1962 Jaguar Mk.II 3.8 Manual Overdrive

Rarely do cars given a facelift look as good as the models they are intended to replace, but with the Mk2, Jaguar put paid to that particular theory. (Until the XJ, Jaguar's postwar saloons were usually denoted by Roman numerals e.g. Mark VII, Mark VIII whilst the Mark 2 used Arabic Numerals, denoted on the rear of the car as "MK 2").

William Lyons, whilst not a trained draughtsman, was a bit more hands-on than most men in his position when it came to the final design of his beloved Jaguars. At one point the team in the drawing office developing the later XJS, were left 'twiddling their thumbs' until Sir William was happy with the rear-end and it wasn't until Stan Keyworth managed to scrounge a Ferrari Dino 246GT and dropped it up to the Lyons family home on Gibbet Hill that the matter was resolved. The car was parked outside the bay window of the breakfast room for Sir William to stare at and 'Hey Presto' the back of the XJS came into being (have a look at a Dino and an early XJS). And so it had been with the Mark 2, which was altogether a more modern and stylish car in period, with a brighter interior and balanced looks that most of us still admire. The 3.4 and 3.8 were the super-saloons of their day, with the 3.8 being the fastest saloon in the world at the time. The Jaguar Mk2 saloon was voted 'Car of the Year' when launched in 1959 and would form the mainstay of Jaguar's saloon production until 1967.

This striking Mk2 was first registered in January 1962 and has its original engine and gearbox although the latter has been uprated to 'all-synchro'. All the numbers match and the numerous MoT certificates and sundry invoices in the history file that accompanies the car seem to substantiate the indicated 58,679 miles as accurate.

In 2012, it was fully restored by M and C Wilkinson of Doncaster who are one of the most highly respected, family run Jaguar engineers and specialists in the country today and have been responsible for the restoration and rebuilding of some very special period Jaguar road and race cars.

The car was stripped to a bare shell and carefully prepared for several coats of fresh paint. At this point, the engine was comprehensively rebuilt and naturally everything was done that needed to be, to ensure the car ran well for many more miles. All the suspension was rebuilt with new springs and shock absorbers and the fuel tank and fuel lines were replaced. The brakes were upgraded with new master cylinders, new servo, 'Coopercraft' calipers in the front and an 'XJ' brake caliper conversion carried out at the rear.

When the mechanical restoration was complete, the car was repainted in its original beautiful colour of Opalescent Blue, and the interior was re-trimmed by Suffolk and Turley in Blue-Grey leather and a new headlining fitted. The remaining interior was trimmed and carpeted in Mid-Blue and the iconic Mk2 dashboard was freshly veneered as were the door cappings and picnic tables. The interior of this early-sixties Jaguar looks like a great place to be, and it's all delightfully set off by a period 'Les Leston' steering wheel.

Most of the chrome work, excluding the window frames, was re-plated and the bumpers and external brightwork, triple chrome plated. All new body rubbers were fitted and the engine finished off with a new stainless steel exhaust, new water hoses, and a new uprated heater box. Finally, the wire wheels were powder coated in an appropriate shade of blue.

Supplied with all its handbooks and a current MoT, this definitive classic is ready for a new owner to drive and enjoy.