1955 Jaguar XK140 Coupé (4,200cc)

Please note £10,000 has been recently spent with renowned Jaguar XK specialists M&C Wilkinson of South Yorkshire for final commissioning, totalling 65.5 hours.

Our vendor is an amateur race car engineer who enjoys automotive projects and saw the potential in a poorly photographed XK140 shell that had been stripped of most of its parts. Having inspected it, he could see that it was straight and that the metalwork needed was within his capabilities and so he set about building an XK140 that was designed for driving. After some consideration, he decided that he didn’t want anything too outrageous and so set his sights on a grand touring specification, but with the focus very much on usability and reliability rather than on originality.

A fully rebuilt Series 2 XJ6 4.2-litre straight-six and a Jaguar 4-speed manual gearbox with overdrive were sourced and were to form the motive power for the recreated XK. Additional mechanical aspects included:

• Rebuilt rear axle with new shafts and brand new LSD
• Rebuilt 2-inch HS8 carburettors with a manual choke conversion
• Electronic ignition and high torque starter motor
• Hayward and Scott stainless steel twin-pipe exhaust complete with multi branch free flow stainless steel manifold
• Twin-piston front brake caliper conversion with servo assisted discs brakes
• Single piston rear disc brake conversion
• Twin-circuit brake system connected to an aluminium pedal box with cockpit balance adjustment
• Upgraded suspension with adjustable front shock absorbers
• Aluminium radiator with electric fan, thermostat and override switch on dashboard
• Aluminium fuel tank with electronic fuel pump
• Electric power steering with dashboard mounted adjustment
• Reconditioned, right-hand drive steering rack
• Halogen headlights
• Twin speed self park windscreen wipers
• 12V negative earth electrical system with cotton covered upgraded wiring loom and modern fuse box and relays.

The bodywork and chassis were addressed in the usual way with a full strip and all damaged and corroded metal repaired or replaced followed by epoxy paint to all areas. The chosen colour was Ford Stealth Grey, not for the purists perhaps but it looks really good. It sits on 15", powder-coated, 72-spoke centre-lace wire wheels with modern rubber.