Rolling restoration

I REALLY DON’T want to tempt fate but the Jaguar is proving to be the most reliable classic I have ever owned. It just… works. I bought it some ten years ago from XK specialist Jeremy Wade. A good car, it was sold as described and had benefited from a full body-off restoration in the 1990s so was solid and straight. It came with some desirable modifications including an ally rad and expansion tank, front disc brakes, alternator conversion, oil cooler, ally fuel tank with quick-release filler cap and, being an original Special Equipment-spec XK, it has the desirable C-type head, wire wheels, twin exhausts and overdrive.

Incorrect 15-inch wires with 205-section tyres were on the car, so I changed them immediately for correct 16-inch jobs from Motor Wheel Services and it is now shod with excellent Michelin Pilote X radials from Dougal Cawley’s Longstone Classic Tyres.

And so it goes on. My Jaguar logbook now consists of 84 pages (just counted) of work done to the car during my decade of ownership. Add up the total cost – I bravely keep a running tally – and it currently equates to the initial purchase price. Ouch. But a couple of grand per year spent getting the Jaguar to where it is today has been extremely rewarding and, as these classics don’t suffer catastrophic depreciation as modern cars do, I’m happy to spend the spondoolies!

As reported over the years I’ve had pretty much everything done to the mechanicals of the XK. The late Tim Waddingham rebuilt the engine, upping it from 3.4 litres to a naughty 3.8 by way of lipped, torsionally stiff competition liners, with a balanced bottom end fitted with modern, effective oil seals. Since then the Jaguar has never leaked a drop of oil. He also fitted a period-correct, all-synchronised Jaguar gearbox with competition overdrive.

Oops, I’ve run out of space, so will report next month on the XK’s return from its recent service at Twyford Moors.