1960 Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 Automatic

1960 Jaguar 3.8 Description

I have been restoring jaguar Mark 2 saloons for about 20 years. I have completed and sold 7 of them. This car is by far the nicest one I have done. Take a minute and read about this unique car.For sale is a very early Jaguar Mark 2 which has just completed a true 180 degree rotisserie restoration. It was completely disassembled and all components were refurbished or replaced. This car has 56,150 original miles and was built on January 8, 1960. It features all the rare desirable early attributes:...pendant accelerator pedal...7 pleat front seats...early Mk IXstyle rearview mirror...black painted center gauge panel...early style front suspension A arms...100 psi oil pressure gauge...early style glove box lamp...flush design early sun visors...early oil bath/silencer air cleaner...reversed shift/directional stalks...no valve on heater box...non-flocked newspaper shelf (cloth)...metal brake fluidcanister...ashtray lid without support arm...B pillar 2 piece chrome trims...aluminum alloy (not plastic) steering wheel...wood rear door caps without notch...small metal Hoburn Eaton cap on p.s. reservoir
This car is a rare example of a truly original preserved vehicle. It retains the original JA003 Cornish grey paint on virtually the entire car. The chrome is original and in excellent condition except for concours-quality replating of the bumpers, guards, spinners, tail lamp bases and boot lamp housing. The chrome wire wheels are very presentable but not perfect.
The upholstery, door panels and wood are original to the car and are in excellent condition. All the carpeting is original except for the front footwell carpets. (the Wilton wool carpeting was expertly removed and redyed and reinstalled). The two front footwell replacement wool carpets are of British manufacture and are exact reproductions of the originals. The headliner was unfortunately stained and had to be replaced. New underlayment was installed under the carpeting. The wood is beautifully refinished with Spar Marine urethane. The door panels are excellent. All gauges are original and refurbished. The alloy steering wheel is excellent. The seats are 100% original and in great condition. There was a 1" tear on the top of the drivers front seat bolster in front of the first pleat. (you can see it in the photos). This was repaired with canvas backer to prevent future problems. There are also some water stains on some of the leather seats that appear accentuated in the photos. I elected to leave the leather seats as-is but I'm sure a leather restoration service could re-dye the seats to eliminate the stains.
The car has exactly the correct stance and all seams are excellent. It has never been in an accident. I bought the car in early 2019 and just finished a 21 month restoration. It is a completely numbers matching car. Also, the ancillary components carry the correct date codes. The Heritage Certificate verifies all of this data. Maintaining originality was my prime concern and this car is essentially as it left the factory. I have complete ownership provenance on the car since new. It was originally purchased by a nationally know architect who drove it sparingly for 9 years. The second owner never licensed the car and stored it in a heated garage from 1969 to 2010. The third owner from whom I purchased the car owned it from 2010 to 2019.
My mechanical restoration of the car was extensive. The car had very little rust. It was completely disassembled to a unibody shell and 180 degree rotisseried for complete access to critical undercarriage components. Every underbody component was evaluated and the only parts that needed to be replaced were the square tubes on two of the jacking points (not the bases). The undercarriage was then detailed in black semi-gloss chassis paint with correct areas undercoated as from the factory. All the factory-specified alignment points have been checked and they are correct.
Some mechanical restoration details:...Radiator was re-cored in 2018 by previous owner and I cleaned, pressure tested and painted it....New water pump. Heater box refurbished. Core pressure tested....All new correct hoses...New master cylinder and new upgraded 3X vacuum booster...New correct made-in-England Lucas wiper arms and blades...Original Cheney clamps retained in visible areas and modern stainless clamps utilized in non-visible areas. The remaining Cheney clamps will accompany the car....Oil bath air cleaner located under the left wing has a modern K&N high efficiency air cleaner unit hidden inside it...brand new beautiful Coker 670-15 radial tires and radial tubes that have the original bias ply shape. Very expensive but worth it. These tires are exceptional....transmission (Borg Warner DG250/MJ number J3B 4308) is original to the car and was completely rebuilt in 2013 by the premier transmission shop in Buffalo at a cost of $2330. I just put new gaskets on it and cleaned the filter. New speedometer cable and drive gear....front suspension and steering: completely rebuilt with new bushings, ball joints and idler assemblies. The springs are replacements purchased by the previous owner. The power steering pump and box have new seals installed. Note that the old-style original reservoir lid was not painted, retaining part of the original decal....Engine: new timing chains and tensioner, new teflon-style front seal and all lower end gaskets. Excellent oil pressure - the pump was disassembled and checked out OK. The distributor was refurbished to fix vacuum advance. Valve timing and valve clearances were set. Good even compression on all cylinders. I use 10w30 full synthetic oil....Fuel system: carburators rebuilt, gas tank cleaned and coated inside, new fuel pump, electric choke disassembled and cleaned....Brakes: new steel lines and rubber hoses throughout. installed a new 3x power vacuum booster and master cylinder. Replaced the front brakes with 4 piston Wilwood racing units. New brake pads throughout. Rear disc brakes rebuilt. The emergency brake has brand new pads and works perfectly....Rear suspension and axle: new pinion seal installed. Bearings and seals checked they are OK. New rear shocks. New panhard bushings and correct adjustment. The axle has the limited slip differential....Exhaust system: First, please look at photo of the porcelain manifolds. They are the nicest I have seen on a Jaguar engine. Installed complete new Bell stainless exhaust system with all new hangers....Electrical system: rebuilt starter and generator. Voltage regulator checked and set to factory specifications. Rebuilt wiper motor. Wiper cables disassembled and lubricated. Fan motor disassembled and cleaned. Correct Lucas horns refurbished. Correct 1960 Champion spark plug ends....Body: new hood latch cable, rebuilt all door locks and latches (everything works perfectly) Welded correct patch panels installed at bottoms of front wings and inner wing splash panels welded in place. No other body work done on the car. The only areas on the car that were repainted are the bottoms of the wings, rocker panels, air vent flap, hidden bottoms of the doors, outside and inside of the bonnet, the Coombs-style spats, the inside of the boot lid, area around the radiator saddle. The balance of the paint (about 80% of the car) is factory original.. Jaguar JA003 Cornish Grey enamel. It is in beautiful condition with a very few blemishes and chips that were brush touched over the years. The body is extremely smooth. The paint used for the resprayed areas is single stage catalyzed enamel and the color is a perfect match. Glass is excellent and there is no cloudiness on the windshield. There are some scratches and road rash on the windshield.
The car comes with a complete original factory took kit that appears to be unused.Also included is a mint original (not reprint) owners manual and lubrication chart.Also included are the front British license plinth, the original thick steel spats, the two original worn front footwell Wilton carpets and extra Cornish Grey paint.
The car runs and drives beautifully. Come to Rochester, New York and check it out. It is quite fast and the brakes are exceptional.
If you cannot come to Rochester to inspect the car, there are several highly regarded classic car restoration shops in the area who can inspect it on your behalf.I know January in New York State is not an ideal time to try selling a classic car but I want to get the word out that it is for sale and get the process moving. It may take time to match up with a buyer.However if the car is purchased now, I will be happy to store it here in my garage until April 2021 for the buyer if needed.
I have placed a very low opening bid of $40,000 on the car with no reserve to encourage bidder interest.Take some time to research the recent selling prices for Mark 2 Jaguars that are truly restored to this caliber. The 1/10/2021 J.D. Power/NADA guides price report shows $101,745 high retail, $53,390 average retail and $26,505 low retail for a 1960 Jaguar Mark II 3.8 litre automatic. I am not a dealer. I've taken great care in this restoration but the buyer should understand that the car of course is sold as-is.
In addition to the photos included with this auction I have many others showing restoration details, undercarriage, closeups of components. I also have some videos of the car running.