Description
Home market, right hand drive Jaguar XKs do not often come with a better provenance than this one. 4517 W was originally a northern car hailing from the ‘steel city’ of Sheffield. The Jaguar Heritage Certificate in the history file confirms that it remains in the original factory body colour and trim. First registered on May 24th 1960, the XK150 was sold to John H Mason Limited, silversmiths and electroplaters of Sidney Steet Sheffield, a company founded in 1918. Mr. Leslie T Bradley became Managing Director of Mason’s business in 1947 and eventually took a controlling interest in the company. It is Mr Bradley’s signature on the original buff logbook from May 1960. The car was bought just 2 years after he registered a patent concerning knives, forks and spoons. Sheffield was then renowned globally as a city where the world’s finest cutlery was produced, and this sporting Jaguar coupe was a fitting car for the MD of a prominent Sheffield firm.
After three years the XK headed north to new owners in Scotland where it remained until 1968. By 1969 the car had new owners in Essex. There are several invoices from a Jaguar specialist in Westcliffe-on-Sea and an invoice for an engine rebuild at 85, 852 miles in July of 1975. Little is known from then until the car was restored, starting with a bare metal re-spray and associated bodywork in 2002. The brightwork was re-chromed and the majority of the interior retrimmed, the work being carried out by Flying Cat Engineering. The car has spent much of its recent life in storage and indeed only seven hundred miles have been driven in the past 14 years. The current recorded mileage of 92270 is believed to be correct from new and matches the very revealing patina of the leather trimmed dashboard. The last owner has purchased a full kit to re-leather the dash but we rather like the authentic look of the original. Carpets, seat leather, door cards and headlining were all renewed during restoration, but more than 20 years on there is evidence of a small amount of headlining moth damage, particularly behind the sun visors, where it is not obtrusive. However, we have our own trim shop should the new owner wish to replace it.
The XK has an excellent high gloss paint finish with super brightwork and indeed the chrome wire wheels look like new. On the road, the car is very lively and runs without fault – even the originally auxiliary starting carburettor works, cutting out automatically as it should. Oil pressure is excellent, the gears are quiet, and the overdrive works smoothly. Last year, the front brake discs, pads and hydraulic cylinders were replaced, along with brake master cylinder, fuel pump, and screen washer pump. The recommissioning work included replacement of the distributor cap, HT leads, spark plugs, ignition points and condenser. The steering rack mountings were also replaced, and the wheel alignment checked. The car comes with its own battery conditioner and wiring connector. The valuable original single letter registration number is with the car, and we are confident that this lovely XK represents extremely good value for money at £57, 995.
