Hello to all,
Newbie on the forum. I am about to become a "caretaker" for what I may classify as a barn find 1967 MKII. The vehicle only has 26,000 original miles on the second owner. It has never seen rain or snow, the first half of its life it lived in a garage in AZ, the second half in the Midwest, however it was never taken out in any wet weather, and was driven less than 1,000 miles since the mid 80's. The only known body defect is a hole in the battery tray from a spill over many years ago.


My goal once I receive it,, is to get it road worthy.


My question lies in where to go from here, I am very cognizant of the trend towards keeping cars as "found" especially with its original low mile status. It does have a complete aftermarket stainless exhaust that has yet to be installed, I suspect this will need to be addressed. The only other known defect is crazing in the finish of the wood.


The actual owner is unsure whether he will be selling soon or not, however we want to do whatever ensures the highest resale value.


I am very familiar with British Cars and know the traps, however I thought I would seek input in relation to leave as is, or do additional work.


Thanks!

 

I think some sympathetic refurbishing would be in order, like getting the wood re-varnished, and the leather cleaned up and given a good dose of leather conditioner. The headlining might be starting to rot away and the carpets might be seriously faded. Externally the paintwork may have suffered under the Arizona sun, but the chrome work should be OK.

Without photos it is difficult to give much more advice. What is the total mileage ? Certainly if it has been laid-up for a very long time, then quite a lot of recommissioning is going to be needed to get it roadworthy. Brake fluid flushing and replacing is essential, as is checking all calipers for action. The car is fitted with calipers of a rather old design, modern ones are far better.The good news is that you can still buy all the calipers new, even ones made of stainless steel ! Mark 2s are very well supported parts wise, and there is a lot of commonality with other Jaguars of the time.

FWIW I rebuilt a Mark 2 from a bare shell in the 80s so know my way around the car quite well. They are mechanically simple and pretty easy to fix and work on compared to modern cars.

 

Thanks for the reply!
When I go to pick it up, I do not intend to try to start it, I will winch it on the trailer and bring home. All fluids will be flushed including fuel, carbs will be rebuilt before attempting to start.
Normally I would also do a oil analysis, however the oil has been it for so long, I doubt I will get an accurate analysis.
I will post some pics in a couple of weeks when I get it home.

 

In my opinion, its value is in its originality. So if the intent is to get is running an sell it, the less changes you can make to it the better. All the stuff mentioned in the previous posts make good sense. Good luck with it- sounds like a nice car.

 

Post some photos when you have it home.

In 2010 I bought my MG Midget that had 22k miles on it and had been laid-up for 14 years. I had it recommissioned but didn't touch the car at all until I had driven it for a couple of years. I then had some paintwork done as it was faded in places, and also had to have a 1/2 sill on the driver side due to rust, (the original underseal had blocked a drain hole !). However it is essentially original and now on 37k miles. In November, I'm having the engine and transmission out for inspection as the clutch is dragging so gearchanges are difficult. Oil seals will be replaced at the same time.

This kind of minor mechanical work usually needs doing on any old car that has been "discovered" even if low mileage.

 

Hi

For my pennies worth, if this is truly a 26K mile 2 owner rust free original, some buyers would pay a premium for such a rare gem, paying for the total originality.

Document, document document, I personally would do the bare minimum at this stage if you are going to sell this car, if the engine is not seized due to the lay up, new fluids, clean lines as you said and hopefully she will run.

Past that I would check the market, a specialist dealer possibly, you may find its worth more if you do nothing than do anything at all !

If it were my car I would be doing a full recommission, and do anything required, drive her and smile ... A LOT !

Look forward to seeing some pictures.

I'm in the middle of a full resto on my '67 Mk2 which was not in the best shape, 96K on the clock and sat up for 15 years, some pretty poor work in the past, and a UK car, anti freeze had played havoc with the waterways !

Keep us all posted and good luck.

 

When you get it home, clean the debris in the middle of the head and pull the plugs.
Spray a goodly amount of penetrating oil in the bores and leave it sit for an hour and gently turn the engine over by hand in it's normal direction through at least two full revolutions.

It's unlikely a valve will stick open, but carefully turning it over by hand will prevent any damage.

 

Thanks All,


I should have it home soon, maybe as early as this weekend. Need to make sure we have good weather, as I do not have an enclosed trailer.


I will follow all the above advice. I recently un-stuck an old Vincent motor, it required a great deal of patience and soaking but it came free after two months of work. The cylinder walls were in good shape, just stuck at the rings.


As you noted, I know old antifreeze can also cause some issues, year ago I had the same issue on a TR-3.


I am certainly looking forward to the project, while I have not seen the car, the owner is the father of a long time friend, who also knows cars very well, so I am hoping it is as good as he states.

 

Well it is home, 25,564 miles on the odo. 3.4 Auto. After washing the thick layer of dust and cleaning up the interior it is starting to look pretty good!


There is no rust, only significant body damage is on the firewall from a battery leaking that was not noted sometime in the past.


Managed to turn engine over from crank, then with starter. Engine has compression, although I am struggling with four stuck sparkplugs. All electrics work with the exception of the windshield washer, and fuel pump.


Even the crank up antenna work perfectly!

 

Man it looks in great shape !
I think it's a 340, not a Mark 2.
Those hub caps were used in the 340 model and the photos of the leather seats look like what Jaguar called "Ambla".
There should be a "340" on the boot lid, if it is in fact a 340.
And the date of 1967 would be correct for the 340.
I would love to get my teeth into that wood !

Jaguar 240 ? 340 - Classic Car Reviews | Classic Motoring Magazine

 

Wood looks like 340, as do the seats, but bumpers are wide style 3.4 !

Maybe its a mix up, what is the chassis no ?

If its an early 340 it may have bumpers from a 3.4

I thought they were still MK2's. but called 240 and 340 instead of 2.4 and 3.4 rather than MK2, there were a few 380 cars built to order too.

 

My 340 has thick bumpers too.
The 340's are still Mark 2's, but things were done to save money, eg. no leather on the seats.
It's still debatable whether or not they used lesser quality wood.
I've never seen a 380 yet, or at least a model designated as such _ there was the 3.8 S Type...

EDIT:
One here I guess, it even has ribbed cam covers as it should for the designation, but my 340 has smooth covers _ go figure.

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car...-2/1967/157456

 

Yes it does show the 340 designation on the boot, before I picked it up I was told it was a MKII.

It is a very late production 181374, if I decoded correctly there were only 197 3.4's made after this one.


Jeff it does have smooth cam covers

The owner will be selling, so now I need to decide how far to go with it.

The next work is to get it running and get the brake system sorted, I also have a new exhaust system to install.

Any ideas on value?

 

Interesting re bumpers, my 340 has the narrow bumpers, there is less figuring on the walnut veneer which was supposed to be the lesser quality for the 340, I wonder if the US market had more carry over from the earlier versions for some reason, mine is an early '67 January production.It also has ribbed cam covers which it should have on the 340.
I will have to have a look at the "Original Jaguar MK1 & MK2" book to see if the UK / US market was spec'd differently with the 340 as a matter of interest only.

I assume that the chassis number is 1J80374 whats the Engine No ? But that would make it a 1968 model I think.

Jeff does your 340 have Ambla or leather ?

Re 380 there were a few produced to order badged as 380's see this advert https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car...-2/1967/157456
I have never seen one, just read about them.

Re Value, I would estimate £12000 to £18000 here in the UK, but it is so difficult to say, if someone wants low mileage original, then it may be worth quite a lot more. How is the US market at the moment ?

It would be worth getting a heritage certificate for it before you market it as that would authenticate the car as original.

Great car look forward to seeing how this goes.

 

the engine number is KJ 10885-8
the chassis number is P181374BW

Just removed all wheel cylinders, as the car was difficult to move, 7 out of 8 cylinders are frozen tight. Tempted to go with stainless replacements, but that would deter from original. I also have a pin hole in one of the front cross over pipes, the later styles look hard to obtain.

Any advice on direction to go for the brakes would be appreciated!

I will be obtaining a Heritage certificate.

Thanks all!

 

That's definitely chassis no for a 3.4 1967 Mk 2 and not a 340, and should have smooth cam covers, but should also have leather not Ambla, and picnic tables on the front seat backs. It should not have 340 on the boot, should just be 3.4, unless it was badged as a 340 but an old stock 3.4, but it should then have leather seats.

 

Mine are Ambla.
I think Jaguar rebadged Gijsen's car as a 340, it sure looks like Ambla in the photos.
I read that it was common for Jaguar to use up the bits from older models on the new ones.
And perhaps the American/Canadian left hand export cars had the thick bumpers on them.
Mine is a left hand drive and was ordered through a dealership right here in BC.
I don't know for sure, but it would seem that way.

 

From the photos it looks like a re-varnish of the dash top rail is necessary, but its not really possible to assess the other wood. As for brake cylinders, I would spend the money, but if the car is only used infrequently, and the budget permits, buy the stainless items that are almost indistinguishable from the cast steel ones. They do cost a helluva lot more though !! I would think the master cylinder and the servo slave cylinders need at least inspecting and new seals putting in.

 

I agree Jeff, just seems odd that with that chassis no that it would have been old stock if it were re badged, but then it would surely have had the leather standard for the 3.4, if it was built as a 3.4 and then re badged.

For interest, what is the chassis no of your 340 ? It is an early 340 with old stock bumpers I wonder, I cant find any reference to the US/CAN market having different spec. My 340 was built in Sept 67 (I stated this incorrectly in earlier post, it was sold in Jan 68) so was an early one but with slim bumpers, I could imagine that some stock was exported earlier to the US, interesting info.

I half expected my 340 to have some odd bits from earlier model as it was so early in the 340 build, but it is fully 340 spec.

I'm intrigued I have to say, i love the historic interest of this.

 

It will be interesting to see what the Certificate states! The odd ones always seem to find me, I had a Sunbeam Tiger that had a few oddities also, namely GT doors, that should have not been on the serial number I had, but it was early production for the year, so I am sure the left over parts were being used up!


I will be replacing all wheel cylinders and master cylinder, as well as hoses, just does not make sense to keep any of the old, it is clear the brake fluid had a fair amount of water in it for the cylinders to corrode as bad as they did.


Carbs came off today, and fuel tank drained (why don't American cars have a tanks drain?)


Thanks for all the help