The Car

Jaguar 1951 XK 120 Roadster

Jaguars have always fascinated me. The long swooping lines of the early fifties dominated exotic body styles of that era. The first time I saw an XK 120 I had to find out what it was and all particulars. The English has taken the best from cars and combined them into a high performance slick sports car. In 1949 Jaguar had taken a six cylinder, dual overhead cam, hemi combustion chamber, dual carbureted XK 120 and clocked 120 miles per hour; factory stock. Boy, that was fast back then.

I was overwhelmed when I had an opportunity to buy a very used 1951 XK 120 roadster for $100 in 1959. That began an in-depth study of the car design and fabrication process. Several jaguars later led to the discovery of a picture of jaguar's concept entry in the 1938 Earl's Court London Motor show in a history of Jags book.

Jaguar 1938 Earl's Court One Off Fixed Head Coupe

Jaguar built only one on a 1936 SS 100 roadster frame encompassing the body style that set the pace for many later models. The squat set back cab, long rolling fenders and huge headlights captivated me. Surprisingly, the car still exists today in England. Pictures found on the Internet enabled me to dream of having something similar. In 2001, Kurt bought a 1967 3.8 liter Mark II sedan that wasn't recoverable. It provided the wheels and axles for the beginnings of my '38 Earl's Court One Off Fixed Head Coupe. A 1994 Ford Explorer became a "mother" or "donor" car for motor/trans, wiring, etc.

Still a work in progress, the end is in sight. A steel frame with an aluminum skin pounded out of 18-gage sheet rolled on an English wheel. A great deal of learning in welding, shaping and a large "start-over" pile have brought the car to what you see today. School isn't over, finishing, interior and painting lie ahead. So many ideas just aren't possible in actuality, but they are detailed in "THE ENHANCERS."

I have to give credit to Detroit, they have my admiration in car designing and building. But wouldn't it be a thrill to have millions of dollars and a team to design and build a car?