MkII - What should I look out for?

[Jack Blag]

I'm considering buying a MkII as a second car to keep in the garage. It will probably get used two or three times a week, doing around 3000 miles a year.

I would appreciate any advice from owners regarding reliability issues, fuel consumption, general running costs, etc. I would also be interested to know what to look out for when buying one. All advice gratefully received!

[a8hex]

I've not got a Mk II but I looked at buying one last year. The advise I was given was the check the bodywork very carefully. It's expensive to put right. The mechanical stuff is much easier. Particularly check the jacking points under the sills.

The one I tried to sort a deal on was built up by Ken Bell as a replica of a racing Mk2 he'd originally built back at the start of the 60s when he was at Coombes. It was really nice.

There are 4 engine options.
The Daimler V8
Then Jaguar 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 and they go up very steeply in price as you go through the engine range. If you join the JEC there are usually quite a few ads for Mk2s in the mag. If you go to meetings there will probably be Mk2s coming along this time of year, unless the weather is like it was last Monday. If you say you're interested in a Mk2 you'll probably get someone to show you around what to look for.

The other option is to look at S-Types, which look very similar from the front, but have the E-Type/Mk10 rear suspension and a larger boot. These are typically cheaper than Mk2s since on the whole Joe public hasn't heard of them.

Other places to look for info would be www.jag-lovers.org. There is a "saloons" forum there that covers Mk2s and a few other models, including S types. I suspect their is also a buyers guide on there for Mk2s.

yes try
http://www.jag-lovers.org/saloons/mk2.html

Good luck.

[Jack Blag]

Thanks for the links! I presume that you bought the XK150 instead? They are gorgeous cars...

[a8hex]

Jack Blag said:

Thanks for the links! I presume that you bought the XK150 instead? They are gorgeous cars...

No I bought the 150 first. But I've got kids and they're bloody spoilt when it comes to leg room, so they started to complain sooner than expected. The misses thinks I should trade the 150 for a Mk2, I think think I should buy a Mk2 instead, although I was looking to trade the 150 against the Ken Bell Mk2, it was the one featured in Jaguar World about the time I was looking.

I then started looking at turning a 2.4 Mk2 into a 4.2, now I've got a garage full of engines but the project is on hold at the mo.

[Jack Blag]

Sounds like a nice dilemma to be in. If it were me, I would hold on to the XK150... it's a great looking car from an era when cars were designed using a drawing board and panels were beaten by hand!

[a8hex]

Jack Blag said:

Sounds like a nice dilemma to be in. If it were me, I would hold on to the XK150... it's a great looking car from an era when cars were designed using a drawing board and panels were beaten by hand!

OK, I thought about it but now

Phases like

Over my dead body

spring to mind. No I've no intention of letting go of the XK. Problem is the misses is very reluctant for us to add another car to what she sees turning into a fleet.



but

was rather nice.

What I really need is both of them.

Edited by a8hex on Saturday 3rd May 13:17

[Jack Blag]

a8hex said:

What I really need is both of them.

[a8hex]

Jack Blag said:

a8hex said:

What I really need is both of them.

The difficulty is explaining this to the wife. She already finds it hard to see why I need 2 Jags let alone a third. It would also possibly mean her Merc being kicked out of the garage at times, although I'd probably find a new home for one of the classics.

Why isn't there a smiley for being under the thumb?

[lowdrag]

Jack Blag said:

I'm considering buying a MkII as a second car to keep in the garage. It will probably get used two or three times a week, doing around 3000 miles a year.

I would appreciate any advice from owners regarding reliability issues, fuel consumption, general running costs, etc. I would also be interested to know what to look out for when buying one. All advice gratefully received!

First of all a good Mk 2 will give years of pleasure at very little cost, but you will have to be careful when buying. The best advice I can give is to join the JDC or JEC and ask one of the resident experts to vet a prospective purchase for you. Their fees are well worth the expenditure, believe me. As regards which model to buy, the Daimler version is rare and has a silky smooth 2.5 litre V8 but, and a big but, virtually all have auto boxes. Not many were made with manual boxes. On the actual Jaguar front I'd avoid the 2.4 since it isn't really powerful enough and (I expect a few howls here) I'd leave out the 3.8 too. The world and it's dog wants the 3.8 model and prices are considerably higher than the 3.4 for virtually no benefit. Besides, the 3.4 lump is without doubt the smoothest of the bunch by far. Fuel consumption on a manual overdrive 3.4 will be around 20mpg overall, but since you aren't doing much mileage the cost is negligible anyway.I looked in this months JDC magazine and there's a nice looking 3.4 manual for £15,000 and a truly superb Daimler auto, very low original mileage at an asking price of £17,000.

The S type; the Cinderella of the range, the ugly sister. I've owned one and it was a magic carpet ride with the E type independent suspension and an enormous boot. We toured Europe with it. No one likes them so you'll get a magnificent one at half the cost of a Mk 2. There's one in the JDC magazine for £3,800 with new brakes and s/s exhaust and rebuilt suspension supposedly rust free. I've owned two Mk 2's in my time but my favourite was always my 3.4 Mk 1 - much rarer now and if you find a good one dearer but you'll never lose money on one of those. I paid £7,000 for mine, a one owner 18,000 mile car six years back but then I just fell lucky. Expect to pay about £15/20,000 for a really good one today.

One of the clubs will advise you about local serving guys who are trustworthy but the bills won't be dear. Anyway, my cars get serviced every two years normally depending on the mileage. The E type hardly goes out much now and is basically lent to friends when they are here, hasn't been serviced for several years but the brake fluid is good, the oil clean and the car runs just fine so why spend money unnecessarily? A full service is around the £300 mark here.

To sum up, you'll have endless fun with a Jaguar/Daimler Mk 1/2 at little cost - as long as you buy the right one. Don't even think of going it alone if you don't know your Jaguars; pay the club expert to check for you plus, and a big plus, quite often they know of a good car for sale within the club, a car that has been known for years by the members. Best of luck.

[Jack Blag]

Thanks for the very helpful advice. I knew the S was cheaper but I would have thought that with the E-type suspension it would have actually been more valuable. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My quest continues!

By the way, your long nose D-Type is truly gorgeous! I'm very jealous

[lowdrag]

Sadly in some ways the long nose was sold at the end of last year but frankly I didn't like it compared to the short nose. It handled like a jelly, the steering was weird with a Jack Knight quick rack (quick at centre and slower the further you went on lock) and I was never comfortable in it for some reason. The short nose is a real muscle car with a highly modified engine and neoprene bushed suspension throughout. A real go kart in fact. I was timed at 168mph a year back and it only has the medium rear axle in, not the long one and "on paper" (I wouldn't want to try it though) it can do about 200mph given the full Mulsanne straight. Here's a photo of my "rig".



Here's one of my other cars I very much regret selling. A real gentleman's express with three cigarette lighters! We were showing 118 on the M65 with 5 up about 8 years back!:-



I've had a sackful of Jaguars and never really had a serious problem with any of them - which is down to buying right. However, if you like my cars, just wait until next year and you'll see something rather special! Once again, best of luck.

[Jack Blag]

The photograph of the trailer is fantastic! Did you really tow the D-type with that car? I've always had a soft spot for old Jags (my great uncle was Ron Flockhart) so I'm looking forward to one day (hopefully soon) having a classic in the garage!

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

Sadly in some ways the long nose was sold at the end of last year but frankly I didn't like it compared to the short nose. It handled like a jelly, the steering was weird with a Jack Knight quick rack (quick at centre and slower the further you went on lock) and I was never comfortable in it for some reason.

Someone loves your long nose


I'm sure it's gone to a good home.

I like your S-Type BTW.

I'm sure I've seen you Mk9 before too, but I can't find the picture.

[lowdrag]

Er - you mean my Mk 1 and Mk VIII? yes, I use the Mk 1 to tow the D type since it is a bit of style, and that car was one owner 18,000 when I bought it. Similarly the D type had but 8,000 on when I bought it six years back. I can't see him as that kind of person but the car was built for Michael Palin. The Mk VIII was a fantastic car but in the end I let it go to the person who originally restored it. I bought it from a client who spent a fortune on rechroming etc. and then sold it to me for a song. The price of a good manual overdrive Mk VIII has gone through the roof now - about £25/35,000 is the asking price. There again, if you look at the predicted figures at Bonhams Monaco auction later this month for a couple of Lynx cars you'll blow your mind too. I bought the long nose so I could convert the short nose into an XKSS but loved the car so much I couldn't do it in the end. Perhaps when the new C type is finished I might then do it since I'll have one race car anyway.

Here's a photo of my old S type on the Norwich Union Rally in 1994 by the way. That car I bought from a family at Towcester where the owner had spent a fortune on the restoration and then sadly had a stroke. I sold it to a club member and the last I saw it there he was proud as punch with his wife and on the back seat the two teenage children and granny. A proper family car!



So Flockhart was your great uncle huh? Now there's a Jaguar history to live up to! If you are ever down at Le Mans be sure to email me and come and visit, won't you.

[a8hex]

I knew I was going to take flack over those two. I was thinking with the lack of chrome the tow truck looked like a Mk1, but then you were talking about your S-Type.
The big Mk cars are hard to tell apart and I've not made a great study of them.

These pictures I'd taken didn't realy help too much

Mk8

Mk9


I'd thought the leaper came in with the Mk9 it was the Mk8, the Mk7 had the previous mascot



Oh well, back to school to swap up on my Saloons.
I'll just have to persuade the wife I need to do practical study and add one to the collection.

Edited by a8hex on Tuesday 6th May 23:48

[lowdrag]

You aren't the only one to have trouble telling the big saloons apart since they are not seen that often and are basically the same body shell. The easiest to differentiate is the Mk VII which has a split windscreen but the differences between the VIII and IX are much more subtle, mostly under the skin. 3.8 engine, disc brakes and power steering to name but a few. You've got me yearning for one of them again now! People also confuse the Mk I and II but the difference is easy to spot - no chromes around the side window and no side lights on the top of the wings.

Here are a couple of photos of the big reunion of Mk I's for the 50th anniversary.