Jaguar Mark 1 1958, 19 000 km, kr 19 000,- -

The car belonged to my father until 1975. Now I'd like to get it back and restore it. Is it plausible? Will I get parts and how much should I pay for such a wreck?

I don't think the engine is complete. The owner mentioned that the top might be missing. (2.4 Litre engine)

 

I don't know what a fair price would be, in present condition or after restoration.

Plausible restoration? It looks like a major project. I think almost any car can be restored with enough money and effort. In this case I think a professional restoration would exceed $100,000 quite easily

Cheers
DD

 

it's a wreck alright, missing front glass, grille, engine parts, and who knows what else, which will be difficult to find. Looks like it is good for spare parts, not for restoration. It is clear someone has used it for parts already, cutting the front wing panel.

in the USA, something like that would sell for little money, or even for free if you can haul it away. I have no idea what it might be worth in your country.

 

How difficult will it be to get hold of parts and how expensive are they. The car has sentimental value to me so if I'm getting a Jaguar, this is the one. However, from the looks of it, I might keep the identificationplate with the VIN number and replace everything else :-P

In the first picture, it looks like there is a front wing sitting behind the car (hopefully it fits a Mk1). Where can I get the missing parts like the top of the engine, grille and windshields?

The seller asks 19.000 NOK the equivalent of 3.200 USD. If I'm buying the project, I'll do as much as I'm able to myself.

Showstoppers would be if it is impossible or way to expensive to get hold of parts. I'd love to hear from anyone that have experience from restauration or searching for parts to old Jaguars.

 

Here is a picture of the car while my father had it (taken mid 70-thies)

 

I'll try once more to share that picture...

 

These are the pictures from the ad.

 

yes I can see the spare wing, but $3,200. USD is a lot of money for a wreck like that. I do understand sentimental value but only to a degree.

as to finding the parts you will have to research and research using the internet; You can find anything, there are many replacement parts suppliers for these cars and there are many salvage yards who might have good usable parts, you just have to search for them, place ads in all Jaguar forums, study the differences between the MK-1 and MK-2 and possibly use MK-2 parts where possible.

If you are in the Netherlands, there is a restorer called Fiboy (in Finland) who does incredible restoration and modification work on these cars and maybe he can help you find parts. (sorry I am not familiar with that region of the world).

check out his MK-1 work clicking on this link: FiBoy's Mk 1 restoration; modernization of a Jaguar Mark I Saloon 2.4 litre

 

I'll make sure to look into FiBoy's work. I'm not going to pay the 3.200$ for the wreck. First of all I need to find out if it is feasible to restore it and if so, what to offer the seller.

Any suggestion? As mentioned earlier, if it were any other car I'd walk away without looking back... Any suggestions? What would you have offered?

 

The Mark 1 is not a car that people go after much, the Mark 2 was a much better car, frankly, that's why Jaguar developed the Mark 2 out of the Mark 1. Of course it has a certain period charm.

The price is very optimistic in my opinion. If it is of sentimental value to you then go for it, but don't expect a cheap or easy job. The mechanical parts are virtually all the same as the Mark 2 with a few subtle differences. You can, of course, upgrade a lot of it to the better Mark 2 spec. AFAIK, the cars didn't have the disc brakes and road tests of the time complained about the brakes in subtle terms, (no British road testers of the 50s ever complained much about British cars). The interior trim is different, the doors are completely different.

In the end, it will be cheaper just to buy a complete and restored Mark 1.

 

The asking price is immaterial. The cost of restoration will be so high that paying 19 NOK, 190 NOK or 19.000 NOK is insignificant compared with how much you will have to spend.

What can't be seen of the floor and sills will be in considerably worse condition that the exterior panels that can be seen. Chrome, trim and glass are difficult to source and very expensive.

Unless you are a phenomenally wealthy individual and can afford to drop the equivalent cost of buying a house into this project then don't even consider starting.

Graham

 

if it was me in your situation, I would offer in the range of $600.00 USD as is, where is, telling the seller "in the condition it is, it is not worth more than salvage price", and be prepared to walk away from it, or haul it away if the seller agrees.
I really doubt the seller is going to get near $3,200. from any buyer.

as Mitchell and GGG said, it will cost you a lot of hard work and lots of money to get it to the condition it was when your father had it.

By the way, the car in the picture must be one of the later MK-1 with the wider MK-2 grille, the original MK-1 grille was narrow. so chances are you can fit a MK-2 grille just fine.

 

I'm not able to tell the difference between a Mk1 and Mk2 grille. Is it visible in both the old and the new photo? I've still to confirm that this is the same car as my father owned, so if anyone are able to spot details that match I would appreciate it. So far the pictures seem to match and the history of the car seems to match (but there is gap of one owner, who has passed away).

Supposedly the cabin is loaded with old parts, so maybe it ain't as bad as it looks?

I've got a friend to go over there and hopefully I'll be able to post a few more pictures soon.

As of now I'm considering buying the wreck, haul it home and assess it. If it ain't worth the restoration, I'll show it to my father, use it as a skill builder and throw it away.

 

look at both pictures below:

the early MK-1 grille (picture on left) had less vanes, they were thicker and more separated from each other, and the entire grille was narrower;

the later MK-1 grille (picture on right) had more vanes, they were slimmer and closer together, and the "egg" shape of the grille was wider.

I don't know when this change took place but it must have been near the debut of the MK-2. So you might be able to fit a MK-2 grille, at least that's what it looks like in the picture of your dad's car.

here's a link for two MK-1 being sold for $2,400.00 USD in the USA:

Jaguar Other Trim | eBay

 

Where can I find the vehicle identification number? I have a friend looking at the car now, but he is not able to find a placard in the engine compartment.

 

on a MK-1 I don't know, but 1960's Saloons had a placard rivetted to the center of the firewall/bulkhead, otherwise another place to check would be behind the rear bumper, on the right side, on a placard rivetted to the body, or actually stamped to the sheetmetal.

 

I've found the transmission serial number. Is it possible to look up the vehicle identification number from the transmission number?

If I'm lucky it can somehow be matched with this number: 39—41471
I have no idea what that number is, but it was written on the old transfer of ownership papers from 1975. It might be vehicle number, engine number, or the phone number of the new owner (!!?!)

Here is a picture of the placard on the transmission.

 

there should be a placard somewhere, with all the numbers, (VIN, Engine, and Transmission numbers), have you checked on the driver's Door or door jamb?

you might contact the JDHT (Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust) to see if they can tell you where the placard should be. Also check their ARCHIVES/CHASSIS NUMBERS page, Click on the link below:

Jaguar Heritage

 

On the Mk 2, the car number was stamped on the cross member in front of the top of the radiator, near where the bonnet latch lock is located. Maybe the Mk "1" was the same? If this car still even has this piece of sheet-metal. The storage location for this car looks like a garage in today's Homs, Syria.

On your grille question, the narrow, fewer rib grille was only used on the initial 2.4 litre production up until 1957. For all the 3.4 litre models and the later 2.4s, the 16-rib grille (like on your father's car) was used thereafter. The Mk 2 grille is very different in details, with a thicker central rib carrying an escutcheon at the top with the model badge, and with 7 ribs on either side of the central rib.

On your magic number, if you ignore the leading 3, "941471" would be a proper chassis number for a 2.4 LHD Mark "1" -- but that is a stretch since it would have to be an car earlier than 1958.