We are proud to present for sale this 1969 Jaguar XJ6 4. 2 LHD finished in Old English White with Oatmeal interior. The car runs, drives and is very solid but is in need of some minor recommissioning before hitting the roads again.

The Car
We are sure you have already noticed the diplomatic flag positioned on the front wing of this Series 1 XJ, well this particular Jaguar comes with a bit of a story, all of which is unfounded but may be true!
Jamie Treadwell, (The grandson of Sir Charles James Treadwell - first UK ambassador to Abi Dhabi), decided to embark on an ambitious project to find and restore his grandfathers diplomatic car and take it back to the UAE for the 50th anniversary of their formation.
Now, whether or not this is the actual diplomatic car that belonged to ‘Jim’ is up for debate, but the story goes that Jamie and his friend, commenced a search for the original car, that took them as far as Croatia! When this particular car was discovered, their interest was piqued when a hole in the wing was discovered that could potentially accept a flag pole, suggesting that the car was once used in a diplomatic role and, of course, it is the correct year, colour and model, so you can draw your own conclusions, what ever it maybe, it’s still a great story!!
Sir Jim was presented the number plate ‘AD 1’ by Sheikh Zayed during the signing of the foundation treaty! The original UAE number had actually been handed down to Jamie by his grandfather. However, a show plate representation is included with the car for show purposes. Also coming with the car is a documented story of the car, Jim Treadwell and his Grandsons plan! It now wears a UK registration plate having been registered here in July 2021 and is MOT and Tax Exempt. When it was repatriated to the UK, the car underwent some recommissioning work to make it roadworthy. It appears that Jamie’s grand plan never came to fruition as the Jaguar has been in storage for a while and now needs a few jobs attending to, hence its entry into the Restoration section of our website.

The Mechanicals
Although a factory 2. 8, someone has thankfully fitted this glorious 4. 2 straight six breathing through twin SU carbs, it starts and runs very well and the auto box goes into gear nicely. There is an oil leak somewhere around the rear of the engine that would need looking at and the brakes will need attention, they work but there is very little assistance, so we would suspect an issue with the servo. Apart from these 2 issues, the XJ appears to be in pretty good mechanical order. It will of course want a full mechanical assessment before it is safe to use on the road (although we have done a little bit of road testing and all feels very good)!

The Bodywork
The shell is in remarkably solid condition throughout, with next to no signs of corrosion, which you would expect of a dry climate car. This is mirrored on the underside with sills, floors and jacking points all looking very original and rust free. It certainly appears to have fared far better than a lot of its UK counterparts. The paintwork is certainly not the worst we have seen on this era of car, the cellulose paint build-up from various paintjobs is clear, however it is quite presentable overall. We are fuss pots hence why it hasn’t quite made it out of our restoration collection. We would prefer the paint to be refinished however most would be perfectly happy to use it as is.

The Interior
Inside, it is a delight with almost no work to complete, the leather seats are in exceptional condition as is the dash. The carpets and headlining are the same! A very nice place to sit! There are a few electrical gremlins to attend to, such as the fuel gauge and some of the switchgear. There is a modern blind that has been erected in the rear screen area, which can be easily removed, however it was believed that the original car had a similar blind, so a replication is believed to have been installed for aesthetic by Jamie’s restoration team!

Summary
This is an extremely solid car with all the fundamentals of a very easy recommissioning! We must stress this car would be a very good car with a little tinkering and some not so late nights in the garage! No rust to attend to which is a delight! It is an original Left Hand Drive car! The possibility of it being the first car registered in the then founded UAE is very interesting and quite possible with some more investigation. We do hold a disclaimer to say that this absolutely may not be the car and we cannot prove or disprove that fact!