Jag MK1 barn find....thoughts....
 

ok, so i have found 2 1959 jags in a barn in another state. besides my 911 and some old t-birds (63 and 65) i do love my jags. we have had prob a dozen XJ6's and a few XJS's and a nice 94 XJ12, but nothing old. I have worked on them and don't mind it, don't really enjoy it much but it can be done.

my issue is deciding weather or not its worth going to get these 2 and starting a project to make one nice running one. One is black and has a title, and the other is red and does not ( will be used for the motor and trans and as a parts car) I have seen only 4 pics and the body's look straight and decent, but beyond that don't know 2 much.

Lets say i can get these 2 for less than $2500 , and i know its gona cost prob 500-1000 to get them back to Austin, TX.

Another plus is that i have a friend that is wanting to go 50/50 on this project, and he has a shop and all the tools and is way more in to turning wrenches than I. We talked about it and both think that as long as rust has not killed them, it would be fun and worth it. The black one would be taken down pretty far and have all the major systems addressed as need be.

Questions:

Any one in to these things??
Any idea what a nice fresh Mk1 would be worth?
Would you tackle this??



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256742049.jpg

Seems like you have an ace in the bag with your friend and what he can/is willing to bring. Price seems good too. For inspiration here's a '58. Nice looking car.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256742436.jpg

Go for it.

I don't think 25-30K would be out of line.

I think it will be worth a little less than you put into it and don't go in with a partner.

money hole, guaranteed. not worth much done either. and then split it with a partner?

+1

I agree.

Yeah- is this a similar car to the one Wayne Carrini just sold at a high-end auction on his show? He paid $16k, went for $15k at the sale. It looked gorgeous.

Just know that you are building a nice car to tool around in, not make money on.

If I had it I would put a small block chevy in it and make it a daily driver. That and all new wiring it could be a fun car. My friend on Fidalgo has one like that and it is cool.

A MkII with a 3.8 is worth much more but you would still end up somewhat upside down upon restoring and selling one of those.

A Mk1 - forget it - not worth enough and the parts will be more rare and expensive that the MkII.

Money pit!

It can be a daily driver with the stock engine. Key is to get the Lucas generator off and put a modern reliable alternator on the car.

www.jag-lovers.org

SALOONS enthusiast's Forum from Jag-lovers - the world's No 1

A friend recently offered to give me a non-wires '63 3.4 with a manual transmission. Pretty nice shape, some rust but not in the critical areas, had not been run in years, complete, ugly goldish color. The only immediate need was a rear window gasket, window was duck taped. I could not find a gasket for under $500. Also, my research showed that nice running ones can be had for 10-15 grand. After my heart rate slowed down I decided to pass.

Stunning cars, but you'll spend much more than their worth to restore them.

But I'd take them home. I (being a complete and total heathen) would strip the wiring harness out, replace it with a Painless and dump in an SBC with a vintage air system.

Goes fast, drives well, runs with flawless reliability and a garage monkey like me could keep it on the road indefinately.

angela

*p.s. - my husband will KILL me if I drag another Jaguar home - EVER!!! :D

hummmm....

all very good points.....im still up in the air on what to do. I think the main reason i started looking ( dad used to have one as a kid) will be ruled out if i do it with a partner, because we will need to sell it.....only thing is i don't have the time or money to do this as a one man deal....

on the other hand, i do understand that im not going to get rich doing a project like this. If anything it will be for dad to enjoy as "we" sell it

if i pass on it ill be sure to let everyone know where they are....

I have an ongoing fantasy regarding taking the drive train of one of these and upgrading to a "c" motor specs. Putting it into a C or D type roadster with tube frame and handbeaten aluminum skin. I am certainly not a jag freak, but there is just some appeal here. I really doubt I would do this project unless I his some lottery$. Just a fantasy.

Larry

Only thing I would do is wash it wax it and get it started if you can. then sell it as fast as you can for a profit...then run fast from it...This body style is just humdrum and nothing sexy about it... a real barker...

I passed on one of those about a year ago. Just decided it wasnt worth it. From what I was seeing resale value just isnt what I thought it needed to be to justify the investment.

Thats easy! Get rid of that old lug and marry me! :) jk of course!

+1 I am through with restorations, just money losers.