Fancy a project? Four TLC-ready Jaguars are coming to auction

By Lizzie Pope

| 3 May 2019

Classic & Sports Car – Fancy a project? 4 TLC-ready Jaguars are coming to auction

What’s more satisfying than bringing a beautiful classic back to its best?

Exactly. And there are four exciting opportunities to do just that at Silverstone Auctions’ British Marques sale in Oxfordshire on 11 May.

This quartet of Jaguars features two E-types and two XKs – and one could be yours from around £30,000, if the pre-sale estimates are on the money.

Delivered new to Hong Kong in 1964, this right-hand drive E-type Series 1 3.8 Roadster is crying out for a new owner with the time and/or money to bring it back to life.

That first custodian was lucky enough to have this car for 36 years and when he shipped it back to the UK from Hong Kong everything apart from the engine, clutch, gearbox, rear axle and front suspension was removed.

The rest of the car was labelled and packed, ready for reassembly in the UK, but this has never happened, so if you’re up for a Jaguar jigsaw, it could be for you.

Once in Britain, this E-type was dry stored ahead of its intended restoration, and when its current vendor bought it last summer the plan was to finally start the project – let’s hope it is third time lucky!

It will be sold with a bulging history file including a photographic record of the inventory of parts, plus a Heritage Certificate that confirms its original colour combination of Opalescent Gunmetal with a dark blue interior and a black hood – and the guide price is £50-70,000.

The second project E-type in this sale is another Series 1, this time a one-owner fixed-head coupé 2+2 from 1966, with a £30-35,000 estimate.

Mr McGuiness bought this Jaguar new in September 1967 and it was in regular use until 1980, after which it was garaged, so it’s in need of some attention.

It’s a cream, matching-numbers example, the cabin is upholstered in red leather and it has an automatic gearbox. Included in the sale are its history folder, a Heritage Trust Certificate, factory manuals, the car’s original logbook and its purchase invoice.

Moving onto the two XKs, for an estimated £35-45,000, this 1954 XK120 could be yours.

It’s one of just 194 right-hand drive Jaguar XK120 fixed-head coupés – number 111, in fact – and this British Racing Green example with a Suede Green interior was sold new to a Mr Pillon in Southampton.

Its current owner found it in Denmark and brought it back to the UK with the intention of restoring it, but other commitments mean this hasn’t happened, so it’s hoped someone else can take it on.

Last, but by no means least, there’s this 1959 Jaguar XK150S, one of 88 right-hand drive coupés with a manual gearbox and overdrive.

It’s another matching-numbers car, again with a Heritage Certificate that details its history from its first owner in Sutton Coldfield until it was taken of the road in 1975.

The auction house understands that it has been started and run occasionally, on private land, but now this Cotswold Blue coupé needs someone who’ll invest the effort required to restore it.

If you’re interested, its guide price is £45-55,000.

Feeling even more flush? Two XJ220s feature in the same auction – but it’s anticipated you will need at least £300,000 to be the winning bidder on one of these.

INSPIRED? HERE ARE THE JAGUARS ON OUR CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE PAGES

Check out C&SC’s Jaguar Greatest Hits

The C&SC classic car auction results database

Meet the ‘Ghost’ E-type: Jaguar’s missing link