Guest BillP Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I've been looking at an early fifties Jaguar coupe for the last several days. Despite my experience and knowledge of post-war English cars, I find this car somewhat attractive. I've been weighing the matter, and wonder what the group says about the value of these things. On the plus side,It's a coupe, I like closed cars.That glorious, twin-cam six. It has been through an apparently comprehensive restoration, so maybe it's ready to go. On the minus side,It's red, brightly so, and I'm not a bright red fan. It's had undetermined competition modifications, so abuse or damage is anyone's guess.I've seen these cars naked, and the build engineering wasn't stellar. Any thoughts on market value?Thanks, BP Edited January 23, 2015 by BillP creative speeling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 You sorta forgot to mention what model it is? I assume XK120? Red is a bad color on these cars. Without extensive pictures impossible to put an accurate value but these are fairly well documented with lots of recent auction sales. The competition mods are not great either. I'll say 65k which is a wild a** guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlCapone Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) What is he asking, is it a fresh restoration and do you have pictures ? Wayne Edited January 23, 2015 by AlCapone (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Love the XK coupes! Of course early Jags rusted ferociously so that would be my main concern. Rust and too lightly engineered door hinges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I believe the car is listed in the For Sale section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlCapone Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) If that is indeed the recently listed Jaguar you have to wonder why on a total restoration, they would choose that color ! That red would have been my last choice. BTW there is no price in the ad either. Wayne Edited January 23, 2015 by AlCapone (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillP Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 The red just isn't doing it for me. May go down and have a look at this one, much more in keeping with my sedate and retiring nature. http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/jaguar/xk_120/1711437.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 The XK 120 (and the MG TC) spearheaded the sports car craze here in the post WWII years, and the XK 120 was the world's fastest production car when it was introduced. Of all the XK variants the 120 is the purest in design, unlike those that followed it is devoid of any dress-up tinsel. They are beautiful, strong mechanically, and a pleasure to drive, although not as drivable as later versiions with disc brakes and rack and pinion steering. Almost anything needed for one is available, in fact one can practically be built from a Catalog, (just bring$$$). On the negative side, The area of most concern is their propensity to rust, and the difficulty of properly repairing that in some places. As a long time owner of 120's, a couple complaints I would offer up would be the transmission synchronizers, of course the Lucas electrics, and the brakes, which weren't regarded highly if the car was to be used in competition. As for relative values, the roadster is tops, followed by the drophead and then the coupe. Condition is everything. Prices have advanced steadily, so now is the time to find the best one you can afford and go for it. Many are being exported, from personal experience I would venture to say that the majority of sales of these cars is to overseas buyers, especially the English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillP Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 My mechanic has done several ground-ups on Jags. He had a 120 FHC in his shop a few years ago. It was very rusty, but he's talented. It was a good opportunity to study the car. I understand that at that time, England, on her knees with the hardship of the recent war, was frantic to export anything in order to replenish the treasury. So anything was exported, often in a hurry, both from an engineering and manufacturing point of view. I found it surprising that there was so much thick, factory-applied lead on this car, filling gaps and smoothing radii that would have been done more properly with hammer and dolly or on the wheel or press. By comparison, I have a contemporary 356 Porsche coupe that i bought as a bunch of boxes. The body is spare and lean, like an airplane fuselage, but large on the inside. Driving it is like riding around in your living room. The point is, if England was desperate, Germany at that time was comatose. Maybe it speaks to a time of more distinct national traits and characteristics, but that's a discussion for another place. To me, the 120 FHC in a modest color is motoring art. I see one and hear beautiful music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) It has been my experience that an early Jaguar of any type is as good as money in the bank, probably better. Prices are going up faster than price guides can be printed. Coupes are the bottom of the food chain when it comes to XKs, but an XK120 coupe is probably the most valuable coupe. Will the craze last forever? I doubt it. But I think it will be very hard to lose money on an XK of any type in the next 3-5 years. That said, this coupe in question is a bit of an anomaly. I personally really like the way it looks and I don't mind the red at all. There are wonderful subtle Jags, but they were also built for competition and this one has that vintage racer look that I dig. However, that same look and the attendant modifications are probably going to flatline its value. It won't appreciate like the stock restored ones, but it'll probably always be worth about what you have in it. It will depend on the extent of the modifications, of course. Is it just a "look" with shaved bumpers and some decals or is there a sheetmetal aluminum interior and Thermo-Tec wrapped headers? The photos and the guy who listed the car aren't very informative. I don't believe he's listed a price, either, but if it's more than $70,000, it's too much. My [pretty reliable] gut says $50,000 would be the right neighborhood if it's as nice as it looks and isn't a full-blown track car. If it's full race, well, then all bets are off because then you're just talking about the cost of replication, not any intrinsic collector value. Condition will be another factor, but not like with a restored car--everyone expects a race car (even a racy-looking car) to have a few battle scars.If it's $50-60,000, I'd say it's a decent buy if it can be reasonably driven on the streets. At $70-80,000, it's now within the realm of decent restored stock coupes. Beyond that, it's dreamland because even the best restored XK coupes are still sub-$100,000 cars. For the moment, anyway... Edited January 23, 2015 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodfiddler Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Bill - UnimogJohn has a 1953 Jaguar XK 120 SE. His Avanti thread down in the restoration section is here: http://forums.aaca.org/f190/avanti-r2-1963-refresh-269244-114.htmlHe would be a good fella to contact, maybe a PM?Chuck in Kansas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 If you've never driven an XK 120 or 140 I suggest you drive one before getting too excited. I can tell you from experience that they aren't the most pleasant cars in the world to drive. I drove my 140 as my daily transportation for a year or so when I was a much younger man. As mentioned above, braking isn't their strong suite. If your feet are larger than say size 8 you will have trouble operating the pedals comfortably. The seats are right on the floor which makes entry and egress a bit of a challenge. There is a reason that huge steering wheel adjusts in and out. I always said, only half joking, that they drive like dump trucks until you get them rolling. Any wear in the trans and it becomes a chore to shift them without gritting your teeth. All that being said I would never part with mine. They are beautifully designed but poorly built cars. The engines are pretty much bullet proof but those carbs do require fiddling with on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillP Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Thanks Jeff and Matt and everyone else. Those are all good points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joelonzello Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 My Grandfather had an XK120 under a tarp at his shop in the 70's. Pretty complete but I'm tall so getting behind the wheel I could never operate the pedals. Owned a '72 E-Type 2+2 when I was 23. Had for 5 years......The XK150 Coupes were nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Reiterating what Matt and I have said, prices on XK Jaguars have been escalating. For some years now XK's have steadily been drawn out of the U.S. by overseas buyers, and our supply of them is slowly being tapped out. The good news is that due to sagging European economies the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound is slipping presently, making it somewhat less advantageous for the British to import. Consider taking advantage of this if you are serious about acquiring one, the sooner is probably still the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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