Nice Jag!

[Harry Rule]

Here's a 1971 Daimler Sovereign that's just popped up at Mathewson's

https://youtu.be/XhbhOWHaJRc?si=xgykMPOq0WK9Z2IW

Untaxed since 1983 and in need of a fair bit of TLC, but potentially one owner from new and only 12,000 miles.

[P5BNij]

lukeharding said:

P5BNij said:

I actually like black interiors in older cars but appreciate why some find them too dark or claustrophobic. The other colours available throughout the series XJs are nice though, the dark blues look classy while the olive green is very 'period'. The only thing that didn't gell with me in my S2 XJ was the biscuit interior which was three different shades of beige, I'd have much preferred red or black!

The contrasting blue interior in Luke's S1 XJ12 is lovely...

It is a lovely interior that makes the car. The red interior on my Daimler is also another favourite. A heather pink car like the one above is definitely on my list though, and I know of another one that got broken for parts in the last couple of years sadly. When I finally get around to my battered sable brown car I may put a green interior in it.

Also had a Moroccan bronze S2 3.4 which was a really sweet little engine, and another favourite colour of mine for an XJ

Before I bought my regency red S2 4.2 I had a look at a sable brown S2 3.4 at a classic dealer out in the Fens, it really was a sweet engine and the cloth interior was surprisingly good, the only reason I didn't buy it was because of the crustiness of the valances and wheel arches. I already knew the car before viewing it as it lived here in Rugby for several years and I used to drive past it on the way to work. The owner was a serial Jag man, he often had two or three XJs on his drive at any one time, stand outs were the S1 and S2 Daimler Double Six VDPs he had for a while, one in coral and one in morello cherry. His daily for most of the '80s was a late S2 XJ6 4.2 manual in juniper green with a black vinyl roof on Kent alloys kept in tip top condition.

What's the V12 like to work on Luke, is it a faff getting to anythign under all that pipework on top...? Never driven one but I know there's bags of torque available.

Some nice period S2 stuff...

[sjc]

I’ll stick this then .. me polishing my dads .. ,
Circa 1977/78

[MikeE]

P5BNij said:

This is the £22k heather S1 I was talking about earlier, although I got the interior colour wrong for some reason...







Another unusual colour on this S1 seen parked up somewhere in London, possibly a respray, one I posted ages ago in the period classics thread...

A year or two ago there was a S1 XJ12 in Heather with Red interior for sale, it's probably that one you're thinking of?

[MikeE]

Harry Rule said:

Whoever has done the restoration of that grey one at Mathewson's has done a cracking job on it. It's unusual to see one that still has the straight tailpipes, it was only very early cars that had those.

There were 2 years or so where they were fitted. My father had a J plate XJ6 from new and that had straight tail pipes, he got a recall notice from the garage to have them changed to the curved pipes to solve the fumes in the boot issue. It also had the rear reflectors on the wind rather than the earlier position on the reverse lights, so as ever with Jaguar it was a constant evolution rather than packages of upgrades.

[Harry Rule]

MikeE said:

Harry Rule said:

Whoever has done the restoration of that grey one at Mathewson's has done a cracking job on it. It's unusual to see one that still has the straight tailpipes, it was only very early cars that had those.

There were 2 years or so where they were fitted. My father had a J plate XJ6 from new and that had straight tail pipes, he got a recall notice from the garage to have them changed to the curved pipes to solve the fumes in the boot issue. It also had the rear reflectors on the wind rather than the earlier position on the reverse lights, so as ever with Jaguar it was a constant evolution rather than packages of upgrades.

I didn't know that, I thought the curved tailpipes, the reflectors being put below the light clusters and the chrome ringed dials going all happened at the same time.

My dad's 1971 J plate had the curved tailpipes, although it was 2 years old when he got it so likely had already been in to get that attended to.

[Harry Rule]

sjc said:

I’ll stick this then .. me polishing my dads .. ,
Circa 1977/78

That car would've been part of the Jaguar's press/publicity fleet when the series 2 first came out. They had consecutive numbers running from OHP10M through to OHP30M.

There's a 1974 film called The Internecine Project starring James Coburn. One of the other stars, Ian Hendry, drives OHP15M in the film. Same colour as your dad's old car minus the vinyl roof.

[uk66fastback]

I’m certainly not adverse to a Series 2 although I’d been looking at MkIIs and Daimler 250s - but the prices of the MkIIs have gone a bit haywire even though I’m sure you can still find decent cars for good money.

I saw this S1 Daimler 4.2 earlier this year - the guy had just bought it …

[P5BNij]

Harry Rule said:

sjc said:

I’ll stick this then .. me polishing my dads .. ,
Circa 1977/78

That car would've been part of the Jaguar's press/publicity fleet when the series 2 first came out. They had consecutive numbers running from OHP10M through to OHP30M.

There's a 1974 film called The Internecine Project starring James Coburn. One of the other stars, Ian Hendry, drives OHP15M in the film. Same colour as your dad's old car minus the vinyl roof.

Here's another from that batch...



There was also a batch of S2 press cars with 'HHP ----' reg' numbers...











And not surprisingly a batch of S1 press cars had Warwickshire 'VC' markers...

[TarquinMX5]

Harry Rule said:

MikeE said:

Harry Rule said:

Whoever has done the restoration of that grey one at Mathewson's has done a cracking job on it. It's unusual to see one that still has the straight tailpipes, it was only very early cars that had those.

There were 2 years or so where they were fitted. My father had a J plate XJ6 from new and that had straight tail pipes, he got a recall notice from the garage to have them changed to the curved pipes to solve the fumes in the boot issue. It also had the rear reflectors on the wind rather than the earlier position on the reverse lights, so as ever with Jaguar it was a constant evolution rather than packages of upgrades.

I didn't know that, I thought the curved tailpipes, the reflectors being put below the light clusters and the chrome ringed dials going all happened at the same time.

My dad's 1971 J plate had the curved tailpipes, although it was 2 years old when he got it so likely had already been in to get that attended to.

Interesting. I have one reference (quoted earlier) which states that the exhaust changed in June '69, which is clearly incorrect as a '71 model-year brochure shows straight tail pipes and I have a photo of a J-reg press car with straight pipes.

A much older reference states numerous changes in the early years, including diff ratios and seats in Aug '69, black bezels Spring '70, front lights March '70, rear lights/reflectors August '70. My understanding is that the straight pipes allowed exhaust fumes to be sucked into the cabin through open windows, rather than the boot.

[P5BNij]

'75 XJC manual being auctioned on c&c...

https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1975-jaguar...

[OLDBENZ]

I still have straight pipes on my 1970 on a J 4.2 manual o/d which I bought earlier this year. This also has the chrome bezel dials and is an original, unrestored, car. Photo showing pipes below.

I had always understood the change to swan-neck tail pipes was to do with fumes entering the cabin but my knowledgeable vendor told me it was to stop the exhaust cracking at the manifold which happened when the straight tailpipes (which project beyond the bumper) caught a wall or other obstacle when reversing. With the swan-neck tail pipes the pipes simply bend at the swan-neck on impact.

I had always held a candle for the S1 XJs. When I was young my parents car pooled on the school run with two other families. Both the fathers of the other kids bought new late series 1 XJ6s on an M at exactly the same time in late 1973 - one was a heather 4.2 auto with a cerise interior and the other was a 2.8 manual o/d in willow green. I spent much prepubescent sweat
worrying which one I would choose in the unlikely event I was told by the car fairy that I could pick one (but just one). Should I have the 4.2 even though an auto or should I go for the manual even though it was a 2.8? Happily, exactly 50 years later I have the best of both worlds. All entirely subjective, of course.

Edited by OLDBENZ on Wednesday 1st November 21:38

[sjc]

Harry Rule said:

sjc said:

I’ll stick this then .. me polishing my dads .. ,
Circa 1977/78

That car would've been part of the Jaguar's press/publicity fleet when the series 2 first came out. They had consecutive numbers running from OHP10M through to OHP30M.

There's a 1974 film called The Internecine Project starring James Coburn. One of the other stars, Ian Hendry, drives OHP15M in the film. Same colour as your dad's old car minus the vinyl roof.

Indeed…

Edited by sjc on Monday 30th October 23:33

[a8hex]

P5BNij said:

Another unusual colour on this S1 seen parked up somewhere in London, possibly a respray, one I posted ages ago in the period classics thread...

I remember there being a metallic gold/yellow Jag on Sudbury Court estate in Wembley when I was growing up. Been a long time and my mind is playing tricks, it either near the top of the hill on Blockley Rd or on Oldborough Rd near East Lane school. I wouldn't have noticed the difference between a 420 or an XJ back then, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Mk10/420G.

[uk66fastback]

I’ve just noticed that yellow Jag pic is from back in the day, so surely an original colour? It needs the headlights, maybe just the outer ones, to be white though for me!

[vixen1700]

Had a 3.6 XJ40 back in the late '90s.

[lukeharding]

P5BNij said:

lukeharding said:

P5BNij said:

I actually like black interiors in older cars but appreciate why some find them too dark or claustrophobic. The other colours available throughout the series XJs are nice though, the dark blues look classy while the olive green is very 'period'. The only thing that didn't gell with me in my S2 XJ was the biscuit interior which was three different shades of beige, I'd have much preferred red or black!

The contrasting blue interior in Luke's S1 XJ12 is lovely...

It is a lovely interior that makes the car. The red interior on my Daimler is also another favourite. A heather pink car like the one above is definitely on my list though, and I know of another one that got broken for parts in the last couple of years sadly. When I finally get around to my battered sable brown car I may put a green interior in it.

Also had a Moroccan bronze S2 3.4 which was a really sweet little engine, and another favourite colour of mine for an XJ

Before I bought my regency red S2 4.2 I had a look at a sable brown S2 3.4 at a classic dealer out in the Fens, it really was a sweet engine and the cloth interior was surprisingly good, the only reason I didn't buy it was because of the crustiness of the valances and wheel arches. I already knew the car before viewing it as it lived here in Rugby for several years and I used to drive past it on the way to work. The owner was a serial Jag man, he often had two or three XJs on his drive at any one time, stand outs were the S1 and S2 Daimler Double Six VDPs he had for a while, one in coral and one in morello cherry. His daily for most of the '80s was a late S2 XJ6 4.2 manual in juniper green with a black vinyl roof on Kent alloys kept in tip top condition.

What's the V12 like to work on Luke, is it a faff getting to anythign under all that pipework on top...? Never driven one but I know there's bags of torque available.

I wouldn't say its a faff really, though I know others will disagree with me. These earlier V12s are easier to work with than later fuel injected cars (from an access/time perspective). They're really lovely engines, and you can feel that they really want to 'go' and pull well throughout the rev range. Considering I bought three S1 V12s at the same time (with my Daimler as a non runner), the white car had the keenest engine, and though we've done a lot of work to the Daimler and its carbs, the white car still has the keener engine of the two. The green car I had has gone off to be restomodded, so hoping to see that when it is done and the new owner is using it.

[P5BNij]

MikeE said:

P5BNij said:

This is the £22k heather S1 I was talking about earlier, although I got the interior colour wrong for some reason...







Another unusual colour on this S1 seen parked up somewhere in London, possibly a respray, one I posted ages ago in the period classics thread...

A year or two ago there was a S1 XJ12 in Heather with Red interior for sale, it's probably that one you're thinking of?

Yes I think it was, but the one I posted the pics of is definitely the one that went for £22k, so there must have been two heather cars for sale around the same time

[P5BNij]

OLDBENZ said:

I still have straight pipes on my 1970 on a J 4.2 manual o/d which I bought earlier this year. This also has the chrome bezel dials and is an original, unrestored, car. Photo showing pipes below.

I had always understood the change to swan-neck tail pipes was to do with fumes entering the cabin but my knowledgable vendor told me it was to stop the exhaust cracking at the manifold which happened when the straight tailpipes (which project beyond the bumper) caught a wall or other obstacle when reversing. With the swan-neck tail pipes the pipes simply bend at the swan-neck on impact.

I had always held a candle for the S1 XJs. When I was young my parents car pooled on the school run with two other families. Both the fathers of the other kids bought new late series 1 XJ6s on an M at exactly the same time in late 1973 - one was a heather 4.2 auto with a cerise interior and the other was a 2.8 manual o/d in willow green. I spent much prepubescent sweat
worrying which one I would choose in the unlikely event I was told by the car fairy that I could pick one (but just one). Should I have the 4.2 even though an auto or should I go for the manual even though it was a 2.8? Happily, exactly 50 years later I have the best of both worlds. All entirely subjective, of course.

That is the bee's knees - would love to see some more photos of it

I've just started re-reading Nigel Thorley's 'XJ The Complete Companion' and 'Original Jaguar XJ' books, these cars are definitely getting under my skin again. I really do regret selling my S2 now.

[Harry Rule]

P5BNij said:

OLDBENZ said:

I still have straight pipes on my 1970 on a J 4.2 manual o/d which I bought earlier this year. This also has the chrome bezel dials and is an original, unrestored, car. Photo showing pipes below.

I had always understood the change to swan-neck tail pipes was to do with fumes entering the cabin but my knowledgable vendor told me it was to stop the exhaust cracking at the manifold which happened when the straight tailpipes (which project beyond the bumper) caught a wall or other obstacle when reversing. With the swan-neck tail pipes the pipes simply bend at the swan-neck on impact.

I had always held a candle for the S1 XJs. When I was young my parents car pooled on the school run with two other families. Both the fathers of the other kids bought new late series 1 XJ6s on an M at exactly the same time in late 1973 - one was a heather 4.2 auto with a cerise interior and the other was a 2.8 manual o/d in willow green. I spent much prepubescent sweat
worrying which one I would choose in the unlikely event I was told by the car fairy that I could pick one (but just one). Should I have the 4.2 even though an auto or should I go for the manual even though it was a 2.8? Happily, exactly 50 years later I have the best of both worlds. All entirely subjective, of course.

That is the bee's knees - would love to see some more photos of it

I've just started re-reading Nigel Thorley's 'XJ The Complete Companion' and 'Original Jaguar XJ' books, these cars are definitely getting under my skin again. I really do regret selling my S2 now.

Yes Oldbenz I'd like to see some more photos of your car as well, it looks absolutely immaculate and it's remarkable that it's unrestored.

I've got to say as well, I've always been a huge fan of the series 1, but looking at all these photos of the series 2 I'm starting to get a proper appreciation for them as well.

I think for a long time the series 2 was just seen as a relic from the dark days of BL and got forgotten.