1958 Jaguar Mk1 3.4 Project.
Discussion
I posted this in the Jaguar section but thought it would probably be more appropriate here...
I thought I'd post a little bit about my project car, as I'm sure you'll see it has a long road ahead of it but It's pretty much my dream car so It's worth it. It's a rare 1958 Jaguar MK1, 3.4 manual with overdrive. Affectionately named "Boris" this is the story of how I found, saved, sold, regretted, tracked down, tried to buy it back, didn't, tracked down again and finally got it back last month.
About 10 years ago I went to a local kit car company with a view to buying a starter kit and testing out their demo car. I took a bit of a wrong turn and ended up finding this car.
It wasn't for sale, the guy had bought it from local banger lads and was going to race it himself. A real shame but these things happen. A few months later the car appeared on eBay, so I sold my TVR and bought it! It came with an engine and gearbox that the guy had bought online, the right type for the car but not it's original....or so we thought. On getting home the engine and gearbox numbers were checked and it turned out this was the cars original parts, what are the chances.
I had the car for about 6 months in storage while I decided where to start and one day out of the blue the Police showed up at my door. Apparently the car had been stolen years before, it was still on the stolen register and (quite rightfully) the original owner wanted it back. I was told not to work on or touch the car while the Investigation was underway. I provided everything I could to the Police and waited...for months. I was eventually informed that the car was off the stolen register and was mine, I don't quite know the ins and outs of it all as no-one wanted to tell me but the original owner obviously didn't want it back. Unfortunately I'd become a bit disillusioned with the car after all this so it was sold in around 2015 to someone that restores them and races them to at places like Goodwood etc.
I regretted selling the car immediately. I knew that the chances of owning another were slim due to the rarity and prices increasing year on year. I tried to find the car but it had gone, but I was happy that it had gone to a good home. Around 18 months ago I posted online on a Jaguar facebook group about the car and learnt it was for sale. I sold everything to buy it back, but family problems and a few other things meant it didn't happen and it had gone...again. Luckily, this year a few things have gone right, I contacted the owner and we came to a deal. Two weeks ago I collected the car, and a few days later the engine and gearbox.
The condition is largely the same due to the dry conditions it was stored in. A few bit's of bright work are missing, the super rare and almost no existent windscreen chromes, and the grill are the main parts (although the previous owner thinks he has the grill which is great news) Progress will be really slow, collecting parts is going to be the focus for now, but I will be rebuilding the engine and gearbox at home over winter.
So..there you have it, the story so far. Some real ups and downs but that stops here, I'll not be letting it go again.
I thought I'd post a little bit about my project car, as I'm sure you'll see it has a long road ahead of it but It's pretty much my dream car so It's worth it. It's a rare 1958 Jaguar MK1, 3.4 manual with overdrive. Affectionately named "Boris" this is the story of how I found, saved, sold, regretted, tracked down, tried to buy it back, didn't, tracked down again and finally got it back last month.
About 10 years ago I went to a local kit car company with a view to buying a starter kit and testing out their demo car. I took a bit of a wrong turn and ended up finding this car.
It wasn't for sale, the guy had bought it from local banger lads and was going to race it himself. A real shame but these things happen. A few months later the car appeared on eBay, so I sold my TVR and bought it! It came with an engine and gearbox that the guy had bought online, the right type for the car but not it's original....or so we thought. On getting home the engine and gearbox numbers were checked and it turned out this was the cars original parts, what are the chances.
I had the car for about 6 months in storage while I decided where to start and one day out of the blue the Police showed up at my door. Apparently the car had been stolen years before, it was still on the stolen register and (quite rightfully) the original owner wanted it back. I was told not to work on or touch the car while the Investigation was underway. I provided everything I could to the Police and waited...for months. I was eventually informed that the car was off the stolen register and was mine, I don't quite know the ins and outs of it all as no-one wanted to tell me but the original owner obviously didn't want it back. Unfortunately I'd become a bit disillusioned with the car after all this so it was sold in around 2015 to someone that restores them and races them to at places like Goodwood etc.
I regretted selling the car immediately. I knew that the chances of owning another were slim due to the rarity and prices increasing year on year. I tried to find the car but it had gone, but I was happy that it had gone to a good home. Around 18 months ago I posted online on a Jaguar facebook group about the car and learnt it was for sale. I sold everything to buy it back, but family problems and a few other things meant it didn't happen and it had gone...again. Luckily, this year a few things have gone right, I contacted the owner and we came to a deal. Two weeks ago I collected the car, and a few days later the engine and gearbox.
The condition is largely the same due to the dry conditions it was stored in. A few bit's of bright work are missing, the super rare and almost no existent windscreen chromes, and the grill are the main parts (although the previous owner thinks he has the grill which is great news) Progress will be really slow, collecting parts is going to be the focus for now, but I will be rebuilding the engine and gearbox at home over winter.
So..there you have it, the story so far. Some real ups and downs but that stops here, I'll not be letting it go again.
Lily the Pink said:
Nice story and 10 out of 10 for perseverance. What has happened to the wheels ? The NSR looks decidedly odd.
Thanks! In the picture on the trailer that's the cars standard Mk1 axle, they were very narrow track. On the last photo where it's on the trailer (again) and covered in dust, it's wearing XJS rear wheels as they held air for moving the car around.
I bought mine with one family ownership and 18,000 original miles, added a tow bar and used it like this. A great project you have there and you might like to look here and ask questions about parts availability:-
https://www.facebook.com/groups/127677180733551
https://www.facebook.com/groups/127677180733551
croissant said:
Great story and look forward to seeing this develop! What are your plans for this?
I can't afford a concours restoration, and I'm not sure I'd want one even if I could as I'd be scared to use the car. I'd love a Hawthorn replica but I feel it's been done a bit too much so just a nice above average usable car is the aim. It's going to take a while, but it's worth it.lowdrag said:
I bought mine with one family ownership and 18,000 original miles, added a tow bar and used it like this. A great project you have there and you might like to look here and ask questions about parts availability:-
https://www.facebook.com/groups/127677180733551
That's a brilliant photo, just perfect! Do you still have yours? Thanks for the link, I've joined the group.https://www.facebook.com/groups/127677180733551
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