A recent car posting was sent to me from a friend where someone is selling a 67 Jaguar 420 (no mention of it being the G version). The car has spent the last 24 years in Arizona and recently moved up to New York. The paint is supposedly original. The motor and tranny were rebuilt not too long ago (4,000 miles). The only modifications that I can see that have been done is they have upgraded the distributor to a more recent XK version (they don't go into more detail than this) and it appears that the headlight switch is toast as there is a black box with a switch on the underside of the dash (making an assumption here). The interior appears to have been recently redone as the leather looks pretty much brand new. Otherwise the interior looks fairly stock and untouched.

The only other problem that they list with the car is that the speedo/odometer does not work. So, the actual miles on the car are unknown. But, they are thinking that there is around 130K miles on the car.

Not knowing this car like other Jaguar models (X-Type and X351 XJ), what would a car like this be worth? They are asking $7000 for the car. Seems like a fair deal. What do you think?

 

Price is what you're willing to pay. $7000 would be OK if the condition backs it up, and an inspection and road test backs up any vendor claims. However, I would definitely NOT pay money like that unless I had seen the car. Jaguars were always built to a standard, but also down to a price.


If it is a 420, not a 420G, it will be the last iteration of the Mark 2/S-type bodyshell. The 420 was eerily similar to the XJ6 that came after it. It is essentially an S-type with a different front end similar to the Mark 10/420G, but smaller of course. Not many were made as it was a stop-gap model due to delays in getting the XJ6 into production. S-type sales had stalled, and for once in his life, Sir William Lyons had a bit of a panic about sales, hence the 420. I nearly bought one for rebuilding in 1979, but eventually decided a Mark 2 was a better option.

 

I agree. If its in usable condition, and what you see is the limit of problems, then it only remains as to how much you like it. My wife and I are wrestling with adding a 63 Mk X to our growing fleet. $4500 for a fairly rare vehicle. It looks solid, but theres only One pic and its a 1 hour drive away.

 

Jerry, in my case, the car is an 8 hour drive away. Now, I do have friends in the area that are willing to go over and look at the vehicle before I drive all the way up there. Then there is still the matter of getting it back home. It sounds like I could drive it all the way as it is. I guess I am just not sure of the actual value of the car. $7000 could be a steal, it could also be a complete rip off. I was hoping to get a little bit better of an idea from members here. Granted, the price is very subjective too based on condition.

 

The biggest enemy of these cars always was rust, but as an Arizona car it may not have suffered much. ON he other hand the strong light and heat of Arizona will degrade any rubber parts on the outside of the car, like windshield seals etc. The paint will also likely be degraded with the strong UV light.
If it were me, I'd get your friends to have a look, take a test drive, and take some photos. Post these here when you get them. Never buy a car sight-unseen, but in this case, it will be seen via a 3rd party, but you must be able to trust them. Either this or have a couple of days out ! 8 hours would be a long way here in Europe, but having driven to Germany many times now, I can polish off 6 hours quite easily now.

 

Fraser, the guy I know up there I trust a lot. So, getting a fair assesment of the car will not be a problem. The problem I see right now is I need another vehicle like a hole in the head. If I get rid of my truck (lifted 97 Expedition running around on 37" tires), then I would have less concerns about buying the car since i would have a free spot in the driveway for the car.

As for pictures of the car, take a look at: 1967 Jaguar 420, 4.2L, Arizona auto. That has some pictures of the car.

 

Frasier, on a side note, where are the common rust spots for this model car. Looking at the pictures, I see a few rust spots, but nothing that I would be truely concerned about based on the age of the vehicle. Curious for my own knowledge as I kinda like this body style and in the future may end up getting one to have as a project (where that one goes, hard to say, the ideas are running rampant in my head right now).

 

Sills, (US=rocker panel), lower front of front wings, front subframe rot-through, rear chassis legs where rear subframe attaches. Rear valance, door bottoms, rear wheel arches. Pretty much anything below knee height can be suspect.


However, having looked at the photos, it's clear that somebody did a lot of work on the car, and it looks cherished although maybe the guy didn't have enough money to complete everything he wanted to do. Leather looks superb, but carpets a bit doggy for instance. However chrome looks good


This is not a car to keep on a driveway, IMHO, better if it went into a garage.

 

Fraser, what you think a car like this is worth (based on its condition)? They are asking $7000 USD (roughly 4500 pounds). part of me thinks it is worth more, but then part of me is going "I am being wishful" and could be getting screwed too.

 

Chris, I have no idea what a 420 would fetch in the US. The S-type and 420 saloons were never in demand like the Mark 2. The 420 is a rare car as so few were made, although that doesn't necessarily make it popular now.


I have to say that if your report comes back favourably, I'd be inclined to buy around that price, but a car like that needs to go into a garage and its inevitable you'll have to do some work on it. This work would be carrying on where the last owner left off. Bodywork is of great importance for a car like this because there are almost no replacement panels available. Where you have commonality with the S-type it's better. The main supplier of new pressed steel panels is a firm in Hinckley, here in England called Martin Robey. He has been around for years, and once did a really great job for me converting a set of S-type doors to Mark 2s, (the shut face is different as the door locks are different). That was about 30 years ago and not long after he got started. As for export to the USA, I expect this is available.


Of course you don't need anything yet, but its nice to know what is there.


Mechanically the car is an S-type, of course, and I think it has the better power steering set-up, the Marles Varamatic. These cars were still in production when the XJ6 was announced.

 

Hey Thermo! Take a look at the Hagerty valuation tool; they're pretty thorough on classic car values. Shows that from their (admittedly insurance) perspective, $7000 is a pretty rippin' deal. I didn't take the time to check out similar listings on Adhuntr or the like, but that might be fun too! Keep us posted on what you decided...

 

geoff, I think I am going to pass on the car. While I would love to get it, I have a few other things that I want more. Granted, if they find that the car is not selling and the price drops....... Hmmmmmmm.

 

Just over 10,000 420s were built, and about half that of Daimler Sovereigns. Penny packets, really.