Hello, this is my first post here, and I would greatly appreciate the benefit of your experience. I am looking at an XK140 DHC project car (SE, but non-C). I have always admired the XK's, and this would be my first Jag. The car I am looking at has been off the road in dry storage for 35 years. The drive train is out of the car, and the engine is apart. (Basically, the gentleman was going to restore it all those years ago, but lost interest, and there it sat.) The car seems to be complete as far as I can tell, but the top and interior are "perished." The body has a few small dings, but seems fairly straight. The thing that gives me pause is rust in both door sills, as well as rust-through at the bottom front of one rear fender, and some rust forming under one of the footwell ventilators. I guess I'm wondering how big of a problem this is. (I don't intend to attempt to do the body work myself.) Is rust of this sort to be expected in a project car, or would I be better off trying to find another car?

Any other pitfalls to look out for? I would appreciate any advice!

Submitted by tim_inks@hotmail.com on Tue, 02/01/2005 - 11:56

Adrian,

Thank you very much for your response. I appreciate you taking the time to help. I got the car!

Although I hadn't been actively looking for an XK, it had been on my "someday" list for quite awhile. I'm not new to the car hobby, but for me it has always been American cars and British bikes. Every year when I would go to our local British car and bike conclave, I'd admire the XK's. It finally dawned on me that the XK was the "perfect" car: Gorgeous body lines, beautiful engine, stunning interior (especially the DHC, with the burled walnut), and just the right size, with plenty of power.

I stumbled onto this car. The man who had started taking it apart all those years ago was the late father of a lady I work with. When she mentioned that her mother had an old Jaguar that had been sitting in her garage for 35 years, a group of us "car guys" from work decided we had to go take a look. It was an XK 140 drop-head, exactly the car that I had hoped to have someday! However, I could see that the restoration was well beyond my abilities. A couple months passed. In the meantime one of the other guys here at work showed the car to a friend of his, who has done a couple of MG's and Triumph, but he was scared off by the rust in the door sills and the obvious expense and complexity of the project. To make a long story short, I finally realized that I could tackle this project if I were realistic about the limits of my own abilities, and could find (and was willing to pay for) some experienced help. After seeking out and talking to a good Jaguar shop here in Denver, I've satisfied myself that I'll have access to the expertise required to do it right. So starts the journey...

I'm sure I'll have other questions as I start getting into this. I will, as you advise, look for the "On Jaguar XK120 Restoration" book, as well as the current issue of Classic Motorsports.

Thanks again for your help!

Tim Inks
Denver, Colorado USA

Submitted by NE18-28897 on Wed, 01/26/2005 - 18:31

Tim,
How big a project do you want? I own a 120 DHC and from what I've seen, the XK140 DHC is the most desirable of all XKs. The XK140 is better driving due to better shocks, rack and pinion steering, more powerful engine, and more comfortable due to increased interior room. It still retains the classic XK body lines and the Drophead is the prettiest 140, at least in my opinion. That said, how complete is the car? You'd probably rebuild the engine and redo the top/interior anyway, so you're ahead that the engine's removed and apart, plus it makes the body work easier. Rust is not too much of a problem on any ladder frame car (all the panels are available) but can be seriously expensive on unibody frames such as the E-type. Any 50 year old car usually has rust to a greater or lesser degree anyway. So, how much money, and even more important, what's your time frame for wanting to complete the project. Count on 3 years minimum and up to $40,000 if you do a lot of the work yourself. At least you'll have the knowledge going into it that a 140 Drophead is valuable. There's a yellow covered book "On Jaguar XK120 Restoration" that I use a lot. It applies to your XK140 as well. You can find it on E-Bay. Pick one up and read it. The project they started with is way worse than what you're describing. Many Web sites can give you an idea of what you should pay for the car. Also, if you do this Jag, join a club!!

Adrian Curtis