1965 Jaguar S-type

This 1965 S-type Jaguar was converted to a club racer car in the early 1980s to compete in the Jaguar Drivers Club pre-'68 Saloon car series. It was built by Ray Ingman & Dick Bradley and later featured on the childrens' television programme Blue Peter, so the car became known as the 'Blue Peter Car'.

Sold in the late 1980s to Colin Thatcher and purchased by our vendor in 1991, it was raced with the JDC and Jaguar Car Club up until 1995, when it was restored by the vendor to race with the JEC Saloon Car Challenge. The car was later brought up to specification to race in the Top Hat Series and the HSCC Historic Saloon Car Register where it competed well, with its last race being in April 2010 at Cadwell Park.

This S-type has raced at all the major circuits in the UK and Ireland, the Isle of Man and around Europe, including Spa, Hockenheimring and Nurburgring. It has been campaigned successfully on road and track, whilst also being involved in hill-climb and sprint events. The car was invited to compete in a support race to the 2008 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The car always attracts a lot of attention and interest, as well as having many class wins to its credit. Notably, it was the overall Class A winner in the 2006 HSCC & HRSR, whilst being 3rd overall in the championship.

Our vendor holds the car in such high regard, it even served as the wedding car for his daughter's wedding!

Full Specification details:

The engine was built and maintained by the much-respected Sigma Engineering in Gillingham, Dorset.With a 3.8 litre, tank-walled block with Cosworth racing pistons, Carillo steel con-rods on to a lightened, balanced and hardened crankshaft with a Lichfield balanced flywheel and special crankshaft damper, the engine is very strong.

The cylinder head is a "B' type straight port head that has been gas flowed with high-lift cams, larger valves and matched to an early Mk10 triple carburettor manifold (a twin carb manifold is also included with the car) supporting 3 x 2" SUs (HD8), balanced and tuned by Sigma Engineering. The exhaust was purposed-made by Sigma Engineering with a tubular manifold, with two silencers and matching exit pipes to the rear of the car.

The ignition system is 12 volt coil Luminition electronic system incorporating and an electronic rev limiter (found under the dashboard) to set 'red-line' limits as required.

The cooling system has a purpose-made (Northampton Radiators) aluminium radiator, with a purpose-made swirl pot and aluminium pipes and silicone hoses, pumped by a Jaguar water pump.

Lubrication is via a Jaguar oil pump in the aluminium Jaguar baffled sump, with an XJ6 series 3 filter take off through purpose-made stainless steel braided pipes to a 19ROW oil cooler mounted in front of the radiator.

The fuel system has a purpose-made aluminium, foam-filled, 20 gallon tank mounted in a shallow spare wheel well in the boot. Twin red top pumps, leading to a filter regulator mounted on the front bulkhead, feed three 2'' SU carburettors with all the pipework and fittings having been installed using Goodrich Aeroquip DOT6 equipment.

The electrical system is a full charging 12 volt, with a lightweight alternator and a purpose-made wiring loom. The dry cell battery mounted on the passenger floor is new, feeding with all the necessary instruments lights and wiring for a transponder.

The transmission comprises a triple phase steel clutch mated to a fully synchro'd XJ6 non-overdrive semi-close ratio gear box with an XJS gearbox top. The differential is a Jaguar IRS unit with 4-09 to 1 ratio built by transmission Specialist BPA to incorporate specialist parts, all mounted in a Jaguar independent suspension cage driving the rear wheels.

The brakes are dual system, with the fronts having 4-pot aluminium AP racing callipers, matched to ventilated racing discs & pads, which are servo-assisted via a remote servo mounted in the front passenger foot-well. At the rear there are a pair of lug-mounted 2-pot hi-spec aluminium callipers with solid discs with a hydraulic handbrake. The front and rear brakes have separate bulkhead-mounted fluid reservoirs connected via stainless steel Goodrich Aeroquip pipes and fittings.

The car sits on Minilite aluminium wheels shod with Dunlop M-section GR 65 tyres (there is also a spare set of 4 wheels).

The suspension at the front has been tuned with 2000lb springs, Koni shock absorbers and a thicker anti-roll bar. All rubber suspension bushes have been replaced with phosphor- bronze or nylon bushes. The rear suspension has stiffer springs, adjustable dampers and additional purpose-made radial arms fitted.

Steering is via an early Mk1 Jaguar low-ratio steering box (the steering system has been tuned to take out bump-steer) and a Moto-Lita steering wheel is fitted.

The bodywork was fully restored in 1990's and has been systematically lightened and painted white and blue (including the underside and interior boot area). The interior has a 6-point rollover cage, a purpose-made aluminium seat mount with a single racing seat fitted and a 4-point racing harness.

The front screen is laminated while the other glass has been replaced with clear polycarbonate (to keep weight down). The Jaguar dashboard and much of the original woodwork have been retained. To keep the car looking standard, quite a lot of the original chrome wear is also still in place, albeit on lightened fittings.

With the car now lightened to approximately 1275kg, and with its dynamic suspension set-up, this is a very competitive S-type and just needs a little refresh and some pre-race prep to be ready for the season.

Also included in the package:

1 x set wheels and tyres1 x inlet manifold1 x standard front anti-roll barVarious front suspension springsVarious rear suspension springs