2009-07-03 09:20:30 | pauls writes:

Car to be at Coy's auction 7/09
www.coys.co.uk/auctions/lot.php

Auction description:
1950 Jaguar XK120 Competition Roadster - Barn discovery
Lot 654
Registration Number: OLH3 Chassis Number: 660280
The XK120 became a club racer of an elite few in the 1950s; many disappeared over time or have been modified extensively from their original specification. However, this particular car has remained original and survived unscathed over the last 40 years.

OLH 3 was delivered new to Henlys of London in 1950 and first registered on the 22nd November 1950, originally registered as LXD 437. Flight Officer Benjamin Harvey Bowring of 52 Leadenhall Street, London, Flying Officer and Hawker Hurricane ace in the Battle of Britain with the 111 Squadron campaigned the car in club competitions including the 1954 750 Motor Club Silverstone National 6 hour handicap relay race on August 28th 1954. Bowring was a member of the famous St. Moritz Tobogganing Club, otherwise known as The Cresta Club, one of winter sport’s legendary, and most dangerous challenges. Along with fellow race team member C.K.W. Schellenberg who under the team name of their famous club, bagged third overall.

No doubt inspired by the Ecurie Ecosse cars, the front wings were cut to aid brake cooling and other period modifications included a flip up fuel cap and more importantly the fitment of a C Type exhaust manifold and C Type 2 inch SU carburettors to improve engine performance. With a number of club races under Bowrings belt the car was sold in 1955 where it remained in the London area for a number of years before moving to Devon in 1960 where again it was used on various sprints and hillclimbs. The car was then purchased by the current vendors father for his eldest son in 1969 who shortly after was unfortunately involved in an accident which resulted in him not being able to use the car; 660280 was then put into the family garage in 1969 and forty years later it is still in exactly the same position as when it was left there. Un-touched and in the ownership of the younger brother, the car still retains the C Type exhaust manifold and C Type carburettors and is in an un-molested condition. The seats are complete in the original red leather and all gauges are present. In the boot the windscreen pillars, complete with glass, aero screen parts and brackets as well as various other parts have been stored. The body work is straight and the car sits on wire wheels which were fitted during Bowrings days. Overall the car is complete making a restoration a relatively straight forward process. We believe it would be fitting when 660280 is restored that it should bear Bowrings squadron badge in memory of its former WW2 fighter ace owner.

It cannot be exaggerated that this car presents one of the most important Jaguar finds in recent years and with a little time and attention 660280 can be back on the track reliving its glorious past when in fighter ace Bowrings capable hands.

No. 111 Squadron was formed at Deir el-Belah in Palestine on 1 August 1917, with a mixed bag of single seat fighters as the first dedicated fighter squadron in the region. Its mission was to restrict enemy reconnaissance flights and challenge the German fighter presence over Suez. On 1 October 1923, 111 Squadron reformed. The squadron operated a large variety of aircraft, including the first Gloster Grebes, until 1938, when it became the first Hawker Hurricane squadron. 111 Squadron played a key role in the Battle of Britain, pioneering dangerous head-on attacks against the Luftwaffe bomber streams. Claims included 47 aircraft shot down for 18 Hurricanes lost. The squadron replaced its Hurricanes with Spitfires in April 1942. In November the Squadron again relocated to RAF Gibraltar for support of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. In a similar role it moved to Malta in June 1943 to support the invasion of Sicilly. Treble ‘1’ moved through Italy with the advancing Allied ground forces and remained there until the end of the war, after which it moved to Austria. The squadron disbanded in May 1947. 269 aircraft were claimed shot down, making the squadron one of the top RAF scorers for the war.

2009-07-04 03:30:03 | terry mcgrath writes:

this car was all the hype earlier in the year this car being offered is reputed to not have a chassis number stamped and it has been reported that another car exists with chassis number 660280.
Also this is reputely the XK120 that Dick Protheroe rolled at Goodwood and photos exist also pictured in Autosport upside down, just can't locate date of race meeting at present.
This car needs some serious research if anyone does get to look at it can they get the head and block number

2009-07-11 02:02:06 | Malcolm writes:

I was thinking of this car as a potential purchase. Do you have any more information wich may bring the provenence into question?

2014-09-10 18:07:06 | pauls writes:

Car was scheduled to be at below auction but withdrawn:www.bonhams.com/auctions/21907/lot/256/

Auction description:
Lot 256
1950 Jaguar XK120 Roadster
Registration no. OLH 3
Chassis no. 660280
Engine no. W2853-8
£80,000 - 120,000
US$ 130,000 - 190,000
withdrawn
Auction 21907:
Goodwood Revival
13 Sep 2014 14:00 BST
Chassis '660280' was first registered on 22nd November 1950 as 'LXD 437'. Subsequently reregistered 'OLH 3', the car was enthusiastically campaigned in club races by Benjamin Harvey Bowring, its owner from January 1954. During WW2, Flying Officer Bowring, as he then was, had flown Hurricanes with 111 Squadron during the Battle of Britain and later (from November 1940) with 260 Squadron on air defence and convoy patrols from its base in Scotland. After a period in the Middle East, he served with Air Sea Rescue Squadrons 276 and 277 back in the UK and ended the war commanding 278 Squadron at RAF Coltishall.

Ever the daredevil, Bowring was also a member of the famous St Moritz Toboganning Club, founders of the Cresta Run. In 1954 Bowring entered his XK120 in the 750 Motor Club's 6-Hour Handicap Relay Race at Silverstone, where he and fellow Club member C K W Schellenberg came home 3rd overall. Modifications made to the Jaguar at this time – no doubt inspired by the Écurie Écosse cars – included C-Type 2" SU carburettors and C-Type exhaust manifold, a quick-action fuel filler cap and front wings cut away for improved brake cooling. In September 1954, while still owned by Bowring, the car was crashed at Goodwood, it is believed by well-known Jaguar exponent Dick Protheroe. 'OLH 3' was then rebuilt around a new, un-stamped chassis supplied by the factory. Jaguar later repaired the original chassis, which John Coombs then bought and built into another XK120, which he retained.

Sold by Bowring in 1955, 'OLH 3' remained in the London area for several years before being taken to Devon where it resumed its competition career, participating in sprints and hill climbs. The accompanying old-style logbook lists a further six owners during this period. Changing hands again in 1969, the XK was never driven by the purchaser's eldest son, for whom it had been intended, and remained in the family garage, untouched, for the next 40 years. When offered for sale at auction in 2009 as a 'barn find', albeit one of some considerable importance, the car was still complete and even retained the C-Type carburettors and exhaust.

Acquired by John Coombs, 'OLH 3' was then fully restored, being reunited with its original chassis – '660280' – in the process. The unstamped chassis went into John's other XK120. Although the engine currently fitted 'W2853-8' is not original to the car, the original engine block ('W2433-7') is present and will be supplied to the buyer. Accompanied by V5C document and copies of period race photographs, including two taken at Goodwood after the 1954 crash, this historic Jaguar XK120 is presented in lovely order.