"Then there are saloons, the roundish ones with 3.4 on the deck or 3.8 or later 4.2, broad expanses of burled walnut facing the driver and passenger who rest on leather cushions (always glazed in our imagination, reticulated with the crevices of years of folding in the crisp red leather, as innumerable bottoms slid and slithered across the shiny surface while the driver explored the limits of roadholding provided by that same multi-link, beautifully articulated suspension when covered with an understated, solid and serene four-door saloon body). As our family grows, we could use the quiet and access of an early Sixties Jag saloon, a little piece of practicality amid the inconspicuous consumption of the Mk. II or whatever we find to ferry our brood." (Scott Fisher I fischer@avistar.com)

"The fact is, beautiful as the MK II is, the car is (by today's standards) rather clumsy to drive, and not all that comfortable in general. Due to its complexity, the MK II is a pig to restore, both bodily and mechanically." (Roger S Peng rsp00@cd.amdahl.com)

"If you're going to restore a Jag Mk II, there would be no point in restoring anything but a 3.8 Manual w/Overdrive. The restoration cost difference between the 2.4 and 3.8 would be minimal, but the 3.8 will have double the market value later. Not that we do this sort of thing for the money, but if it gets stolen etc, the insurance payout will at least spring for a nice car." (Thomas Cohen thos@suite.sw.oz.au)

"The 3.8 with 4sp manual/OD was probably (I believe) the most common variant of this car sold in the States. It is also the quickest of the Mk IIs, and thereby the easiest to drive on the highway today." (Bruce Snyder BISnyder@aol.com)

"the 3.8 MOD would do about 125mph stock. The XJ12 was tested to 145mph or so by CAR magazine. And it handled _much_ better. Despite their reputation, the Mk IIs were no great shakes in the handling department. The S-type was much better because it had the IRS from the E-type. In a straight line though, there were few cars of the day that would keep up with one." (Thomas Cohen thos@suite.sw.oz.au)

"Go ahead and get a Mark 2 if that's what you like. Find the worst peeling paint, torn upholstered, oil burning-leaking, minimal- rusted driveable beater you can, beat down the price, dig in and enjoy the restoration experience. The other alternative, of course, is to pay the extra bucks for a restored one." (Rob Reilly reilly@admail.fnal.gov)

"Ah, the MK II, I had one as my second car. It was a powder grey 1959 3.4. To this day I get skeptical looks when I tell people that it had 4 wheel disk brakes. What a money pit it was, but God, when it decided to run, the trumpet of that Jag engine turned heads everywhere. When it didn't run, it was a nightmare of smoking wires, fussy carbs, day long valve adjustments, and rusting exhaust pipes, not to mention chasing cracks in the leather and peeling dashboards. But then again, how many people had cars with porcelain covered exhaust manifolds? The body and bumpers were so heavy that some guy demolished a Chrysler Imperial by rear ending my car. The damage to the Jaguar was fixed with some chrome polish and a little touch-up paint. Damn, I wish I had it back. Hmmm but I guess I'm not the first person to ever say that." (Larry Mayo hhm@cbnewsd.cb.att.com)

A.

The Achilles heal of Jaguar MkII's is RUST!!! I can't stress this enough. The mild steel used in these cars is extremely vulnerable to rust damage and rust repair in monocoque bodies such as these is a nightmare. Once you think you've found a good MkII, look under the rear seat, examine the pan and rear inner wheel arches . Then, get it up on a lift and look for rust, particularly around the sills and the rear suspension mounting points. Other rust prone areas are:

1. Protruding wing-top side lights tend to rust.
2. Watch seam at front wheel arch for rot.
3. Rubber window seals collect water with dire results.
4. Inner rear arches are vulnerable.
5. Spats rust through from inside. Little protection.
6. Blocked drain holes rot doors at the bottom, from the inside.
7. Bottom of A-post susceptible.
8. Front floor pan vulnerable to kicked up dirt.
9. Body panels go at edges; never well protected.

If there's rust damage, you're back to that time/money thing again. You either need the time to learn how to make body jigs, weld complex surfaces, do the body work and paint it or you need the money to pay someone a bunch of money to do it for you. I didn't put my '66 MkII Daimler up on a lift until long after I bought it. Then I discovered that its rust problems were much worse than I had estimated. The suspension mounts were beginning to separate and other stuff was coming apart. I took it off the road before something major broke and sold it to a fellow who had the facilities to restore it properly. You are way ahead if you just find a solid MkII in the first place.

"As far as the desirable features in the later versions, the Mark II evolved on a daily basis at the factory. As with anything like this, the later versions are probably somewhat improved. Better oil seals (don't leak as much, I think they are part of an automatic oil changing mechanism unique to Jaguar). In '62 they added a strengthening piece to the door window frames in improve wind sealing, etc., etc. However, any Mk II is a wonderful car, I'd rather have a good older one than a later one in poor condition. The major thing to look for? Structural integrity (rust again). Everything else can be readily repaired." (Bruce Snyder BISnyder@aol.com)

B.

The newest of these cars are at least 30 years old and the oldest are over 40 years old. High milage MkII's are known to exhibit worn engines (look for smoke) and transmission problems. A MkII which has sat unused for awhile can be expected to have brake problems, weak hoses and expired seals.

C.

Be cautious of anything resembling engine problems. The cooling systems on all the older Jaguars was very marginal and damage from overheating should be suspected. Assume guilt unless proven innocent. Run a compression test and look closely at the oil and the coolant _after_ a nice long test drive. Complete engine rebuilds typically cost $2500 -> $5000.

D.

Unless there is documentation to prove otherwise, assume that the steering bushings, the A-arm bushings, the front and rear suspension mounts and the ball joints have never been replace and will need to be renewed after purchase. When you test drive the car, make sure that it tracks straight and the steering doesn't feel loose or unstable.

"Check your front suspension mounts. When these break loose, the car tends to wobble. If the steering is sloppy too, check the pitman arm (connection between steering box and tie rods. Other things to check are sloppy ball joints, worn A-arm bushings, and possibly the idler arm (in same place, opposite side, as steering box). Merritt H. Smith (mhsmith@nas.nasa.gov)

"My mark 2 initially leapt all over the road after "cresting" a hump in the road at speed. I found I had very worn bottom ball joints and centre "pins" in the steering. Once these were replaced and the wheel alignment done the transformation in stability was amazing and the steering significantly lighter." John McDonagh (MCDONAGJ@tui.lincoln.ac.nz)

A.

Look for modifications to the wiring (new wires or components, wires wrapped with new plastic tape). People who don't understand the original design may have tried to "improve" things, especially the wiring, the ignition system, the carburetors and possibly other things. These are unlikely to work any better than the original, and you won't be able to find them in any manual.

B.

Veneer peeling. It doesn't look like it would be a big deal to fix, but it is quite tricky to do. The veneer was glued to the curved surfaces in a type of form-fitting pneumatic press, and getting any loose veneer stuck back correctly is very difficult. They used real varnish back then, or something very much like it, and it didn't take kindly to direct sun. Once the varnish burned off, dampness attacked the glue, and the veneer fell off.

C.

Documentation: Ask for a list of previous owners and any service records associate with the vehicle. Lack of documentation can be a clear sign of neglect.

D.

Other expensive items are interior replacement (~3K plus installation) the steering hardware and the drivetrain. Sun-roofs and wire wheels are a plus.

Almost any part for these cars can still be found and there's nothing on these cars that can't be fixed either thro ugh patience, knowledge and skill or with cubic dollars.

"Mechanically, they tend to be quite robust, but the body is subject to rust (I liked the comment about rust being Britain's major post-war product). Also the interior wood, leather, carpets all usually need refinishing/replacing. On the other hand, I have yet to find a screw or bolt that won't come undone, and I can't say that about many other cars I've worked on that age (or younger). (Bruce Snyder BISnyder@aol.com)

For a rough base line on prices, a really good MkII will cost you roughly 2.5 times Scott Fisher's MGB constant (Note: the SF MGB constant is $5K (US), which is both the price of a restored MGB and the amount one eventually ends up sinking into an unrestored MGB to get it up to snuff). From what I've seen, you can get an OK MkII for about $7-$8K, a good MkII for $10K and a great one for $15K. For $3K, chances are what you'll end up with is one that's quite useful for holding the driveway down and that's about the extent of it's abilities.

These prices aren't bad when compared with the price of a new econobox appliance-car. On the other hand, MkII's are heavy cars, they aren't convertibles and you have to consider whether you want to expose it to the rain and snow/salt. It would be very worth while to go for a spin in some one elses car in good condition to get a feel of if this is the car for you.

"If you want really good stability at high speed you can put one or two more degrees of castor into the front wheeel alignment than the factory specs. It comes at the expense of slightly heavier steering but I have steel belted 65 series tyres on my mark 2 which lighten the steering considerably in any case." John McDonagh

The Jaguar MkII Factory Shop Manual.
The Jaguar MkII Factory Parts Book.
"The Complete Companion," Nigel Thorley
"Original Jaguar Mk I & II." Nigel Thorley

74-176823: Haynes, John Harold. Jaguar Mk 1 and 2 240 and 340 owners workshop manual, Yeovil, Haynes, 1973. 279 p. illus. 27 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 H38

83-17129: Hoehn, James, 1938- Illustrated Jaguar buyer's guide / Osceola, Wis., USA : Motorbooks International, c1984. 153 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 H64 1984

82-171330: Harvey, Chris, 1941- The classic Jaguar saloons : a collector's guide / London, England : Motor Racing Publications, 1981. 128 p. : ill. ; 19 x 24 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 H34 1981

86-175703: Skilleter, Paul. Jaguar Mk2 saloons : 2.4, 3.4 & 3.8-litre / Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset : Haynes Pub. Group ; Newbury Park, Calif., USA : Distributed in USA by Haynes Publications, 1982. 56 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 S567 1982

89-84166: Zeichner, Walter. Jaguar Mark II and 240/340/S-type/Daimler V8 plus Mark VII/VIII/IX, 1955-69 : a documentation / West Chester, Pa. : Schiffer Pub., c1989. 95 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 21 x 27 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 Z45 1989

74-10545: Chilton Book Company. Automotive Editorial Dept. Chilton's repair and tune-up guide: Jaguar 2. 1st ed.] Radnor, Pa., Chilton Book Co. 1974] iv, 172 p. illus. 26 cm. LC CALL NUMBER: TL215.J3 C5 1974

Many of these books are available through (among many others) Classic Motorbooks: US: 800-826-6600, FAX: 715-294-4448, Overseas: 715-294-3345

Magazines:

Jaguar World (UK)
British Car (US)