Tag Archives: Jaguar

Rats Nest to Concours – Jaguar XK 140 FHC SE/MC

I’d like to welcome Geoffrey Horton a new contributor to ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’. Geoffrey got in touch with me regarding research on my Carden blog, he is the grandson of George L Ward one half of Ward and Avery who some of my readers from rowdy.com may remember as being responsible for manufacturing the Carden designed AV Monocar.

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For 13 years Geoff worked at an apartment complex where every day the 70 year old owner of a silver XK140 FHC/SE had promised Geoff his car.

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When the owner died the promised car disappeared, still in shock some weeks later Jeff saw this particular car in the San Francisco Chronicle for $3,000 he did not hesitate to pick up the cash and take a his trailer along with a bottle of Jack Daniels to collect it.

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The previous owner of this vehicle told Geoffrey it had been running fine prior to storage for 14 years in a barn. When Geoffrey purchased this car it was a rats nest, they had eaten the interior and were storing dog food in the wool headliner.

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The condition of the car as we now see it is the result of a four year body off restoration. Since 1986 the car has won numerous awards at Concours events including Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Carmel by the Sea, Neillo Serrano and SF Presidio.

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The car completed on the 21st September 1955 has it’s original engine and gearbox. More information on the XK140 model can be found on the Big Cat in Northern Rhodesia – Jaguar XX 140 FHC blog.

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I’d like to thank Geoffrey for taking the time to send me his photo’s and look forward to sharing more of his concours photo’s in the months to come.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s concours edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Original Lightweight – Jaguar Lightweight E – Type 9/12

In 1962 Jaguar built a Low Drag Coupé E-type, with a steel inner tub but aluminium outer pannels, that was more in the spirit of the D-Type from which the E-Type styling and design had evolved. The car was not any more competitive than it’s all steel namesake despite it’s higher performance and the prototype was sold.

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From 1963 – 1964 12 Lightweight E- Types were built that evolved from the Low Drag Coupé, again making extensive use of aluminium body panels and other components.

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The standard 265 hp iron block straight six engines were upgraded to 300hp aluminium block XK6 specs fitted with fuel injection.

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The cars failed to emulate the international success of earlier ‘C’ and ‘D’ types at Le Mans or Sebring but they were moderately successful in club racing.

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Of the 12 Lightweights built and two additional bodies it is thought ‘at least one’ was a Coupé some of the open top cars were converted to Low Drag Coupes with even more powerful 340 hp motors.

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The vehicle featured in these photographs was the 9th of the 12 originals and carries the chassis number 850666.

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The car was purchased and raced by Peter Sutcliffe from 1963 to 1965.

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This was the most successful Lightweight E-type in the 1964 season scoring victories at Mallory Park, Zolder and Montlhery out side Paris, France.

Hope you have enjoyed another Lightweight edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and that you’ll join me again, for Ferrari Friday, tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Nailhead Power – Kurtis Buick 500X #3

Today’s photograph by Carlyle Blackwell was purchased by Ed Arnaudin back in the 1950’s.

Kurtis Buick 500X, San Diego, Carlyle Blackwell

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

Bill Murphy’s #96 Kurtis Buick 500X seen in this photo, probably at San Diego in July 1956 where Bill won two races, is thought to be the 3rd of 12 500X chassis designed by Kurtis – Kraft who were well known for building successful open wheelers for the Indianapolis 500.

With a 96″ wheelbase the 4120 chrome moly tube chassis of this model featured 4 bar torsion suspension and was a variation of the KK500C Indianapolis car covered in a hand formed aluminium body secured with Dzus fasteners.

The Kurtis was powered by a 5276 cc / 322 cui nailhead Buick V8 which is said to have produced between 300 (Bill Murphy) and 400 hp (Carol Shelby), this engine featured Hilbron fuel injection and was connected to a Jaguar 4 speed gearbox with the aid of Zidar adaptors.

The car was raced successfully by Bill Murphy from August 1955 to September 1957 during which time he scored 9 overall wins and 18 class wins. Murphy’s employee from his Buick Dealership the Indy Car driver Sam Hanks was asked to shake the car down before races and then acted as engineer and crew chief for Bill during the races.

This car is said to have sat on Bill Murphy’s lot until 1979 and resumed it’s winning ways in 1980, since then this vehicle has appeared at Pebble Beach, Murphy never took risks on the track and the car is thought to have survived to the present day in original condition with no more than a fresh lick of paint.

Bill Murphy born in Alaska, was a successful UCLA dropout who built a huge car dealership empire which included Desoto-Plymouth and what from 1962 – 1965 was known as the worlds largest Buick dealership in Culver City.

Bill who was over 40 years old when he raced the Kurtis, which thought was capable of over reaching speeds 180 mph, business partner Shelby reckoned that Bills Kurtis was more powerful than any contemporary Ferrari or Maserati.

My thanks to Ed and Steve Arnaudin for forwarding Carlyle Blackwells photograph and to R Shelby and Coneptcarz for details about Bill and the 500X.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s ‘nailhead’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS My thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo’s her father took.

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Heavyweight – Jaguar E- Type 3.8 Coupe

Call me a hopeless romantic but there is something I find irresistible about the notion of walking into a showroom purchasing the fastest vehicle they have in stock, adding a couple towing eyes, a fire extinguisher roll cage and 5 point harness and ignition cut out switch and heading down to the nearest race track.

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This kind of racing used to be called stock car racing in the US and Production racing in the UK.

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Today’s stunning 1961 E-type 3.8 litre Coupe has been kept in more or less original trim since new.

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It still has an all steel shell and opening panels.

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Until recently the current owner; ex power boat racer, Michael O’Shea has been racing a 1958 XK150S, he has a decades experience racing Jaguars and a couple of years racing a Cooper – Maserati.

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Michael first started racing karts at 12 but did not start racing cars for another 34 years.

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Racing has been in Michael’s blood all his life his Dad was the mastermind behind the O’Shea Racing Organisation which ran a car for a then unknown, future world champion, Jack Brabham.

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Michael will be racing his car in the new HSCC Jaguar E-Type Challenge a series created to cater just for E-types on their 50th Anniversary.

My thanks to Jaguar World and Classic & Performance Car for additional information.

Hope you enjoyed todays Heavyweight edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Rust Free Find – Jaguar E-Type Series 1

Continuing GALPOT’s Golden anniversary of the E-Type, today’s car was found rust free in a lockup by Justin Rockett and rebuilt as a club racer in 1997.

In 2005 it was upgraded to full ‘FIA’ specifications, which includes a Safety Devices roll cage, the original iron block 3.8 litre / 231 cui motor raced prepared by Sigma Engineering , straight cut close ratio gearbox, limited slip differential,

Jaguar MK IX braking system, polyurethane suspension bushes, uprated torsion bars, springs and shock absorbers. The peg drive Dunlop ‘style’ wheels are fitted with period ‘L’ section tyres.

This vehicle which has been seen carrying a registration plate 5187 KV, was purchased by Nothern Irish Jaguar enthusiast and racer Mark Russell in 2009 and has been developed and prepared by Classic Spares.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s rust free lock up find edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Olde Favourite – Jaguar E-Type #850216

Like the humble Renault 4, the E-Type Jaguar celebrates it’s Golden Anniversary this year.

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When the E-type Jaguar was launched in 1961 Enzo Ferrari could afford to pay the car a compliment by describing it as ‘being the most beautiful car in the world’, because he knew his own cars were generally lighter and had more powerful aluminium motors.

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The E-type was a direct descendent of the three times Le Mans winning D- Type with an 3.8 litre / 231 cui evolution of the same iron block straight 6 double overhead cam XK6 motor.

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This 1961 Series 1 model was delivered to Jaguar agent, Dumbuck Garage, run by Mr & Mrs Stewart parents of the marginally more famous Jimmy Stewart and younger brother the now infinitely more famous Jackie Stewart.

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While the car was on the Dumbuck Garage demonstration fleet carrying the registration plate FSN 1 Jackie Stewart got married to Helen and was photographed sitting in this car with his bride on their wedding day.

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Subsequently Jackie drove the car to several victories in 1962 which led to his first professional contracts with Ecurie Ecosse and John Coombs for 1963.

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Allegedly this vehicle is known as “The Olde Favourite” in Jackie Stewarts family and is currently owned by Michael Wilkinson.

I hope you have enjoyed `The Olde Favourite’ edition of “Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres” and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Classic Expo – Race Retro, Stoneleigh, Coventry 1/2

A couple of weeks ago Tim Murray, Secretary of the Pegasus Motor Club, kindly invited me to join the club for a trip to Race Retro held at the Stoneleigh Park Exhibition and Conference Centre near Coventry, UK.

Here is an oversight of some of the details I saw in a hand full of the 500 plus photo’s I took, I’d filled up my phone with images just getting from the Centre’s car park to the Exhibition Hall !

Amongst the many celebrations at Race Retro was a celebration of the achievements of the Italian tuning house Abarth.

On the Minibus on the way up to Stoneleigh I found myself sitting next to the legendary classic slingshot drag racer Chris Hartnell whose infectious enthusiasm was all I needed to commit myself to going to a Drag event this season !

This is the view from Adz Prices ‘Go Hard or Go Home‘ known, I believe, as an Altered, the car features a Topolino body and a 360 Mopar with Weland Tunnel Ram. Drag lingo is something I am going to have learn fast. I hope to come back to this vehicle with a full blog in the near future.

It’s the 50th Anniversary since the launch of the iconic E-Type Jaguar. I’ll be back with a few E-Type blogs to celebrate in the fullness of time.

Amongst the many Jaguars and Jaguar replica’s on display was this fabulous XJR15 a model I had not seen in the flesh before.

There was an awesome display of rallying Lancia’s including this Group B Delta S4 which was the highest evolution of rally cars ever devised, this particular all wheel drive car had a mid mounted engine that was both turbocharged AND supercharged. It was my good fortune to see this very vehicle in action when it came second in the 1985 RAC Rally on it’s debut driven by Markku Alén and Ilkka Kivimäki behind team mates Henri Toivonen and Neil Wilson. Another vehicle that will be the subject of a future blog.

With thanks to Tim Murray and the Pegasus Motor Club without home this blog would not have been possible.

Hope you have enjoyed the first half of my report on the Race Retro Exhibition and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for part two. Don’t forget to come back now !

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