Well, I finally got my Jag fix.In 1963, after a drive from Long Beach CA to Monterey CA and back via the coast highway 101 in my 1952 MG TD I decided I needed something with lower gearing, more power and more creature comfort. A grand tourer. Shopping for an Austin Healy, I found them a bit pricey. Came across a 1956 Jaguar XK 140 DHC that was cheap because it didn’t seem to be running well and had some minor body damage. With the confidence and abilities of a 21-year-old engineering student, I bought it. No problem getting the SUs tuned, ignition timed, a bit of hammer & dolly work (my first) and an Earl Sheib $29.95 paint job (not really, I was friends with the manager and got the $79.95 job at the lower price), I had what I wanted. Served me well. Over subsequent years rebuilt the engine myself about 1969 when it seemed tired. Machined off the wire wheel splines and had custom 15” alloy spoked/steel rim wheels made to bolt on the hubs. Re-wired the entire car with a 8-fuse block. Re-finished the walnut burl dashboard, etc. But the car was never really finished, and my career got too busy. After dragging it around until 1994, finally sold it to Jason Len at XKs Unlimited. I was in contact with him about doing a restoration, but he was booked for 2-3 years working for some guy named Jay Leno. So, I never had the Jag I wanted. Until I recently bought this 2007 XK.

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Hello, Edd,
That's quite a story! I'm glad you finally got the Jag you wanted, even if it isn't the one you thought it should be.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

 

 

Welcome.

Well done on both cars.

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums EddWenninger,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Thanks for this and the welcome from others.
I've got to figure out this forum. I'll get my sig going, but I'll need to know how to edit something I've just entered (I lost the format of my first post when pasted in). And I'll need to learn how to upload pictures. I'll figure it out, but it is different from what I'm used to.
Thanks,

 

Hoping to post a picture of my old1956 XK 140 DHC. Circa 1968. A bit muddy from having to cross water flowing over the road to my apartment.

 

There's 24 hour time limit on editing. After that only a moderator can apply edits.

Signature looks good and so does the XK140.

Graham

 

Thanks for that.
Here's a larger pic of the 2007 XK DHC:

 

That's a comfortably appointed hangar/garage.

My last Jaguar was a 2007 XK. Owned it for four years and it's the most reliable Jaguar I've had in more than forty five years. The XK was a good design straight out of the box unlike other models which took a year or two of development work to get right. I avoided the early XK 5.0 litre because they introduced some issues with the update!

Graham

 

The plane is a Beechcraft T-34B U.S. Navy training plane built in 1955. I'm the 3rd caretaker since it was dragged out of desert storage in 1990. Keeps me busy with maintenance and flying (soon again).

The hangar also holds an MGB fitted with a 3.5L Rover V8 with a 5 speed tranny. Selling soon. And a 1990 Honda GB500TT café style motorcycle with 208 miles since new rescued from a museum piece and now rideable.

Cheers,