CAR-SPOTTING
Can I say, another excellent issue in 445...
The car that John Marley spotted on page 13, is a Jowett Jupiter, a little Pommy sports car powered by a f lat four driving the rear wheels. The whole front end lifted up in one piece. The Jupiter joined the Javelin, a four door fastback sedan powered by the same f lat four. Not many of either were sold here...
And I’m pretty sure that the ute Benny Simpson spotted is an FB. Too similar to an EK, I know, but as well as a grille with more bars, the EKs parking lights were located in a housing which was an extension of the top grille bar, further out on the edge of the guard...
Phil Minns
ED: Thanks, Phil. We must try and track down a Jowett – any willing owners out there? Get in touch, please.
WATER TOY
I enjoyed reading your Water Toy piece on the Amphicar 770. I have attached a photo I took in Paris some years ago. This example was on the back of a barge moored on the Seine. It was there over my many visits to Paris. I passed it regularly on my early morning runs.
Peter R Hill
ED: Thanks, Peter. It was an absolute hoot to go for a run in it. And yes, what a perfect car if you lived on the water!
OPTIONS
Re your mention of loads of options being available when XBs were around: What a smorgasbord it was back in the 70s, as you alluded to.
Back then one of the local Ford Dealers had a new demonstrator XB Fairmont sedan on the showroom f loor with the lot
Aqua in colour, with matching bumpers, it came with four-wheel discs, 9-inch diff, GT suspension, grille/ driving lights, bonnet scoops, and the elongated ends on the twin pipes.
There was the 351 up front, albeit the 2V spec, sun roof, (but no vinyl), fast glass and tinted laminated screen, premium sound (Pioneer?) and air-con.
Memory escapes on whether it was a T-bar auto
“YOUNG GUYS LIKE ME THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD WAY TO GET INTO A GT LOOK-A-LIKE”
or four-speed manual, but it was shod with appropriately sized schmick jelly bean alloys and GT rubber.
Interior was white with the added instrument cluster.
The price? Well young guys like me at the time thought it would be a cheap way to get into a GT look-a-like, without being slugged mega bucks for comprehensive insurance.
And in this case the car being already fully registered and a demonstrator to boot, one thought you would be half a chance of driving off with it. The salesman certainly rearranged my aspirations on that score as selling the house wasn’t an option!
Eric Waples
Good one, Eric. I suspect back in the day the options list was a hugely important source of income to your average dealer. The base price got you in the door, then the games began!
September. It was there with a few other Jaguars, I think from the Jaguar Car Club in WA.
The car looks like it has many Mark VII panels, but is two-door and appears to be too low to have been simply a customised Mark VII. Intriguingly, it had a ‘Mark
VI’ badge on its boot. The car is immaculate and I thought it would make in interesting story for Unique Cars.
Thanks for a great magazine!
Peter le Souëf
ED: Well done, Peter, you’ve found a great little mystery there. We have heard of something similar, which was an ‘XK7’ special, based on a Mark VII that was shortened and lowered. So we’re guessing that’s what this is. Perhaps someone can put the owner in touch with us?