been wanting a MK2 for some time now, been looking at restored cars as well as survivors.
a friend told me about a relative who completely restored a mk2 years ago, and on their first drive, some one hit them.
so back into the garage for a compete strip down and rebuild.
However, when he got so far as to remove 90% of the paint, he died.
leaving the car to sit for 8 years.

I've been offered the car for a song. auto trans was completely rebuilt, engine is unknown but you can turn it by hand. interior is shot and hopefully all the chrome is still there in all the boxes.

is this a fools errand? should I just forget it and keep looking for a nice restored car?

 

Just do it, if everything is there, I would.

Jim

 

If you got it for a song, I would restore it. Just be prepared that rebuilding a Jaguar regardless of it being a stock or modified rebuild some parts can be expensive, yet virtually everything is available. There are Jaguar wrecking yard and many places selling most of the other parts. I hope all of the wood is there, and that can be repaired and refinished. You can likely find the wood at wrecking yards but be prepared the wood can be a bit pricey to refinish. Even if you pay other shops to do the work you should come out ahead and feel free to post questions as there is a wealth of information on this forum.

 

Pictures... ???

And how bad was the car hit ? It must have been pretty bad if it had be stripped down and repainted.
Where did it sit for 8 years, outside ? If outside, were the spark plugs still in place ?

 

interior is shot: approximately $5 thousand in US dollars, and that is conservative.

car was hit: approximately $15 thousand in parts and repairs...

hopefully the chrome is there: hopefully, otherwise a new set of bumpers and other chrome is another $4 thousand or more assuming it needs re-chroming.

paint job: aproximately $10 thousand.

mechanicals: aproximately $10 thousand.

is it worth it? you will end up with a car worth no more than $30 thousand in today's classic car market, if you can get that much.

is this a fools errand? should I just forget it and keep looking for a nice restored car?

yes to both.

I know of a 1964 MK-2 selling for $25k in very nice Driver condition, i.e., drive it home.
$25k too much money? do you want one for less? you can find one too, and you will pay the $25k price or more as the months go by. It never fails.

the answer? buy the best you can buy, don't buy someone else's problem, don't buy the "it ran when I parked it 5 years ago" variety. Don't buy the "it's all there" variety.

if the car is so cheap that you are tempted to buy it anyway, then buy it as a parts car, everybody needs a parts car sooner or later.

here's mine, a 1965 S type, I paid the price and I'm still having fun.

 

here's a 1965 MK-2 selling for $40k, air conditioned, flawless interior and wood, improved steering system and manual transmission, many improvements for driveability, total restoration, includes many spare parts, concours winner.

 

Thanks for the advise.
I may just get this one for parts. Probably not worth pursuing as a restoration.

 

you can also sell parts off it and recover your purchase price, there's always someone looking for parts. Post some pictures after you buy it.

 

You should post pictures of interior and exterior as we are all guessing.

interior is shot: Jose could be right it could be 5K but what do you mean interior shot? The wood can be $1000 to $5K, leather could be just need treating or new leather and new carpets which is a lot more (5K)

car was hit: that is vague as if there is no frame straightening it might only be $500 to $1000?

chrome as Jose said depends if it is all there. Wrecking yards will sell all of the pieces relatively cheap versus going for new trim. Re-chroming is about $600 a bumper and fixing dents in a bumper or holes are about $100-$250.

paint job: can be $10 for show quality or more like $5K to $6K for a above average full re-spray.

mechanicals to me is really too hard to price given no pictures.

Thus to me you need so post pictures of the interior, where the car has any body damage, any signs of rust, and pictures of engine bay to make a better guess. If the car is not that bad it might be as low as $8-10K to restore it but if it is bad then Jose is right you might get a restored one for a better deal if you have cash.

 

What other hobby takes your time? None? Do the Jag. It will be a learning experience. Body is always able to be pulled back to specs and parts are around. I have 2 in parts, but building a Mark I.

 

Primaz and Larry K:

we don't know if he has restoration and mechanical skill like you guys, so that is another issue: how much can he do himself? Otherwise sub-contracting (labor) costs have a tendency to balloon sky high when restoring any car, be it a Chevy or a Jaguar.

A 6-month estimate turns into an 18-month estimate which turns into a 3-year job.

 

I'll post some pics when I can get around to it.
the majority of body work has been "done". there are hints that i'd need to dig deeper to be sure it was done right.
bumpers have been rechromed, needs a new grill for sure, and no doubt some of the other bits will need rechroming or at least polishing out.
interior is all there but in so poor shape it will need complete new leather and re wrapped panels, and most likely carpet.

it may be possible to get it all done for less than I could buy a restored one for, but it could all go pear shaped very quickly.

 

you hit the nail in the head! that is exactly what always happens, some people call it a "money pit", a never ending situation where one thing leads to another and you always end up spending more money than you expected. Ever restorer knows that. It is never the other way around.

take the example of hot rodders who put $80 thousand dollars into a fabulous hot rod and then they can't get $40 out of it when they decide to sell it.

check prices for a complete interior from different upholstery companies, you will see in advance what a complete interior costs for a Jaguar. The price you see does not include the labor to get everything fitted.

 

Doesn't matter his skills. If he has no other hobbies and wants to try, why not. There is enough experience here to help. I have a new friend I saw driving his MK VII with windows taped. He has no real auto body experience. Doing a decent job on an original car bought from #1 owner. It is in bad shape and in a couple of years using the web and Harbor Freight tools has come along to a very good quality car. Only let out paint. So a Mark II is not out for a beginner, lot smaller car. I learned by doing, starting at 15 yrs old. Now some 50 years later still wonder how I got some things done, Just have to go back to the simple construction of the 50s and 60s.

 

When I started my Mark 2 in 1980, I was mostly reasonable on motorbike work, not cars, but soon learnt ! However the job took me seven years as I did not have a huge amount of money. I was lucky to find an unused and un-rusted shell to build the car around. I did get my money back in the end, but needless to say, I paid myself a very generous £0 per hour labour rate !

It is when you are paying somebody else to do the work that costs really mount up.

 

what about a Jaguar 420 ? the rarest of Jaguars, only made for 2 years.

here's one with a Chevy 8 cylinder and modern transmission, a running project car that you can drive while refurbishing it and for sale for less than $4 thousand USD.