Description
What a pleasure to find such a brilliant example of these much loved staple classics
The car came to me through an old friend I worked with when I was only 18, he now runs his own business & the neighbouring organisation to his is a bodyshop. The chap who ran that bodyshop had lovingly restored YYO 112 (original reg number) over the course of a few years. They spoke. My friend called me. And voila. Jaaag
Naturally I carried out the necessary checks to ensure she's an original UK car which once confirmed, firmed up my interest. Thereafter I was sent, by the restorers "email savy son", circa 200 pictures of her going through the restoration process
Suitably pleased with what I'd seen hitherto I was soon on the 8:27AM out of London Victoria to the Kent Coast where YYO 112 was living in a cozy heated garage. SL Mercedes as her stablemate
The gentleman who had carried out the restoration described to me in detail the work he'd completed & the gapping whole he felt in his stomach after he'd realised what he'd taken on after purchasing her in 2006 from the second owner, who had owned her since 1979
Yes UK car, original reg number, 3 owners from new. TICK!
When he purchased her, she was looking a little tired with some rust showing through the wings & doors, sitting on her original steel wheels & generally in need of some tender love & care
Happily however, as a body shop veteran, our man was on the case & set about completely restoring the shell & running gear of the car
She was taken back to her bare bones & rebuilt from the ground up with brand new subframes, inner & outer sills, floors, all suspension components, brakes, lines, mountings, brackets et al. All of which is photograph documented & the parts invoices in the sizeable file
Mechanically she was in much better order, still however the rear axel came out & was rebuilt, whilst the engine was upgraded to a 4. 2litre unit for extra power and grunt.
Using her now this shows, starts on the button cold & hot. Automatic Kenlowe cooling fan on the aluminium radiator. Overdrive on the moss box slots in beautifully on both third & fourth, she cruises at 90 quite easily on the motorway. She's remarkably dynamic for a car her vintage too, the steering is fast & light once under way & the all new suspension feels brilliant underneath you
The wood as you can see in the pictures was sent to a specialist for restoring, I don't mind saying I think they did a marvellous job
So too were the seats, re-trimmed & cushioned to match the original leather on the door cards & transmission tunnel
Brand new headlining was also trimmed in to match the brand new carpets bound & webbed in the same style as the piping on the seats
It's refreshing to spend time in the car as the newly trimmed seats, carpets, headlining & veneers are obviously showroom fresh giving the occupants a sense of money well spent, whilst the door cards & transmission tunnel retain their original patina ensuring you don't lose that infamous classic car aroma so much of us get weak over
The coachwork is really excellent. Finished in Shadow Grey, an option colour on the 2008 Jaguar XK8, she wears the metallic gunmetal shade as well as anything I could imagine
She was originally Grey, but a slightly different hue
The semi-spats on the rear wheel arches were a handcrafted addition from our aforementioned 'body shop' supremo, the decision to purchase & fit new rear view mirrors on the quarter-light window frames was also an idea from the mind of our friend where before one drivers side mirror sat on the top edge of the door
All new lights front & rear complete with chrome escutcheons, the door handles, waist band strips, boot letterings & grab handle are all new too whereas the bumpers have been treated and polished but not fully restored or replaced
Complete with a very snappy stainless steel exhaust she sounds almost better than she looks
The whole process took our chum just over a decade to complete, as a passion project these things do often take a long time. Once finished he covered a gargantuan 100 miles in her over the following 8 years before the time came to sell her on
I was very pleased therefore that after a pleasant morning, that drifted into midafternoon, spent fawning over her I was able to drive her the 85 miles back to London with no issues
Since acquiring I have had her in to the specialists for an engine service & tune. The SU carbs were tuned & a new choke cable was fitted as it was getting stuck on the forward carburettor. The rev counter was recalibrated as it had failed. Obviously with the service she was given a new set of plugs & the coil was replaced with a new unit to better coordinate with the electronic ignition
She gets all the right sort of attention with passers by regularly stooping to admire & picture her
An excellent example of an iconic car
Grille badges included at full price
