Indholdsfortegnelse for Oct/Nov 2024 i Classic Jaguar

Classic Jaguar is fifty. Okay, maybe not quite fifty years yet, but fifty issues - and we’ve celebrated with a big European holiday of sorts. While there was little time for lounging about, our Mille Miglia escapade was the stuff that memories are made of and I urge every one of you, if possible, to go and do something very like it with your classic Jaguar. If you want to go one better than fifty, do it in a 4.2-litre XK-engined car, because that engine is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year. Alan Anderson has the details, and has shared a little of its history in this issue. We also pit the E-type against a contemporary Aston, tell the story of the entry level XJ40 2.9, and chart the last…

HISTORY 4.2 XK ENGINE This year celebrates the 60th anniversary of what became the mainstay of the famous Jaguar XK engine strain, even though Brown Lane’s engineers detested it and that thought it a bodge job. The 4.2-litre was introduced in late 1964 to power both the E-type and the luxury MkX saloon but it also went on to serve in the military with distinction remaining in service until 1992 – not bad for a quick fix engine which was all to please the Americans! From the country where “the bigger the better” rules, while the 3.8 was powerful enough, it lacked torque in comparison to their lusty V8s. And with the bulk of Jaguars exported to the States (80 per cent at least), something had to be done quickly…

FULL STEAM AHEAD! On Sunday 15 September, the Jaguar Drivers’ Club will be back at Statfold (Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffs B79 0BU) for another great day out at this exciting heritage railway museum for the annual Road, Rail and Ale Festival. Classic cars, commercials and tractors play a big part in the display but so do traction and showman’s engines, vintage buses and all sorts of fascinating vehicles. There are rides to be had on a steam train and the museum houses a unique collection of locomotives, carriages and other railway memorabilia. To book your ticket for just £5, go to www.jaguardriver.co.uk/events and follow the link. AND THE WINNER IS… With another great Jaguar Drivers’ Club National Weekend out of the way – this year at the new venue of…

PROJECT CAR 1985 DAIMLER 4.2 I was hoping I could fill this project instalment with good news, but sadly that hasn’t been the case. When we left off, the car had been shipped to Kim Cairns Classic Cars for the fitment of a 123 Distributor courtesy of SNG Barratt, alongside replacement injection wiring to ensure it would once again run on six cylinders. And when I went to pick it up from Kim in early June, all seemed well. It started and ran on all six, beautifully so, and I looked forward to settling in for the drive back to the Cambs-Norfolk border. But as I approached Kings Lynn, there was an almighty juddering from the offside front corner – like a warped disc, but more so. I pulled into…

TRIED & TESTED JAGUAR XJ6 2.8 SI Regular readers, you’re perfectly correct. You have seen this car before. In fact, it was featured on our last front cover, and has been used previously in another twin test for Classic Jaguar. But there’s a good reason for this. We think that a number of would-be XJ owners are overlooking this car purely and simply because it isn’t the 4.2 litre variant, and while it isn’t perhaps as fast as its bigger-engined sibling, for most classic car enthusiasts the 2.8 is just as enjoyable and much more affordable in like for like condition. And the entry level XJ has always had a hard time of it. Buyers in the late 1960s were understandably miffed at having to pay much more than they…

UP FRONT NEWS AND VIEWS Jaguar has announced that there will be no new car sales for up to a year between the cessation of F-PACE sales and the introduction of its next generation of EVs. JLR’s UK managing director Rawdon Glover confirmed in an interview with Autocar that “There will be a period where you will not be able to buy a Jaguar.” F-PACE production will continue into 2025 but for a limited number of markets only. The F-PACE will go off sale in Britain in early 2025, following the December launch of a concept car will be unveiled that previews its first newera EV. That car, a £100,000 four door GT in the mould of the Porsche Taycan, will offer a range in excess of 435 miles, ultra…

UP FRONT NEWS AND VIEWS A new event is offering classic fans the chance to spend a memorable day in the picturesque Leicestershire countryside with like-minded owners and enthusiasts. The first ever Classics World Picnic will be held on Sunday September 22 at the picturesque Mallory Park race circuit. This informal, friendly social event will bring together hundreds of classic car enthusiasts, with all classics registered in 2004 or earlier invited to exhibit. The gathering will be a great chance to meet members of the Classic Car Buyer and Classics World editorial team, who will be reporting on the event and awarding prizes for the best classics on show. While this is a casual, static event that celebrates the very best in classic cars and has its own dedicated area,…

Entry level. It’s not a nice phrase, is it? It conjures up a mental picture of cars like the Ford Fiesta Popular and the Austin Maestro City; cars that are so basic that they have special trim mouldings unique to them, items designed to reinforce your position at the very bottom of the ladder. It’s easy to see why the concept of an entry level Jaguar is anathema to the sort of people who think that an XJ isn’t properly dressed without its Sovereign badges. But these people miss the point – an entry level Jaguar isn’t there for those in more prestigious models to sneer at; it’s there to serve as an attainable dream to the man who has always lusted after a Jaguar; the man who might have…

TECHNICAL CARPETING AN E-TYPE When a restored E-type FHC arrived at Aldridge Trimming to have a new interior fitted, the time allocated for the job was an astounding three weeks. After spending a day with them to follow the installation of an area of carpet, we can now see why it takes so long. There’s more to it than simply dropping some carpet into position and bolting in the seats. The E-type shown in our photographs was originally a flat floor FHC, but the front floors have since been changed to the later types with sunken inserts, so Aldridge accommodated this. However, working on the principle that every E-type is slightly different, especially one that has been restored and altered, it’s to be expected that the soundproofing and carpets will…

The top-to-bottom Cabinet Officeled inquiry into the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which launched last July, has been concluded. The Department for Transport (DfT) Review Team confirmed to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) that a Final Report has been produced, including recommendations, which is now awaiting approval following the UK's change of government. Launched on July 23, 2023, the review assessed the DVLA to see if it was still fit for purpose, based on the four pillars set by the Cabinet Office of efficiency, efficacy, accountability and governance. It was announced after the FBHVC had applied considerable pressure to government over a range of issues about how the DVLA deals with historic vehicle registrations, following an apparent change in its attitude and procedures. The chairman of…

THE SIXTIES E-TYPE vs DB6 Let’s be honest here; if you owned either a Jaguar E-type Series 1 or an Aston Martin DB6 when they were new you were definitely winning at life. No other cars still represent the zenith of Sixties British glamour or say you’ve arrived in all senses of the word quite as much as these two. A famous and desirable duo they may be but whether it’s comparing a Monet with a Manet, a 2002 Chateau Lafite Rothschild with a 1951 Penfolds Grange Hermitage or even Eastenders and Coronation Street, one always has to be better than the other. So which out of this pair of icons do we put ahead today? Splitting them won’t be due to their looks alone since both are as close…

Ted Orr, the Jaguar Cars Works Director looked at his Chairman and Managing Director with a look of resignation on his face, “I’m telling you, Sir, as a family we cannot survive on the wages you are paying us. The bonus is not enough to cover factory shutdown and holiday periods.” “You’ve heard me telling the workforce that costs have got to be kept under control,” Lyons replied with an equally resigned expression. “You know that exports are low-margin, home sales are difficult, there is a recession. All of us are finding it tough going at the moment.” “With respect, Sir, your management charges seem to go up fairly regularly. If you ask me, you treat yourself differently from all of us who actually do the work.” Lyons looked at…

JAGUARS ON TOUR 1986 SERIES III 4.2 SOVEREIGN I mentioned two things last time out: that the Series III hadn’t covered nearly enough miles last year, and that I would need more space to truly do justice to the scale and beauty of the Yorkshire Dales. Thankfully, I have managed to address both these concerns with my latest tour. In the last issue, I urged readers to travel north from the Ribblehead Viaduct towards Hawes, threading your way along the B6255. It’s an utterly joyous stretch of tarmac that undulates at speed through the most breathtaking backdrop, even providing a surprisingly decent road surface. No wonder this area is so popular with bikers. This will take you up to Hawes, and the start of the famous Buttertubs Pass. However, today…