IV and Mark V Jaguars sold new in Australia - things like Bumper Bars, Overriders, Leaper Mascots etc - all done to reduce import taxes, via a complex arrangement of preferential treatment of UK made vehicles relative to say USA made vehicles, but with certain items not exempt. All these local parts were made in Melbourne, for fitment to new cars in Melbourne, and presumably trucked to Sydney for cars delivered direct… There is a lot of local knowledge of the local scene here including access/copies of partial records held by BRYLAW Motors
Thanks Roger. Crouch listed Sydney first so I assumed that was Brylaw’s main office. He probably got his sales figures from Clausager or somebody at JDHT. They appear to coincide with your figures. I add up your figures to 2292, so the discrepancy of 14 cars may just be one of those anomalies we love so much.
Lavender Grey
Birch Grey
Dove Grey
Battleship Grey
Gunmetal Grey