I hope it is ok that I post this on here - the only real car guys I hang out with are either on this site or our local 914 group....

It's done. After 6 years that started with a box of parts and an extremely poor initial attempt at some quickie body work, we actually drove the jag yesterday - it was fantastic - as long as you have small feet (insert joke here....)

Other than waiting for the horn button to arrive and rotating one muffler a bit (the pipes look a bit un-even) the car will be home for the first time ever on Saturday morning. It is a 57 xk140. It is a full nut and bolt restoration on a 60k mile car. It has the burn marks on the inside of the drivers door from the fire at the Jaguar factory.

It is currently on a set of coker radials on a second set of wheels so it can be driven, but will usually be on a beautiful set of NOS wheels with wide white bias plys. It drives amazingly well - especially being that this was it's first time out of the shop. The car had been in boxes since the mid 80's.

these are it's "church shoes"

Nice!

It's amazing Scott
simply amazing
nice job!!!

what a beauty!

Absolutely beautiful!!!!! Well done!!!

nice ride! Great job

That is amazing. I love old Jaguar's so the more pics the better.

Thanks - it was a chore. But, I am very very proud that once some time had gone by - and the initial "this will be sooo cool when it is done" factor had been long gone and replaced by the stresses of just finding any time at all to work on the thing, we never cut any corners. The car truly is "right".
You have to remember, I was a happy single guy running around the country playing drums for a good chunk of my living when this project started. I figured it would take a year to complete. I am now happily married with two kiddos under the age of 3 - and have obviously done a 180 on my priorities.

Here are some progress pics I have posted prior. Thank for tha bandwidth for a non-914.

Oh wow! that is nice looking.

Scott,

What a great looking car. You guys look very tall in their do you fit with the top up?
Enjoy her in your collection.

Bob

hmmm... you know what? I have no idea!

WoW!!!! Scott that's fantastic. Hope you let us all see it someday.

Very Nice Scott, One of my neighbors just sold a Tear-Drop (if that is the right name) Coupe of about the same age. I always admired it going by his house.

T.C.

That is beautiful, great color scheme. I am sure everyone would
like to see more pictures of it and hear more about its road
manners.

I always liked jaguars but especially after reading "the last open
road" series.

John

Absolutely beautiful and congratulations.....

Please post some more pics....

-- Rob

Nice Scotty!

Absolutely Stunning Scott.

As a british car man myself.... I want you to know that I officially hate you

Absolutely gorgeous car. Congratulations and thank you for sharing it with us.

What a beautiful car. Amazing work. Really want to have a nice jag like that someday. Just add it to the long list

Purdy car....

Very well done....

I worked with an optical physicist who was a Jaguar nut. He had an XK-120, a black concours XKE-V12 (the brute), and a concours XKE-6 "ladies" car. Don was the best car restorer I have ever met. After his restorations, he got 99.something in the concours weenie circuit.

Don called Jags an inspired POS. He claimed it was 3 hours of mantenance for every hour of driving.........

but OMG what an hour....

His wife called them mistresses....

Don bought the XK 120 by being the first caller to respond to an ad in Hemmings. The PO went on a first called basis and really liked the work Don had done to the black XKE V-12. Don bought an XK 120 car that was stripped of paint and in primer, a rust free , perfectly straight car with the wheels attached, and with all the pieces in labeled bags. Photo albums of the dissasembly were included with notes indicating where the loose parts went.

The PO went to England a lot on businines, picked up a lot of hard to find parts, and brought them back. The PO refused to sell the car to a hack, and thought Don would do the job right. I think Don got the car for $10k, and the PO even trucked it to Don's house.

There was an XK150 (I think) that used to park on Campus. It had a factory plaque on the dash that said... "This car is a replica. Tis car is not the original car that won at Le Mans, but is an exact factory replica." Must have been a factory copy of the Le Mans car. Don knew what it was and said "Rare car".

Yours is a beauty, savor each hour in her......

Ken

Great Job!