1957 Jaguar

Some cars make the legend of a great marque and others live on it. This wonderful Mark 1 3.4 is clearly the former, built to a special specification with a rich and continuous competition history in the hands of dedicated privateers it represents all that is great about the Jaguar tradition.

Essex garage owner Frank William Brown had long harboured a wish to step up his racing career with an entry into the gruelling Monte Carlo Rally. Having seen the Jaguar MK VII dominate in 1956 and ‘57, the new MK1 model with the largest 3.4 litre six seemed ideal. He duly placed his order via local dealer Powell Motors of Forest Gate as noted in an original invoice copy on file. The factory obviously heard of his intentions as he was not only immediately offered a car that was in short supply but also a range of performance options by no less than Jaguar Competition Manager Lofty England. There was to be no official works Jaguar into the Monte that year despite the success of previous years and hence Lofty was clearly giving his support to this privateer entry. Finished in British Racing Green with Suede Green leather interior as today the factory fitted non-standard wire wheels and disc brakes, the twin cam six-cylinder engines compression ratio was raised to 9:1, a pair of two-inch SU carburettors replaced the standard 1 ¾’s and lead bronze bearing shells were fitted to the bottom end. The four speed Moss box featured an overdrive and close ratios and a high ratio steering box replaced the rather slow standard item.

The Jaguar left the factory on the 26th of September 1957 as noted in the JDHT build certificate on file and was registered the following month with Browns personal number FWB 1. The 1957 Monte Carlo entry document copies are on file along with the race plan and even pace notes, the Jaguar being allotted the number 253. Brown and his Co Drivers, Edwin Snusher and Graham Arnold set off for France. The Jaguar did not complete the event due to suspension damage following an offroad excursion Undeterred Brown had the Jaguar repaired and went on to campaign the car in hill climbs and sprints through 1959 as noted in race programmes on file. At the end of ‘59 Brown sold the Jaguar to his Monte Co driver Edwin Snusher who continued to campaign the car with entries in the 1960 Monte Carlo and Tulip rallies.

It was only in 1962 that Snusher registered the car in his own name and was allocated the number it wears to this day 4938 VW. Clearly enthusiastic and ambitious, Snusher designed and built an aluminium bodied Climax engined sports racer, the E/S Special. He continued to campaign the Jaguar and would use it to tow his new car to events, entering the Jaguar in saloon events and E/S in sports car events. The two tow bar grommets in the rear bumper testify to its tow car history.

Snusher hung up his racing boots in the mid Sixties and the Jaguar in the company of the E/S Special sat unused in the garage behind his house. Plans to refurbish the Jaguar never came to fruition and so in the 1980’s Snusher offered the Jaguar for sale in The Exchange And Mart, offered at £600 and described ‘raced, rallied and somewhat tired’

A perfect match came about as well-known historic racer and Goodwood Revival regular John Young spotted the advert and after a bit of a haggle he purchased the Jaguar determined to put it back where it belonged competing in the now historic races.

It came with newly boxed inner and outer sills that Snusher never got around to fitting along with the Monte Rally plates, spare wheels and race exhaust, Halda Speed Pilot and a mountain of paperwork and photographs documenting the car’s life.

The Jaguar looked rather down at heel but on inspection and dismantling at Jaguar specialists Swallow Engineering it proved to be pretty good and fortunately it was decided to retain originality where possible, not a widely recognised virtue in the classic world back then. Young spent about £10,000 readying the car, a great deal of money to spend on a Jag MK1 at the time and he then as promised went racing. The Jaguar was driven to a race at the Nurburgring in 1986, raced and driven back. Not the norm today….

In 1987 temptation came in the form of a famous competition E Type and hence the MK1 was sold to dealer Tony Hildebrand, indeed his advert for the car is on file. It sold quickly to a Japanese collection where it remained little used until the owner’s death in 2007 when the car was returned to England 20 years after it left and placed in an auction, a copy of the auction catalogue entry is on file. The sale of the Jaguar came to John Young’s attention and he once again became the owner.

The car remained virtually untouched during its Japanese break and needed only minor fettling to ready it for the 2008 Goodwood Revival Meeting. Work included a comprehensive service, brake refurbishment, Goodwood friendly exhaust and fitment of new Dunlop Racing Tyres. In the hands of John Young it went on to race extensively in the historic scene at Nurburgring, SpacFrancorchamps, Zandvoort, Snetterton, Castle Combe, Donington Park, Silverstone and Brands Hatch. Much documentation, race programmes, photographs and magazine articles on file further detail the car’s exploits in this period.

In 2012 Young sold the MK1 to JD Classics, well known Jaguar afficiandos at the time. They completed a careful renovation programme that retained the wonderful original feel of this super old car, the only evidence of their work being the small brass plaque on the driver’s sill scuff plate noting their renovation.

JD sold the car following this work to a regular client with a notable collection who retained it until his passing in 2017.

In 2017 the Jaguar was purchased by the last owner, a significant collector, who much like the original owner has long harboured the idea of competing in the historic Tour Auto. Unfortunately. other commitments have made this impossible. and the car has enjoyed a quiet life albeit it with regular use. Along with the other fabulous cars in the collection, it has been carefully stored and correctly maintained as detailed in invoicing on file.

Today the Jaguar presents beautifully, in great order with just the right patina which can never be recreated successfully. On the road it rapidly becomes clear this is no ordinary MK 1 with a positivity and turn of speed, the special specification and well sorted feel shining through.

It comes with two substantial history files that document the life of the car from new to date. It has FiA Historic Racing Papers making it eligible for so many historic competition events.

A really special competition car, part of Jaguars history and so usable for so little money relative to the values reached by many modern rather antiseptic classics.