2018-11-02 09:40:47 | XK Data writes:

The record was updated:

2021-07-14 08:30:55 | pauls writes:

Car at auction 7/21

www.carandclassic.co.uk/auctions/1953-jaguar-xk120-dhc-lhd-j8xyeg

Auction description:

Sold for £73,000

1953 Jaguar XK120

Colour Cream

Odometer 100,620 Miles

Engine size 3500

Location Suffolk

Country United Kingdom

• Stunning XK120 recently renovated

• Fully restored in the 1990s before more recent work

• Originally supplied to the USA and eligible for re-export

• New paint, wood & interior trim 

According to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust certificate supplied with it, 897 XUB left the Brown’s Lane production line on June 17, 1953, as body number P1443, with engine number W8851-8 – numbers that still match up almost 70 years on. 

It was supplied via the famous Hoffman Park Avenue Jaguar dealership in New York, but later made its way to Ohio where it was owned for a long time by an enthusiast called Dave Hart, who drove it around with the registration number ‘GO HART’. He had the car restored in stages, from 1987 through to 1994. 

In 1998, the Jaguar was acquired from Mr Hart’s family by an owner in Staffordshire, who had it shipped back to the UK and registered here. He used and enjoyed it for two decades before it was purchased by the current owner, who has spent a small fortune on new paintwork, an interior retrim and an engine and gearbox rebuild. 

With another XK in progress along with a couple of recently acquired MG projects to be cracking on with, he’s ready to let this one go to a new home. 

The Paperwork

Included in the car’s history file are bills and receipts dating back to 1987, when Dave Hart first started work on the car’s restoration. 

The bills and paperwork are split year by year and include, in some cases, a handwritten log of the work carried out on the car. It’s fascinating and really helps build the XK120’s provenance. 

Its owners in the UK have kept this up and for each year there’s a folder of receipts documenting expenditure on the Jaguar, right up until the most recent work. There’s a separate folder containing all of its UK MOT certificates, though it is of course now MOT exempt. 

In addition to the annualised receipts, there’s a wallet of photos recording the car’s restoration in the USA and a genuine Jaguar workshop operations manual, along with the export paperwork from 1998 when the car arrived in the UK. 

The Exterior

Of course, the XK120 is a stunning car. It’s something that it is famous for, and 897 XUB is more stunning than most. 

First, it’s in truly delightful condition. It would look perfectly happy on a concours lawn, and you have to look very hard indeed to find any blemishes. There are barely any. 

Second, it’s such an iconic colour scheme. The cream paintwork brings to mind Ian Appleyard and Pat Lyons’s famous ‘NUB 120’, which won the RAC Rally, Coupe d’Or and Tulip Rally between 1951 and 1953.

All of which makes you just want it. You do, don’t you? It’s an absolute stunner. The quality of the restoration work and recent paint is superb, too. 

The hood is also in good order, not that you’d ever want to use it. Though the XK120 is one of those cars that looks just as good with the roof up as it does with it down. 

The Interior

In the past year, the XK120 has had a complete interior retrim, with new leather seat facings in the original red colour scheme. The walnut veneers on the doors have also been refinished to match the excellent varnished dashboard. 

One of the car’s most charming features is its original black metal steering wheel, as owners over the years have resisted the cliché of fitting a wooden three-spoke sports wheel. Instead, it has a four-spoke steering wheel and the original plastic central boss with Jaguar ‘growler’ logo. There’s some wear to the wheel, but that in itself gives it a glorious patina and it really is one of the car’s most endearing features. That and the anti-clockwise rev counter, which works as it should.

The Mechanics

As part of its recent overhaul, the vendor has had the engine taken out, stripped and checked over, along with a transmission strip-down and rebuild.

It starts easily, holds good oil pressure and has a steady idle. 

The seller says that it drives exactly as it should do and feels very lively, with good performance.

Don’t expect too much from the brakes, though. It’s 100% original down to the drums all round, which require a modicum of forward planning. It’s all part of the fun of ownership…

2025-03-28 12:47:00 | pauls writes:

Car returns to auction 4/25

www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/98-1953-jaguar-xk120-drophead-coupe/

Auction description:

1953 Jaguar XK 120 Drophead Coupe

Estimate £45,000 - £55,000

H&H Classics - Imperial War Museum, Duxford, UK, 9 April, 2025

Lot 98

Registration No: 897 XUB

Chassis No: 677442

MOT: Exempt

Finished in a classic colour combination of Cream over Red leather

Sold new in 1953 via Max Hoffman's famous Park Avenue, New York showroom

According to its accompanying Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate, chassis 677442 was completed to left-hand drive specification on June 17th 1953. Supplied new via Max Hoffman’s famous Park Avenue, New York dealership, the XK120 subsequently migrated to Ohio where it was owned for many years by Dave Hart. The subject of extensive restoration works between 1987 and 1994, the Drophead Coupe finally left Mr Hart’s care in 1998 when it was bought by a Staffordshire-based enthusiast. Remaining with the latter for some two decades, ‘897 XUB’ was then acquired by its previous keeper who undertook a cosmetic and mechanical refresh. Repainted in Cream and re-trimmed in Red, the Jaguar also had its wood veneers refinished. The original ‘matching numbers’ engine (W8851-8) was removed, stripped and fettled before being reinstalled with the four-speed manual gearbox being overhauled. Changing hands for £73,000 in 2021, the XK120 has since benefited from the installation of power steering and remains highly presentable. Looking ‘period perfect’ on steel wheels, this delightful Drophead Coupe is rated by the seller as being in ‘very good’ (engine, bodywork, paintwork, electrical equipment) and ‘excellent’ (four-speed manual gearbox, interior trim) condition. Offered for sale with V5C Registration Document and detailed history file dating back to 1987.