2005-12-23 11:22:37 | pauls writes:

Car was at auction in '02
www.practicalclassics.co.uk/auctionlot/by-id/1384543417/

Auction description:
Lot 920: Jaguar XK120 Dhc (1953)
Collectors Cars, Bonhams (22nd April 2002)
(View all lots in this auction)
Lot Details
Auction Collectors Cars
Bonhams, Hendon sale room, Hendon
Type Car
Lot Number 920
Estimate £32000-£36000
Hammer Price -
Hammer Price (inc premium) -
Year 1953
Condition rating 1
Registration number XHR 9
Mileage -
Chassis number 677238
Engine number W85738

2010-01-27 13:52:41 | Peter Ingram writes:

Note the engine number is transposed. No doubt it should be W 8573-8. Is this now reg NAS 215 ??

2019-01-17 09:24:04 | pauls writes:

Car now offered at:

www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1039514

Seller's description:

A lovely XK120 Drophead, fully restored whilst retaining much of its originality, including steel wheels and spats and 4 speed Moss gearbox.

It's body number 677238 and date of manufacture, 19th May, confirms this as an early model. It was originally shipped to the dry State of Texas where plaques in my possession confirm that it was rallied in the fifties as part of the West Texas Sports Car Club. By the mid sixties it had been placed in covered storage where it remained until purchased and returned to the UK in 1999 and fully restored. A louvred bonnet was fitted and it was converted to RHD. The car's external colour, British Racing Green, is close to its original Pastel Green and new green carpets and a replacement heater matrix have recently been fitted. This matching numbers car comes with a Heritage Certificate and an unusual and desirable registration.

During my 15 years of ownership, the car has received the following upgrades:-

Front discs

Stainless Steel twin pipe exhaust

Aluminium radiator & fuel tank

Diaphram clutch

Electric cooling fan

Polyurethene front bushes

Telescopic rear shock absorbers

Electronic ignition

Raised final drive ratio

2019-02-10 11:25:22 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 2/19

www.silverstoneauctions.com/1953-jaguar-xk-120-dhc

Auction description:

Race Retro Classic Car Sale 2019

Lot No.: 368

Registration: XHR 9

Chassis Number: 677238

Engine Number: W8573-8

Number of cylinders: 6

CC: 3442

Year of Manufacture: 1953

RHD/LHD: Right Hand Drive

Estimate (£): 70,000 - 80,000

US-LHD 3.4-litre DHC shipped to Texas in 1953 and returned to the UK in 2000

Subject to a full, body-off restoration and conversion from LHD to RHD, all documented with photographs

During the restoration, no significant corrosion was found ensuring a greater degree of originality

Nicely finished in British Racing Green with Suede Green leather and Apple Green carpets

Cherished by our vendor since 2004. Great history file.

Our car was manufactured on the 19th May 1953, making it an early example of the Drophead Coupe. Being the last variant of the XK120 only 1,767 were made, making it the rarest 120 configuration (7,606 roadsters, 2,672 FHC). The car was originally built in left-hand drive for the US market and it wasn't long before it arrived in sunny Texas. Texans have never really thought of themselves as Americans and are particularly pro-British so when the first owner of this Jaguar, who was a member of the West Texas Sports Car Club, entered the car in one of their local rallies, the Jag fitted in well amongst its peers. The XK was rather successful in these Road Rallies with multiple top-three finishes and a win, all documented in the history file.

The last US owner appears to have been a Serviceman, based at Reese Air Force Base. Here the car stayed garaged until 2000 when it was shipped back to the UK and its first UK owner commissioned a full body-off restoration and conversion to right-hand drive by Chris Odling Engineering. Having been based in the dry state of Texas, the car was found to have no significant corrosion allowing the restoration to retain the original panels and preserve originality. During the restoration – which is documented thoroughly with pictures in the history file – the car had a bonnet strap and bonnet louvres added and was repainted in British Racing Green. 

Our vendor purchased the car in 2004 and has owned it ever since. He has been fastidious and converted all remaining items to full UK-specification throughout his ownership, including replacing the sealed-beam headlamps with Lucas F700 tri-bar headlamps, sourcing an original steering wheel, and removing the bonnet strap and wing mirrors. Original Lucas Spot Lamps were also fitted, together with a Stainless-Steel Sports exhaust, an electric choke and other beneficial upgrades. The original steel wheels and spats have been retained in contrast to many other 120s, which now run on wire wheels. 

All in all, this is a 'proper' old Jaguar. It has a great history file from both the US and the UK (original US registration documents, and other great assets), the drop head mechanism works flawlessly, the car starts and purrs superbly, and the original spats complete a set of swooping lines that would leave people open-mouthed in the early fifties as the 120 wafted past.

 The car comes with its super number plate XHR 9, the original tool kit, and a great history. Tip-top.