1955 Jaguar XK140 Coupé - 4.2-Litre

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 was really pleased to 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 pleasurable driving. After some consideration, he decided that he didnt 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" 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 disc 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-parking 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, and the purposeful look is enhanced by 15", powder-coated, 72-spoke centre-lace wire wheels with modern rubber.

Given that the shell came without any interior to speak of, everything in the cabin has had to be freshly sourced and the owner has taken the opportunity to install some discreet upgrades. He chose modern seats with headrests, retrimmed in a heritage-style Dolphin Grey leather to ensure that they are still in-keeping and there is a Bluetooth radio concealed below the dashboard. A racing-style pedal box has aluminium pedals and the electric power steering can be adjusted on the dashboard. Some things just have to be original though, so there is a genuine new wool headlining and Smiths dials repurposed from elsewhere (hence showing a fictional mileage figure for this car) and a lovely 3-spoke Moto-Lita wood-rimmed steering wheel. £10,000 has been recently spent with renowned Jaguar XK specialists M&C Wilkinson of South Yorkshire for final commissioning, totalling 65.5 hours.

The Jaguar is MOT exempt but is supplied with its V5C and a substantial quantity of invoices and receipts for the rebuild. This is patently not your regular XK140 and is probably best thought of as the car the XK would have become if it had continued to be developed by the factory over the years.