Description
This early example was manufactured on the 20th July 1950 by Jaguar Cars, Coventry England for export to the United States, Sold on by Hornburg of Los Angeles, California, the XK spent 39 years in the US before being shipped back to the UK in 1989 where it was converted to right hand drive. From 1989 to 1992 the car was based in Henley on Thames and in 1992 the car sold to one of the Directors of Imperial London Hotels Group who owned the car for 24 years. Since coming into the UK the XK has covered a mere 14000 miles and MOT records dating back to 1989 are with the car.
WXG 181 is a very honest, well presented, exceptional driving XK120 that has delightfully aged having been very well preserved and carefully owned. The Gunmetal Grey paintwork has a deep finish and presents very well with a nicely aged, honest feel to it, albeit with a few minor imperfections. The bodywork is in excellent order with super straight panels, the chrome work is good throughout with patina evident, and the underbody is exceptionally clean having had a program of work carried out in early 2016. The chassis rails and boot floor were sanded down, the suspension arms and leaf springs, prepared, treated and detailed. Two coats of seam sealer to the underside of the boot floor and fuel tank under tray were applied and two coats of stone chip underseal was applied to the chassis with three fine coats to under arches and a final coat of gloss black applied underneath including suspension. The result is a clean well-presented underbody and eight years later this still presents well. The work has been documented with photographic evidence.
The upholstery looks very nicely aged with good quality older leather seats, smart door cards, carpets and dashboard. The steering wheel is excellent, all gauges are working correctly and the nicely patinated and aged feel to the interior enhances the car giving it an honest, original feel and appearance. Since last selling the XK120 in 2016, a hood frame has been sourced and re-furbished, and a brand-new mohair hood and sidescreens fitted to the car by long established West Yorkshire trimmers Pickering's of Bradford.
We have known this XK for a number of years now and last sold it in 2020. Since then it has covered over 1000 faultless miles and has had good maintenance to include new front wheel cylinders, new brake shoes, new coil, distributor cap and condenser, overhauled dynamo, correct spare wheel clamp and general servicing and oil changes. Prior to selling the car in 2020 it drove to Malton faultlessly from Halifax when coming back to us from a regular customer. At this point the car had only covered 620 miles since having a full engine rebuild. The car has a history of reliability, in September 2016 the XK120 drove to and from Goodwood Revival successfully having been treated to new Ace Peaked number plates, Michelin X period radial tyres, new rear brake shoes, steering boots and correctly painted hub caps. Later in 2017 the XK was delivered to Redmans Engine Centre Ltd in Lancashire and £8374 was spent of removing the engine, stripping it down and rebuilding it to standard specification. All receipts and photographs are on file detailing the work.
We can confirm this Jaguar drives superbly, running with exceptional oil pressure as expected with a fully rebuilt engine that has covered nominal mileage. WXG 181 offers outstanding and impressive performance with a lovely usable Moss gearbox making for a fantastic driving experience. The springs feel comfortable, the steering and brakes feel just right and with its very correct period looks, this is a great car to just jump in too and drive. It's a great buy; it needs to be driven and enjoyed requiring no major expenditure and should look very competitive on the market.
