Jaguar Mk 2

Western Cruiser

Hi all,

I'm in tyre kicking / initial research mode at the moment so looking for general advice.

I'm thinking of buying myself a long promised MK 2 next year.

My dad owned a 1962 one which we had for most of my childhood so I am reasonably familiar with them.

Any advice on sourcing a nice (safe buy) 3.4 or 3.8 in Ireland or should I look in the UK?

I'm looking for a turn key purchase rather than a restoration project.

Kind regards,

--amadeus--

Western Cruiser wrote:

I'm in tyre kicking / initial research mode at the moment so looking for general advice.

I have a 1964 MK II (for sale ) . It's my 3rd classic and they are highly reccomended.

The positives are that it is large enough to take a family away touring in, very strong mechanically and the 3.4 and 3.8 are powerful enough to easily cope with modern traffic, motorways and the like. They are fabulous looking cars and mine gathers more waves, thumbs up's and smiles than my previous two classics (a Merc and a 911). Servicing isn't expensive and there are specialists and a good club support.

The downsides are fairly few - the gearbox's can be clunky. Power streering is a very nice option as teh car is heavy at parking speeds. Overdrive was also an option so that's important to look for. Oh, and it's blinking thirsty!

I'd highly reccomend one as a first classic. The 3.4 is probably the pick of the bunch, it's 210bhp vs 220 for the 3.8 but has a lighter engine and is slightly more fuel efficient. As with all classics buy the best you can afford and look out for rust in all the usual places. If buying from teh UK get one with an MOT (they check electrics and for dodgy rust holes!).

In terms of sourcing them the Internet is always your friend. I haven't seen a specialist Classic Jag mag on general sale but the general classic mags usually have a couple of ads. Also try carzone.ie and autotrader.co.uk.

Good luck!

Western Cruiser

Hi and thanks for all of the advice !

Stunning car ! Not sure that white would be my first choice but there are obvious advantages towards subbing the running and keeping costs;) .

Even the photos bring back childhood memories of polishing all of that chrome out front.

Whenever I sit into a Mk 2 , the unique smell of wood, leather and cloth brings me right back to 9 years of age.

I had the original works manual ( Big thick blue manual with every nut and bolt pictured) for my Dad's old car but I loaned it to an elderly man who I met with a Mk 2 in Athlone a few years ago. I never saw the book again:(.

It had my Dad's car reg ENI 279 on the inside cover if any one comes across it !

Would it be rude to ask on the forums what the guideline asking price for your car would be ?

PM me if you like.

Many thanks for sharing the advice and photos !

Kind regards,

--amadeus--

Thanks - I love the car and she is a beut (he said modestly!)

White wasn't my first choice either but it's actually more cream in teh metal and goes well with the red leather. Added to which it was a darn sight cheaper for me to buy than an equivalent blue, red or black one! I thought that I'd rather have a v. good white MK II than a ropy one in a darker colour.

I know the book you mean - mine still has it's (though sadly missing a couple of pages from the front) - it's not exactly light bedtime reading!

As for the guide price... I have her up at €16.5K but she has to go to pay for the (horrible) SUV that I had to buy for work so if I get a sesnible offer from a potentially good home I'll listen!

Actually that's another thing about MK II's the values seem to fluctuate wildly from vendor to vendor. Some people seem to have a crazy idea of how much they are worth. The guide price on a car in "average" condition in the UK is £6,500 rising to £20,000 for "show" standard but I've seen cars advertised over here for €30K plus that didn't look *that* special. Basically if you are looking at high price cars then be really firm with the vendor about why his car is worth so much (please ignore this advice if you decide to have a look at my car, which is of course worth twich teh sticker price!!)

Eric318

The MK2 is a beautiful machine, great choice! The 3.8 S is not bad either. There are a few for sale here:
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&startrow=51&maxrows=50&Year_Max=1987&GroupID=738&ResultFormat=extended&SortBy=YearAsc

Jaguar marketeers were very "generous" with power figures until the world moved to the DIN standard. You would be lucky to get 100HP DIN at the rear wheel from a XK engine in 3.8l guise, may be with a manual box. At the height of its life cycle on the XJ6 SIII 4.2, with EFI, the XK engine gave a top figure of 195 BHP but on a rolling road, with an auto box, readings would be around 120 BHP on a cool day. Sorry to disappoint