What I Saw Today...

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:58 pm

What a sight for sore eyes!
There I was, tooling along in the slow lane, and what pulled up beside me and the driver waved (yes, waved!) ?
A mint-looking '63 Jag XKE Roadster in , yes, BRG !
With the top down, no less ( we are enjoying 70+ weather in STL *).
The early models had the headlight covers - super slick.
I've never forgotten the memorable quote from the old R&T, on its first test of the sensuous XKE in '63 - Henry Manney's quote, as I recall: "The greatest crumpet collector known to man" - still true...
Tom M.
* Oh yeah - this is in RED because the CARDINALS are the World Champions and brought the balmy breezes...

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:49 am

My brother has a '64 E-Jag...I think....sort of a fern green color...hard top....low miles. Needs a little work to get it on the road...just sits now.

I remember that quote about crumpets...at first I thought...WTF is this guy talking about pastries for?

Doesn't hold a candle to my old XK140 drophead coupe though...that I once owned...back in the good old days.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:51 am

Not dissin' your XK140 DHC - but next to the E-Type roadster, the sexiest Jag I ever saw was the 120/140 fixed head coupe.
I remember sitting in a brand-new one, black (or a really deep olive-black) back in 1954. I think it was a 120, because I do not remember those tiny rear jump seats. It was in the STL Jag showroom near my HS. It sounds funny, after 50+ years, but I can still remember the smell of that leather and wood and that looong hood.
In retrospect, I think I could imagine pulling up in front of a fancy night club and the doorman would open the doors and I and Lauren Bacall would exit - 'course, I was only 14 at the time, and Humphrey would have kicked my butt...
That car just oozed sophistication and worldliness and private club membership.
Tom M.
PS: DId you know - less than 2800 DHCs were made during the 4-year run? How much is that worth today?

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:20 pm

I got a thing for Jags too, my all time favorite is the E-type, in british racing green on course.

my friends recently picked up a 1996 XJR which we've been working on for the past couple weeks, its a bit of a fixer upper, but well well worth it.

330HP and 400ftlbs of torque, this car effortlessly flys along the freeway in the lap of luxury. anyone who dares get in its way soon learns better.

takza · Post by **takza** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:54 am

Right after I traded the XK140 for a TR3....I started wanting another Jag.

Found a burgundy hardtop 120 with the small window that had had a V8 put in it. Didn't buy it.

Saw a house paint white 140 that someone had welded a VW hardtop onto...that was really an impressive car...believe it or not. Looked like it was designed that way. Guy wouldn't sell it.

Now the old Jags are too expensive to mess around with....collectors only.

Did remember driving the 140...I was a job seeing over that hood for sure...with 210 HP...it would wind out pretty fast. Compared to the other cars on the road at that time...it was like driving in a time warp or something.

Check here for the Jag of your dreams?

http://ww2.collectorcartraderonline.com/search.php

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:23 am

Buh...buh... I... I want Jag.....
There is a Jag 4-door (I think its 4-door?) at Front Range being restored. I'll try to find out more about it.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:26 am

It's not a Jag, but it was still a really cool sight for me, being the Jeep fan that I am. I was passed (oncoming traffic) by an old M151 MUTT Vietnam era jeep. You know, the ones with the independant suspension and the sideways grill slots. I would love to have one of those.....,

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:15 pm

coltarms wrote:...old M151 MUTT Vietnam era jeep. You know, the ones with the independant suspension and the sideways grill slots. I would love to have one of those.....

Interesting - I thought that all of them were destroyed by the Army and not sold as surplus, because of the many roll-over problems and injuries caused by the IRS.
Guess that was an urban legend?
I don't think I've ever seen one since my Army days. They were just coming in when I got out; mine was an M38.
Tom M.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:15 pm

The govt was/is supposed to destroy any surplus or decom vehicles that did/does not comply with DOT safety standards. This was/is done by putting them on a conveyor belt and sending them through a big band saw. They are then sold as scrap, and collectors buy them as scrap and weld them back together. Silly, but everyone is happy in the end. Occasionally, one can stumble across an old 151 or M-38 or G-503 that wasn't cut and left the service via the "back door"....a parting gift to a retiring E9, kinda like an old 03 Springfield or M1 or 1911 that was never fired.

The urban legend is the myth that somewhere there is a warehouse full of G-503's still in their original WWII crates......

2manytoys4menow · Post by **2manytoys4menow** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:34 pm

when I was a little kid ( 1967ish) , my grandfather and a 1963 jag 4 door . I loved the shape of that car and I was faccinated with the "kittycat" on the horn button

. He was always working on it . I guess the thing about nickle & dimed him to death so he got rid of it . A few years ago I bought my buddies 1973 xke 4 door from him . I had to rebuild the cv carbs on it and put a fuel pump in it . It had the I6 and a automatic tranny . It was black with black leather interior and it had been slammed 2" and had nice 16" wheels on it . It was a nice car but someone at a local car show offered me a deal I couldn't refuse so I sold it . Car's , truck's and motorcycles don't stay in my possesion for to long . I get bored and move on to something else .

waynehoc · Post by **waynehoc** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:04 pm

He was always working on it .

When I was a teenager (many moons ago), the word was that you better not buy any British machine unless you have a good set of (Whitworth) wrenches, as you'll be needing them, a lot. I can't speak to whether or not it was the case with cars, but I know I was always having to do something on my Triumph Bonneville of the day.

2manytoys4menow · Post by **2manytoys4menow** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:51 pm

waynehoc wrote:
He was always working on it .
When I was a teenager (many moons ago), the word was that you better not buy any British machine unless you have a good set of (Whitworth) wrenches, as you'll be needing them, a lot. I can't speak to whether or not it was the case with cars, but I know I was always having to do something on my Triumph Bonneville of the day.

Oh god , the dredful lucus electrical systems on British rigs

. I remember building my 1st of many Triumph motorcycles

. I will never forget trying to time a bth mageto on my 56 pre unit 650 ( chopper) . while kicking it over It misfired and sent me over the bars . My dad still has his 67 bsa lightning . I guess I've always had a thing for cars & motorcycles that need alittle more love and attention to than others . No more motorcycles for me though . I wouldn't mind finding a 70-74 xke 2dr coupe that I could drop a caddy norstar motor into

.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:32 pm

waynehoc wrote:
...buy any British machine unless you have a good set of (Whitworth) wrenches, as you'll be needing them, a lot. I can't speak to whether or not it was the case with cars,...

Oh, yeah, it was true. My first Minor ('52) was all Whitworth, and the second through fourth were as well, save for some SAE things like drain and filler plugs. My last ('67) was Whitworth, SAE and metric... My '52 Singer used Whitworth and British Standard Fine.
Craftsman offered a full set of open and box wrenches and sockets for a couple of years in the late '50s. I bought the set when I got my first Morris, and sold them on eBay for some very attractive bucks after I sold the Singer in 2003 - Whitworth are still available today (not Craftsman), but are some major bucks - not that one has much of an option, though. These tools came in quite handy when working on old BritBikes when I had the bicycle store.

And oh, the Lucas jokes:
"Why do the British like warm beer?" "Because Lucas made the refrigerators."
Lucas - Prince of Darkness.
And many more that I've forgotten.
For a country that gets so much rain - the BMC "A" engine in so many Morrises and Austins and the Spridgets have a distributor that was really low-mounted, and would short out when going over a not-so-deep puddle. I used to take a big bike tube and make a kind of sleeve for the unit.

And I think the British gasket companies never figured out how to make gaskets that would actually hold back oil... Old Jags were notorious for having speedo cables that would drip oil on the driver's shoes and socks - and all of the rest of the cars would simply leak from the engine and transmission when sitting in the showroom.
But - bless their hearts, they had personalities.
Tom M.

takza · Post by **takza** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:11 am

I heard all the horror stories about Lucas electrics...but other than the XK140 blowing a fuse that kept it from starting on occasion...I never saw many problems.

Did have an MG Midget that stopped running in the rain though. Probably needed a new cap. rotor, and wires.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 3:32 am

ARCHINSTL wrote:Old Jags were notorious for having speedo cables that would drip oil on the driver's shoes and socks

Swifts and Metros do that too!