Lot 261 - 1963 Jaguar Mk.II 3.8 Manual with Overdrive

The Jaguar Mk.II was a medium size saloon built from 1959 to 1967 as a successor to the 2.4 and 3.4 models, and was manufactured up until 1959.  The Mk.II was handsome, powerful and a good handling saloon which was offered with a choice of three six cylinder twin cam engines; 2.4 litre, 3.4 litre or 3.8 litre. After the appreciation of the MK.I, Jaguar's successor was well received making a good car even better.  Similar in appearance, but with a bigger glass area, it boasted a wider track to improve road holding together with minor front suspension changes to reduce body roll and fitted with the new Dunlop disc brakes all-round rather than drum brakes. The 210bhp 3.4 litre engine variant proved to be the most popular, offering the best compromise between performance and economy.  Naturally, the performance was excellent and the Mk.II has enjoyed great success on the track and can still be a very competitive historic race car.  Raced by all the top drivers of the day including Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori and Michael Parkes, the Mk.II scored victories throughout saloon car races in the sixties and was also raced across Europe in the Tour De France and Monte Carlo rally. The car also gained a reputation as a capable 'getaway car' among the criminal underworld.  The Mk.II had seating for five adults and in 3.8 litre specification could outrun almost any other car on the road.  Conversely, the Jaguar Mk.II received acclaim amongst law enforcement agencies too; used by John Thaw as the fictional crime-fighting character Inspector Morse in the 1980's television show of the same name and more recently in the ITV television program Endeavour, about Morse's early years.

This Jaguar 3.8 Mk.II is a matching numbers car which has been subject to a very recent, complete cosmetic restoration having all the mechanical components removed and all the old paintwork stripped back to bare metal. The body shell was then repainted in the period Jaguar colour opalescent light silver grey. The mechanical parts have been fully checked and restored as necessary before being re-fitted to the car. The vendor has stated that the original engine was completely restored and blueprinted about twenty years ago and runs like new. Auxiliary parts like the carburettors have been fully reconditioned, new clutch fitted and all the rubber mounts and hoses have been replaced. In 1963 the Jaguar experimental department looked at a new timing chain system which included a new self-adjusting timing chain; this car is one of the very few cars that has the special mounting points for this system. The self-adjusting timing chain was not adopted at this time by Jaguar and did not appear for many years. The interior of this car has also been restored; the red leather, mostly original, has been cleaned and repaired where necessary and re-coloured. The woodwork has been fully restored and re-polished, new picnic tables have been made and fitted to the back of the front seats and the car has new carpets throughout. The original radio has been retained but updated with modern components so it now receives FM radio and has a MP3 port. After the car was completed, it went to the Jaguar Mk.II guru Ken Bell who went right through the car making sure it was exactly as it was when it left the Jaguar factory; work carried out by him included fitting a second new clutch to remove a slight judder, fitting the correct radiator fan cowling, setting up the suspension and Dunlop disc brakes and the tuning of the engine. This car is supplied with a full tool kit, V5C registration document, an MoT test certificate dated until May 2012 and a Jaguar Heritage certificate. The vendor tells us that when Ken's son Peter Bell - who is an expert in this marque in his own right - road tested this car, he stated that it was one of the best Mk.II's that he has ever driven. This is a very rare opportunity to purchase a completely original car, restored to the highest of standards.