1963 Jaguar Mk II Saloon

The iconic Jaguar MkII saloon was in production from late 1959 until 1967. It came fitted with versions of the trusted XK engine ranging from 2.4 to 3.8 litres, the largest of which with 220bhp on tap provided quite exceptional performance at that time for a four door saloon, achieving a 0-60 mph time of 8.5 seconds. This coupled with its handsome appearance, roomy and well equipped interior and good handling made it popular with business executives, police motorway patrols and ‘get away’ drivers of the day. It was also used extensively and with great success for saloon car motor racing, driven by the likes of Jim Clarke, Bruce McLaren, Jack Sears and Roy Salvadori.

This example started off life as a 2.4 litre automatic, and was originally purchased and owned for many years by Keith Buckingham. At some point during his ownership, the engine was replaced with a 3.8 litre unit with gas flowed head and tuned by Sigma Engineering. An all-synchro manual overdrive gearbox was substituted for the automatic unit, and a limited slip differential was added. The suspension was also modified and the brakes uprated with larger discs and four pot calipers. In this form it was raced extensively in the Isle of Man and all over the UK during the late 1990’s. It has not had much use since that time.

The bodywork does need some minor attention, especially around the bonnet louvers. Otherwise, we understand that underneath the motor car is clean and in good order. The engine, gearbox, brakes suspension etc are declared by the vendor to all be in good working order. The original interior is mostly present and in reasonable condition for its age, but could benefit from some improvement. A stainless steel exhaust is fitted.

The accompanying history file includes the V5C registration certificate, all MOT test certificates from 1973 to date, plus numerous invoices for work done over that period.

With some improvement, we believe that this car provides a good opportunity as the basis for an historic racer or fast road car.