Jaguar XK120/140/150 - So small

[geeman237]

I’ve recently helped someone work on their XK120 FHC. Damn I can’t even get in it! Literally impossible for me to drive it. I’m 6’ 2” about 15 st but flexible.
How do people cope with entry and egress on such cars? What’s the limit on size to comfortably drive them?
Just my observation.

[Nyloc20]

I agree with you there. A friend has had an XK120 fhc for many years, I had a drive in it around twenty years ago. I’m 5’10’’ and I remember it wasn’t a very enjoyable drive.

[GeniusOfLove]

You just don't get to drive them, or if you do it's in great discomfort.

People were smaller then, by and large, although you'd probably find a current model MX5 suboptimal.

[Lotobear]

I recently tried a seat in my pals MGA twin cam coupe and found the same. Literally had to fall back out hands first.

[Sebring440]

GeniusOfLove said:

People were smaller then, by and large,

People were smaller then? That must be the quickest evolutionary trend since, uh, evolution was invented!

[gt40steve]

I concur, XK120 very uncomfortable for me. Lovely car for someone else to drive !

[GeniusOfLove]

Sebring440 said:

People were smaller then? That must be the quickest evolutionary trend since, uh, evolution was invented!

I thought this was general knowledge. 6'2" would be a good 6 to 6.5" over the mean height of a man in mid 60s Britain.

Yes, people are significantly taller and significantly heavier now than they were in the 1960s with particularly notable changes in European countries.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uks-mr-avera...
https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/08/19/why-ha...
https://ourworldindata.org/human-height
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

Edited by GeniusOfLove on Thursday 29th October 15:03

[XR]

The XK150 was commodious by comparison, a clever restyle to allow actual people to get in and out and drive the thing. They are all beautiful cars!


120


140


150

[harrycovert]

They addressed the XK120 problem in the XK140 by moving the bulkhead forward 3" ,it does make a differance.

[geeman237]

Glad it’s not just me then. As someone else said, the MGA FHC is another one. It felt like I was trying to get into a 3/4 scale car.
My Daimler SP250 wasn’t too bad.

What other 50’s and 60’s classics proved a tight squeeze and you had to say pass on buying one?

[wibble cb]

I am 6 ft 5 and drive a frogeye…..I make it work

[ferret50]

I had a couple of little jobs done on my MG BGT at Toad Hall Workshop in Hoveton over the summer, when I went to collect my car looked tiny alongside a lovely indigo blue XK140!

[Chad speed]

I looked at an XK120 FHC and found the cabin very cramped and I'm only 5'8" and slim. As mentioned above Jaguar corrected this with the XK140 FHC which I now have and the seat can go back another 4" when I'm driving. For me the hints of Art Deco styling were lost in the XK150 FHC and I just cant help see it as a coupe version of the Mk1/2 saloon (even though it not and predates them).
The XK140 FHC really is a lovely car to drive and must have been a rocket ship back in the day, it will cruise in overdrive top at well above legal limits all day long.
The leaper on the red XK150's bonnet above needs to binned by the way.