From the “wish it would happen to me” files.
Somebody made a nice barn find. 39049 is not previously known in the CJA Registers.
http://www.ssjaguardata.com/cars/detail/?car=39049
The tow truck plate appears to be New Jersey.
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It is amazing that these things still keep turning up. Here’s another recent one.
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Nice!
A 2 1/2 Litre, 1936 or 1937? (hard to tell?)
Why does the speedo have a black background ring (I don’t think I have noticed one before) and the tach does not? One of them is from another year?
Engine looks original except the head has been painted yellow? Too bad there was no photo of the exhaust side…a 1936 model at least originally had the one piece exhaust manifold.
Cheers,
Pekka T.
Fin.
I think the speedo is original but a KPH scale ring has been placed over the original and the pointer also changed. (It came from France.)
As it happens I think the 2½ litre SS100 had a 0 to 100 MPH scale so placing a 0 to 200 KPH scale over the original is going to read 20% high.
The head looks correct but the strange thing is that the SU carbs appear to have been replaced by what look like RAGs as used on side valve SS engines.
Peter
Hi Peter,
Ahh, that explains the speedo, it looks quite authentic that way, but you are right, it has been modified. The thing about the carbs is that I think if it’s a very early car they might still have had the RAGs as SS90’s did. Or would anyone know for sure when they changed to SU’s and if all SS100’s should have them? No chassis number now yet? Interesting car for sure!
Cheers!
RAG carbs: that sent me scurrying off to the Googlebox!
My greatest fear?
Finding a barn car like this…and the owner knowing what it was worth…
I think the RAGs had rather smaller throat sizes and would almost certainly reduce the maximum power but I have never seen 2½ litre OHV in saloon or 100 form quoted with significantly reduced power. I suspect they may have been fitted to this car as an economy measure.
Peter
Does anyone know the CHASSIS No. ?
I did look to see if there was any further reference to it on the web, but no sign of a chassis number.
Peter
The website pictures are from nearly 2 years ago.
What’s the venue? Looks like La Jolla Concours 2016.
In the frontal view the card on the grass says it belongs to Richard Adams and he believes it to be a 1936.
The speedo is ahome concocted affair ,2 1/2 litre cars had 0-100 mph speedos, or if delivere d to the Continent 0-160kph speedos { I have one of these]. The 3 1/2 litre cars had 0-120 mph and 0-200 kph speedos
They don’t look like RAG carbs to me , Solex maybe. SS jaguars [ ie 100s] didn’t have RAGs.
The head might be a bronze head , or maybe just painted that colour or I suppose copper plated . I did once enquire about having one done but it was $ 550 at hat time, so…
The infills on the screen base have been pianted black , A friend was out from UK recently and said no one there could [ or would ] plate the whole unit because of the wood inside. They can certainly do them here
Although Angus Murray who used to post here had suggested using AC sheet instead of wood inside.
Te distributor is a stranger as well
here sa pic of an RAG carb , WE made a batch, A gigantic and extremely expensive job ,Nothing could be bought in, absolutely every part had to be made.
Holy Giant Sucking Sound, Carbman! When you refer to “WE,” who is WE??
You most definitely should be impressed. I am, and I generally am not impressed with reproduction parts, unless done to an exceptional/accurate standard.
Ed has shown me these repro RAG carbies ‘in the hand’, 100% made in Melbourne.
If not for the fact they are clearly new, impossible to tell from an original.
Ed has done a brilliant job, and I am sure he will have a spare or two he can sell you.
But I don’t know exactly what SS and/or SS Jaguar models/yeras you could get these RAG carbies on.
Let the SS experts correct me, but my simplistic understanding is they were not the standard fitment on any, but were a special request option on SS1 only, so not SS100?
Indeed in my SS and SS Jaguar Handbook collection, I have an SS 1934 INSTRUCTION BOOK that has included inside a 4-page folder (Handbook size) loose insert for the RAG ALL BRITISH CARBURETTER AS FITTED TO THE SS so have to presume at least offered on the 1934 SS1.
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RE: Yellow painted head
#39064 also has a “yellow/bronze” head that looks similar to this photo of #39049. I’m in the process of sorting and finding correct parts for my project. The best I can tell the head, carbs, and many of the ancillary items were transferred over to the Mark V block that was put into the car in 1962. I don’t think the bronze color is just paint, but I’ll learn more as I dismantle the engine that is in the car and transfer parts to the M series SS engine that Ed steered me to. Dave
For all I know, it could be the supreme rulers of the Australian continent, but it could also be Ed and his brother? 
Or a fellow mechanic/machinist with skills that go way beyond my imagination…
Cheers!
Greetings All,
Those look to be Solexes. They were quite popular, especially if you had RAG’s.
I don’t know when they stopped using RAG’s either.
I do know that my SS1 came with RAG’s originally in '34. Unfortunately, their design was somewhat open in the actuator mechanism making them prone to catching fire, being mounted over the exhaust manifold. Most owners mounted a “drip tray” underneath for obvious reasons. The above problems coupled with atrocious metallurgy and die cast techniques, made these prime candidates for upgrades.
Knew I could count on you to have a pic!
Was the head actually made of bronze?
Maybe. There is some mention of a high compression bronze head as an option. But no clear records or documentation. I will determine what the casting material is once I strip the engine apart.
Dave Wathen
M 248 821 6664