How did I forget the XK 140? Somehow I managed to overlook it, which is not easy to do. It’s literally impossible to overstate the impact of the Jaguar, especially the XK Series, starting with the seminal XK 120 in 1949. It essentially defined the post war sports car, most of all in its styling. Jaguar was the number one sports/luxury import in the post war era, right up to about 1960 or so, when Mercedes supplanted in that role. But in the mid ’50s, this XK 140 MC roadster was top dog, in terms of relatively affordable high performance sports car.
Its styling and the smooth power of its DOHC 3.4 L six were always the high points of the XK 120 and 140, but almost ten years on, the limitations were also becoming more obvious, despite some improvements in the 140. Ergonomically, these cars were a disaster; at least one could sort of sit in the 140, thanks to the engine being moved forward three inches. But it was still a cramped little cabin for a relatively large car. As appealing as it was to show off puttering around town, that was precisely the conditions that were least conducive to driving enjoyment: heavy steering, a baulky transmission, uncomfortable pedal placement, etc. But on a fast winding road, the 140 was in its elements. But even then it couldn’t outrun time. An aging platform but still able to bring pleasure under the right circumstances.
Thus truly ends our survey of the sports cars of circa 1957 thanks to SCI.
I’ve driven a couple of XK roadsters. They’re an interesting combination of high performance and pre-war feel. Compared to mass-market ’50s Detroit sedans, they are incredibly primitive and unpleasant to drive. I watched an episode of ‘Barn-Find Hunter’ a while back where he found a couple of XKs. The show’s host took a break from his usual myopic obsession with Fords to gush about the desirability of the Jaguars. The owners of both of them did a remarkably poor job of hiding their humor at his ignorance about the reality of XK ownership. No doubt the cars wound up ‘stored’ because nobody could be bothered keeping them running when there is so little pleasure to be had driving them.
As an aside, I’ve never been a fan of the “barn find” trope. It’s mostly a myth that media producers use to whip up faux drama for their shows. The premise of the barn find is that the vehicle has been lost and forgotten, the value a just -discovered secret by some automotive Indiana Jones. I suspect this is exceedingly rare. Most of the time it’s simply old cars for advertised sale by owners who know what they have, and never lost them.
This has happened to me, some self appointed vehicular archeologist sees my GTO or Jeep Scrambler and starts bellowing about “their barn finds”, hurling absurd low dollar offers and insisting I sell them because it’s unfair to hoard them. Get away, I know what they are, they aren’t lost and are well preserved in my shop, thank you.
Yeah, I find the whole thing pretty obnoxious, when I watch these barn finds or read about them the longtime owner is either totally ignored, despite keeping this car in existence for decades longer than most survived, or treated as weirdo burdens who make it comically difficult for them to remove the car from the property. It’s so condescending and elitist. The anecdotes I hear from people where they pester someone and call them a hoarder to shame them into selling their car that isn’t for sale are the worst.
On the flip side the sympathy evaporates when they put them up for sale with the “I know what I have” trope too. No shortage of listings for something like a base model Plymouth Satellite with no engine, rust up to the C pillars and no title, constantly resisted in classifieds month after month with no give on price when inquired, awaiting their savior buyer to take them on the gravy train.
I knew two high schoolers who had 120’s or maybe 140’s, in the early seventies. They were certainly a bit unusual for a teenager then, but still basically a twenty year old and technologically dated sports car. When another classmate got a late-model used Triumph GT6 when we were seniors, and that was far more cool. At the time, the XK150 at least seemed more modern with its less dramatic fender arches and one piece windshield, though today’s sentiment seems even less favorable to that final, pre-E Type, variant of the XK.
XK 150
Oh, bugger the opinionists! The 150 is a gorgeous item, with a voluptuous aesthetic of its own that makes it seem almost unrelated to the 120 and 140.
Nostalgia and the desire for exclusivity is what fuels the overinflated values of vintage items. Be they jewelry, furnishings or automobiles. Objectively they aren’t as good as the current versions, at least speaking about cars. These things are trading for six figures now, but the similar thing has happened with old muscle cars. My Brother in law had an old beater XK-E back when he was in high school in the early 70’s. A decent example roadster was a grand back in 1975. That was three times what I paid for my beater V8 ’66 Mustang. Oh well, even that old Mustang is worth more. I picked up my ’89 XJS convertible for 1,200 dollars a few years back. The seller was trying to get 5,000 bucks for it at the Pomona swap meet the year before but was unsuccessful. The transmission was starting to go and it was part of an estate sale, so the price was cut to the bone. I’ve replaced the tranny since, and am taking my time getting the car right. Old Jags are a PITA but they do look good. Here’s a picture of what it looked like when I bought it.
I’m going to try a smaller image. I wish that the house in the background was mine!
Gorgeous! I’m a big XJ/S fan
Ahh yes! When jaguars actually looked good!
I don’t want to buy a Chrysler 300 with a jaguar symbol.
For me, the best looker of the XK family, and amongst the best lookers of all, and the sensation of the 1948 motor show still commands an audience. The elements of the design existed beforehand, but the combination of muscular and dainty in the one that makes it uniquely itself.
The reality of what lies underneath is another story, that story being the MkV chassis (itself a pre-war re-do), ash framing, vintage-effort steering, a tough but recalcitrant box, a superb but overweight motor, and 12 inch brakes for 3,000lbs and modern-level speed.
The SCI test is forthright. The steering is described as tiring and very shock-prone, the Moss box as plainly difficult (and very high-geared), the well-prepped engine dead between 2 and 3 thousand revs, which, combined with those tall ratios, accounts for the use of just two, most difficult gears in town. The pedals are awkward, the clutch heavy and the brake, with high pedal pressures at all times, prone to stay away when wet.
And it isn’t really all resolved at speed, as it understeers heavily on slow corners, axles-tramps on hard acceleration and is a bit iffy if the corners are bumpy. When they say it a delight at high speed on fast, smooth, winding roads, they are being literal: not for this machine the tight mountain way. Nor, on their words, the town either.
My local garage owner, who was apprentice when these were newish and a specialist fixer of them when I knew him recently, much preffered to work servicing moderns. Like any auto sucker, he loved the XK’s often in his shop and owned a few MkV drop-tops. But he knew they constantly required time and fettling to keep working, which required constant money that owners too often did not want to spend. They were not only 1930’s tech, they had significant design flaws that either had to be worked around or expensively resolved for good.
And I wonder if the decline of Jag in the US came from not only this known fussiness and expense in owning one (made worse in an often-harsh environment for cars) but also the plain crumminess of them as a car used in the grind of the daily.
The Jag paradox at its peak. Exotically beautiful, but prosaically archaic under the skin fast, not expensive, but expensive to fix, a car to be seen in but tough to own, and unpleasant to drive except really fast on that particular smooth road when it is dry.
Ultimately, as a vehicle for the road, that is a very narrow brief indeed.
A few years ago I saw advertised, for a while, a Kit to use Japanese truck frame + suspension + 240/260/280Z engine to make faux XKseries KitKar. Did they sell any? Sounds like a pretty accurate reproduction of original car, even to the healthy inline-6 sound.