Resurrecting Scarlett, a 1969 Jaguar XKE roadster
James Troy Jones is a longtime Bay Area resident. He lives on his 45-foot trawler, which has been docked at the Oakland Yacht Club in Alameda for 13 years. He retired from Kaiser Permanente in 2012, ending a long career in the insurance industry. “Troy” is a classic car judge at the Concours d’ Elegance car shows. He enjoys working on cars, particularly British ones, and he owns several others including a 1981 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible.
The Jaguar E-Type was unveiled to the public in the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland in March 1961. Enzo Ferrari called it “the most beautiful car ever made.”
As the owner of a Regency Red 1969 Jaguar Series II E-Type roadster named Scarlett that I recently restored with my son-in-law, I share the sentiment.
I have always believed that one’s ethnic roots can affect one’s preference of car. With a British-born mother and a father of Welsh descent, I have always felt drawn to British motorcars. My first sports car was a convertible MG TD, purchased as a college student in Orange County.
I then upgraded to a convertible MG TF. At one point the teeth ended up being ground off the TF’s flywheel. I had to crank start it for about a year until my parents felt sorry for me and helped me pay for the repairs.
After that, I purchased a Jaguar XK 120 with a blown engine, which I rebuilt over six months. I took that car with me to Sacramento when I relocated, and drove it until I fell in love with Scarlett in 1984.
I first saw my Jaguar XKE roadster parked on the street. Just standing still, it appeared to be moving faster than a speeding bullet. It was the car of my dreams. At dinner with friends that evening, I brought up the car and how taken I was with it.
As it happened, my friends knew the owners, and it was indeed for sale. My friends arranged the introduction, and I purchased Scarlett for $6,400. I drove her until the engine blew up on Highway 80 in 1998.
It had always been my intention to rebuild the engine, but the time and proper circumstances never seemed to present themselves. It was a two-person job and I had no one locally to assist me. As I live on a 45-foot yacht I had no garage, so Scarlett went into storage until October 2013.
By that time I had retired, so I asked my son-in-law, Kevin Holden, to help me with the restoration. We did the work in his garage in El Dorado Hills.
Rather than just rebuild the engine, we decided on a full frame-on restoration.
We mutually agreed to have the engine itself professionally rebuilt by the man who had done the maintenance on the car for the previous owners. The bodywork and paint were also done professionally.
We did everything else ourselves. It was a physically challenging project. Bolts were hard to reach, getting the engine out around the torsion bars was beyond difficult and installing the rear shocks wore us both out. And then there were the brakes…
Restoring a car has certainly changed significantly since I worked on my XK 120 many years ago. Back then it was you, the car manual and your local network of auto parts shops.
Today you can use the Internet to retrieve schematics, view ‘how to’ videos and ‘chat’ with those who have struggled with the same difficulties you are facing. And as long as you are willing to pay for the shipping, parts can show up as early as the next day.
We have a photo album of the three-year process, and enjoy reliving Scarlett’s resurrection after 15 years in dusty storage. We showed Scarlett at the Niello Concours at Serrano as soon as the restoration was complete. It was a very special day for all of us — myself, Kevin and Scarlett.