2015-04-15 00:07:08 | pauls writes:

Car was at auction 3/15
classiccars.brightwells.com/viewdetails.php

Auction description:
Lot number 124
Hammer value £60,000
Description Jaguar XK120 SE Drophead Coupe
Registration 508 UYK
Year 1953
Colour Old English White
Engine size 3,442 cc
Chassis No. S677284
Engine No. W8474-8S

This stunning drophead is definitely one of the good ones. As the accompanying Heritage Certificate confirms, it was produced in May 1953 for the booming American market and was sold new by the Hornburg dealership in Los Angeles to first owner Gordon Lee of Denver, Colorado. Not much is known of the subsequent history of the car but it returned to these shores in March 2003.

The vendor bought it as a restoration project in 2005 to keep him busy in his retirement - although he was never quite able to retire fully from the transport business that had taken him a lifetime to build up so the restoration took somewhat longer than envisaged. As you can see, virtually every part of the car has been restored or renewed as necessary in a total nut-and-bolt rebuild that cost many thousands of pounds over almost 10 years, much of the work being farmed out to professionals while the vendor undertook the assembly.

The engine has been fully rebuilt and the car has been uprated with front disc brakes to make it more suited to modern traffic conditions, although it remains in otherwise largely correct and original specification. The interior has been retrimmed in striking two-tone red and caramel leather, with a highly polished walnut dash and a new mohair hood.

Now in superb condition throughout, it sounded wonderful as we manoeuvred it for these pictures, with a notably sweet engine and a rousing growl from the twin stainless steel exhausts. Due to illness the car has been barely used since the restoration was completed and will doubtless benefit from a period of careful running in before the performance is exploited to the full. Currently in the process of being registered with the DVLA for UK road use, it is just the kind of toy that any enthusiast would love to have in his garage.

As snug as a fixed-head, more practical than a roadster and much rarer than both, the drophead is to many the most desirable XK120 of all. A real labour of love, this beautiful example could not be easily replicated at the guide price suggested today.

PS: This car has now been UK registered and has the number 508 UYK

2015-05-15 00:53:53 | pauls writes:

The May 2015 edition of the XK Gazette reports the car sold for GBP60k

2018-04-24 07:28:12 | Paul Whitfield writes:

I believe registration KBL737 was originally on 667284. I think the reg has been incorrectly attached to this car, 677284.

2021-07-22 11:19:29 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 7/21

themarket.co.uk/en/listings/jaguar/xk120-dhc/c8299a72-ccc7-46fe-96c6-b1802bbf12e ...

Auction description:

Location: Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Odometer Reading: Since restoration under 1,000 miles

Chassis Number: S677284

Engine: 3,400cc

Gearbox: Manual

Steering position: RHD

Colour: Old English white

Interior: Red/Camel

1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC

Est: £75,000 - £90,000

This car was restored about five years ago after being bought as an unfinished project. The owner employed a British classic car specialist to undertake a nut and bolt rebuild, and it still looks as though it has just left their workshop.

On the Outside

It’s beautiful. The paintwork is immaculate and if you screw up your eyes and ignore the 21st century background you could be in a Jaguar showroom in 1953 (ignoring the very discreetly added flashing indicators – a very sensible modification).

The panel gaps are perfect and the chrome all gleams like new. This car has only covered around 1000 miles since that restoration and has been cosseted by its current owner.

The Moss gearbox whines a bit in first gear – we’ve never driven one that doesn’t – and the 3.4-litre XK engines starts first time every time and purrs like a big cat should. A straight six is an engine configuration that’s naturally perfectly balanced and it really shows in this XK.

Under the bonnet is just as lovely as the exterior. Lyons insisted that the XK engine should ‘look good’, and he got what he wanted. There are few engines as pretty as this, it just looks totally right and if something looks right…

The wet weather hood is perfect and reportedly completely watertight too, which means it’s been perfectly fitted. All in all, this is a car that will draw crowds of admirers wherever it goes.

Enthusiastic drivers will be pleased to note that this slightly fade-prone disc drums have been replaced with a later car’s front disc setup, making pulling up a rather more certain affair.

This is a matching numbers car.

On the Inside

The sumptuousness continues in the cockpit. Maroon and cream leather seats create a stunning space to be in and the traditional Jaguar walnut extends from the iconic five-gauge dash, with anti-clockwise rotating rev counter, along the door tops and on to the gearknob.

If we’re being really picky there is some lacquer that’s gone slightly off around the cigar tray area (Jags of this period had cigar lighters, not cigarette lighters) but it’s the kind of detail an enthusiastic owner could easily rectify.

The wood rimmed steering wheel and it’s polished alloy centre are a work of art in their own right, and the gleaming fly off handbrake completes the picture.

The footwells on this car have been extended by nine inches to accommodate 21st century spec drivers and passengers, yet another reason to very seriously consider this car if you’re approaching six feet or taller.

Along the same theme, the driver’s seat has been modified to give added lumbar support, although you can only tell by siting in it.

A modern heater unit is hidden under the dash which can heat the car properly in mid winter, and there’s a two-position switch under the dash to control the fan. There’s also a manual switch to control the Kenlow cooling fan.

The owner reports that the clock retired from time keeping duties in 1957 and has no plans to re-enter the workplace.

Underneath

We’d really rather a dinner plate from which to eat our dinner, but if we had to eat it off a car’s underbelly, this one would be an excellent contender. It’s just as ship shape underneath as topside, with a stainless steel exhaust system adding to the pizzaz.

As you’d expect from a car that’s done so few miles since a complete rebuild, it looks like it’s just rolled out of Jaguar’s Coventry plant – except it’s probably actually better finished than it would have been the first time around.

History Highlights

Because it was bought as a basket case in 2014, there’s no history prior to this. And by the same token there’s a list of bills as long as your arm from this point onwards.