Hey everyone,

This weekend I'm going to look at a 1966 Mk10 for sale. I'll be honest I'm really not at all familiar with these cars, but I stumbled upon this one for sale and it got ideas churning in my brain, they certainly are pretty cars.
Anyway beyond the usual stuff to look for when buying a car of this age, what are some common things specific to these cars that I should look for. For instance is there a particular part that is a common failure point that I need to look to see if it's been replaced/upgraded or is in need of immediate replacement, are there common spots where the cars tend to rust, are there any red flags that I need to be aware of with these cars, something that someone might not know to look for if they are familiar with the ins and outs of these cars.
If I go ahead with getting one of these my plans for a mk10 would be to use it as a semi regular daily driver. I'd probably add electronic ignition if that hadn't been done already, a new modern radiator and electric fans and swap the SU carbs for something less finicky as well as put in a modern radio and retrofit air conditioning (although my searches on adding A/C so far have turned up little good information, so I don't know how realistic that might be).

Looking forward to hear what you guys have to say
Thanks.

 

While I have no experience with the Mark X, I did buy a first year Mark VII. The Mark X features the XK engine and transmission which are well known and supported. I believe that the X features four wheel disc brakes. How available are NOS or replacement parts for the brake system? The lack of parts availability to replace the master and wheel cylinders has caused my project to stall. I guess that my skill level is too low to deal with these problems and challenges effectively, and especially economically. I had a '70 Mustang where I replaced the entire brake system with new replacement parts. I can do that, but I really can't swap in new sub frames and brake systems. I'm probably in over my head with a couple of my cars. Good Luck with your purchase. There was a story in Octane about a guy that swapped a V12 powertrain into his Mark X and then ran it out in the Sahara desert.

 

Spares support for anything specific to the Mark 10, and its successor the 420G is very thin on the ground because there are so few of these cars left now. However in the main, this means body panels, as most mechanical stuff was shared with the other saloons and also the E-type. Certain brake parts may be problematic, but I believe there are workarounds for this. Have a look here to see what you might be getting into cost-wise and whether the part is available.

https://www.sngbarratt.com/us/#!/Eng.../23/all/1/10/1

There won't be a lot of used stuff around as it has mostly gone for scrap over the years since the car ceased production in 1970, nearly 50 years ago. These cars were not a huge success in the marketplace, being a bit of a flop basically. Jaguar made most of its money on the smaller saloons.

 

I am in the process of restoring a 66 Mk 10 and I concur with the other posts. Of course the wiring is problematic at the Lucas bullet connections and grounding points. Interior plastic parts that are cracked have to be rebuilt as the only spares that I have found are also broken. The brakes seem to be unique to that car. Apple Hydraulics rebuilt my master cylinder so they may be able to help source parts.
Also many spares off of earlier Mk 10s won’t work on later models.
Since it is a unibody, hidden rust is possible. I had some the front wheels that had be removed.
It has been many years since I drove my big Jag. The suspension was incredible especially above 75 mph. Good luck with your search. I look forward to getting mine back on the road.

 

So it seems brakes seem to be the most problematic parts to acquire, has anyone figured out a retrofit for brakes from a modern car? Interior parts I would suspect to be a problem to find in many cars of this age (aside from high volume cars like a mustang or bug). I'm not too scared of the Lucas wiring, I've got a bit of experience with the prince of intermittent darkness from my MG, its finicky for sure but manageable and can be dealt with.
I haven't purchased a car yet, unfortunately the seller of the most promising example I've found hasn't replied to my email, despite the car being relisted. Maybe it got caught in his spam folder?

 

Brakes are easy enough to work around. Rubber components are tough. Im also still looking for a Clutch Pedal box assembly for a LHD.

 

Well, Did you buy one? Year? Condition?
Dont leave us hangin!
Those of us brave enough to dive into the Mk X pit want company.

 

Note the age of the post. I don't think we have heard from the thread originator since. Mark 10/420G owners are bound to be a bit lonely because the car sold badly when new, and there are very few left now.