2024-03-03 20:47:40 | pauls writes:

Car offered at:

www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1952-jaguar-xk120-roadster-8Epov4

Seller's description:

1952 Jaguar XK120

Colour Black

Odometer 3,312 Miles

Engine size 3800

Auction DetailsSeller Type Trade

Town Wandsworth

Location London

Country United Kingdom

High end restoration circa 3000 miles ago undertaken by former titled owner

Engine rebuilt to fast-road spec with C-Type upgrades 

Interior retrimmed in red leather 

Impressive history file 

Sir Stirling Moss himself admired this very car

The History and Paperwork 

Large history file 

V5 

1989 importation documents 

French Airways promotion car

Extensive receipts and invoices for restoration, maintenance and servicing from specialists including CMC (Classic Motor Cars), Swallow Engineering, Connolly and Taylormead 

Box of spares and accessories 

The car was used in a French Airways promotion campaign and has a photo to show.

The Condition 

Full body restoration 

Retrimmed leather interior 

The body of this Jaguar is extremely well presented, having enjoyed a full restoration – as extensively documented in the history file. You can see in the photographs that all the shutlines are even and the panels straight, and we can confirm that everything opens freely and closes with a pleasing ‘thunk’. Black can be an unforgiving choice for paint, but there are no such concerns here as it simply serves to highlight how impressively straight all the panels are. 

Being a Roadster model, the soft-top hood is obscured in a cubby behind the seats (with separate door panes secreted in the boot), and this has all been replaced – it’s a quality hood that’s simple to raise, latch and lower. 

All of the chrome is in good order, as are the light lenses and window glass. The wire wheels are larger and lighter Aston Martin race-spec items, wearing Dunlop Racing tyres which give the Jaguar a lot of road presence – as do the quick-release aluminium racing filler cap and lightweight louvred aluminium bonnet. 

This interior is beautifully presented, having been retrimmed in lipstick-red leather. The trim is in superb condition throughout - from the seats to the carpets and doorcards, it’s all tip-top quality. Inside the boot it’s also been retrimmed and is very tidy, with a matching spare wire wheel. 

The Mechanics 

Engine rebuild with C-Type upgrades 

Moss gearbox 

Converted from LHD to RHD 

Side-exit exhaust system

The jewel-like engine is this car’s party piece. Fully rebuilt to fast-road spec during the restoration (around 3,000 miles ago), the 3.8-litre straight-six was treated to 2” SU carbs, high-lift cams, a C-Type manifold and side-exit exhaust system, larger exhaust valves, electronic ignition, a Kenlowe fan and a Mocal oil cooler. 

The Moss gearbox was rebuilt, the brakes converted to discs all round, and the handling augmented with Harvey Bailey suspension and anti-roll bar. It makes for a highly impressive package, and you can take our word for it that this car is a dream to drive – a proper Jekyll-and-Hyde creation, which is happy to amble around town in stop-start traffic without hunting for idle or overheating, and yet when you open the taps it transforms into something other-worldly. 

The lightweight flywheel allows it to rev unbelievably quickly, the sonorous bark from the side-pipes is intoxicating, and the race tyres and large-diameter steering wheel make for a hugely involving drive. Genuinely laugh-out-loud brilliant, and thoroughly addictive.