2017-10-18 13:32:39 | pauls writes:

Ebay item 10/18/17
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1956-Jaguar-XK140-Special-Equipment-Fixed-head-Coupe-Wonderfu ...
Car has a buy it now price of
£20,699, sellerthe_seven_gables_motor_garage_ltd, 82k miles.

Sellers description:
This XK started life as a Special Equipment model with the optional C-Type engine and an automatic gearbox. I believe there were about 400 automatic gearbox XK140's made in total. It was Red with a Black interior. I have a Jaguar Heritage Certificate for it and a clear title.

Its a rather solid FHC was purchased by me a few years ago from the family of an elderly deceased man. The nephew that sold it to me drove for its last time it to his Senior Prom in 1985. I saw the potential of using this car as either a restore as you go driver or as a candidate for a complete nut and bolt restoration. Usually these cars only have the latter option but this car, with some ambitious repairs, could be driven without a several year project taken on.

The main and obvious work to be done is that the engine and gearbox is missing. If you already have those components then this project could work well for you. There are some other items under the bonnet missing but they could be sourced. Many years ago, possibly in the Sixties, this XK had a 1957 Chevrolet engine and gearbox installed. The motor mount brackets on the chassis were removed to do this. I have four brackets on order at Absolute XKs in New York and can pass the order on to the new owner. They are simply fabricated if one did not wish to wait. Some other mechanical condition information:

1) The rear axle has had a new axle shaft installed and the rear axle shaft end play needs to be setup with the correct shims. The rear brakes are complete with brake adjusters. All of the wire wheel hubs except one are in great shape. The four, correct 54 spoke wire wheels have beautiful splines. Original Dunlop 54 spoke wire wheels are getting hard to find with good splines.

2) The front end suspension needs new bushings and the ball joints need replacing. All of the front brake hardware is there. The steering rack is in very good condition but needs tightening to the chassis.

3) An entire wiring loom needs to be installed.

4) As stated, a Jaguar engine and gearbox of your choice needs to be installed. This could be an opportunity for you to make a modern, updated XK140. A later model engine with more power and a modern five speed gearbox along with disc brakes would make this a wonderfully updated XK. Alternately, you may have an XK140 drivetrain and wish to bring it back to a more original configuration. This is exactly why I like the XK's with a missing drivetrain. It will never be an original car again so the new owner can make the XK140 FHC of his dreams.

5) The radiator, radiator shroud, brake shoes are in the boot. A correctly dated relay box and remote starter switch are not shown but included. The fuse box is missing and some other small electrical parts.

6) The rare and unique to the LHD XK140 FHC brake pedal assembly is included and is on the car with an original master cylinder. Also included, but not on the car, is the equally rare and unique to the LHD XK140 clutch pedal assembly complete from the bell housing to the rubber pedal. Remember, this was once an automatic gearbox car and I went to the ends of the earth to find the unique to the XK140 FHC pedal assemblies. These were costly but essential to make this car a manual gearbox car.

7) Not shown but included is a complete accelerator linkage set taken from a manual gearbox XK140 FHC with LHD steering. These are exceedingly rare and only fit a LHD XK140 FHC with manual gearbox. Also included is a rare gearbox cover for a manual gearbox. The original gearbox cover is included that covered the Borg Warner automatic gearbox and it could be used for a manual gearbox installation but it will look better with the correct cover if changed to a manual gearbox.

Not to confuse you further, but if you wanted to bring this XK back to the original, automatic gearbox configuration, I know someone that has a 100% complete auto gearbox accelerator and transmission shift linkage from an XK140 FHC with LHD. Since they only made 400 auto boxes for the XK140 DHC and FHC, these are impossible to find but I know of such a setup for £400.

I was attracted to this car because it was pretty solid. Most of the cars I see and buy are pretty sorry. These Jaguars pretty much self destructed after ten years as did most cars from this era. As mentioned above the chassis needs new engine and bell housing mounts installed. The chassis is in very good condition and I believe there is no rust out whatsoever. The paint, after a half century is alligatored on the top surfaces but actually looks shiny and nice on the side panels. In an effort to be entirely truthful, the pictures make the car look better than it is. It is nice, but it has many paint chips, failing paint in places and some rust here and there as described. Other points to mention:

1) This XK has its original sills. Although starting to rust because of their double sandwiched construction, they are going to be fine for years as a driver, should you wish.

2) The drivers door shuts solid with hardly any sag on the hinges, which is remarkable for FHC's and DHC's with their heavy doors. The passenger door shut ok also but the previous owner let water get past the window sealing rubber and now the bottom sheet metal is rusted and part of the wood framing on inside the door is getting soft. However, this is not bad enough to have to fix right away.

3) The two front wings will eventually need repair at the very bottom. I can see they are starting to rust. They are perfectly fine as a driver.

4) The two rear wings are in wonderful condition.

5) The boot lid. Yes, let us talk about this boot lid. Framed in wood, an XK boot lid in wonderful condition is rare. This one is indeed wonderful condition and is a real indicator about the true solidity condition of an XK. Very expensive to repair, this one is in great shape.

6) Rear sheet metal excluding the wings: Solid and nice with the exception near the top where they often rust near the rear windows. In my opinion they are easily patched.

7) All of the glass is original and date coded except the two front windscreens which are replacements.

8) The bonnet is very nice and because they are so fragile in light alloy, its refreshing to see such a nice one, albeit with a small dent and easily fixed.

9) The chrome plated brass, glass trim surrounds are in mint condition. That includes the front and rear vents as well as the two side windows themselves. The quality of the glass trim surrounds on the XK FHC's were of superlative quality and it shows on this XK. The chrome grille and what is there of the bumpers are in good condition. I have a left side rear bumper with overrider for this car but its not shown and is included.

10) The dash assembly is nearly 100% complete except for the trafficator mechanism behind the lever, a few knobs and it is missing one of the two ash trays. I installed a rare, almost impossible to find middle map drawer along with its equally rare mounting brackets from another XK140 FHC. Because they made and numbered these wooden dashes in sets, as you can expect, the drawer that has been fitted is too tight but you can take a few millimeters down and it will slide freely again. I saw a set sell for £500 on eBay, once thats how rare they are. The walnut veneer is in fair condition. I have no key for the ignition switch but the key number is on the switch.

A SUMMERY OF THIS XK140
This is not a rusty junker like we have all often seen before. It certainly has its flaws but it gives a wholesome impression. It not one of the cars that look scary at first glance. I have had XK's that have lived their time in the UK as well as the USA. Being a survivor and not really ever restored, this one is better than most. Yes, it needs some rust repair. Yes, it is not show car and will need a fair amount of money to even get on the road again as a driver. But, its a wonderful project that someone could do a tremendous amount with and have great fun doing it. The original Red with Black must have been breathtakingly stunning but the dark Blue with its original Blue hide seats from another XK140 FHC is very nice just as it is. I was tempted to keep it myself as a driver but I just have too many XK's and not enough time and especially money to keep it. I have tried to be very factual and informative so you can make a sound decision. I hope you can make this XK140 FHC your dream project. The Seven Gables Motor Garage

2018-10-02 20:05:58 | Michael Kurtzweil writes:

Purchased the car from the gentleman in Bloomfield, MI.
Now on my long journey to bring this car back to life.