Description
UTAC | Millbrook, Bedford
Viewing: Tues 24th June from 12pm
Auction: Wed 25th June from 9am
Location: Millbrook Proving Ground, Station Lane, Bedford MK45 2JQ
1936 SS Jaguar 1. 5 Litre Saloon
Over £70, 000 expenditure on a full restoration
Estimate
£26, 000 - £34, 000
Registration No: JC 3948
Chassis No: 20888
MOT: Exempt
In current ownership since April 1989
Fully restored by SS-Jaguar specialist between 2001 and 2008
Still in impeccable condition cosmetically and mechanically
Invoices on file detailing over £70, 000 spent in current ownership
Offered with extensive history file
Following an emergency wartime board meeting in March 1945, William Lyons' SS Jaguar concern jettisoned its prefix initials and their unwanted Nazi connotations. When peace came some six months later, the newly renamed Jaguar Cars - like most British motor manufacturers - felt constrained by the government's `export or die' drive to put various of its pre-September 1939 models back into production (albeit with some minor improvements). Luckily for the Coventry firm, this entailed trying to sell a line-up of 1. 5 litre four-cylinder and 2. 5 / 3. 5 litre six-cylinder cars which still enjoyed an enviable reputation for strong performance, good road manners and well-appointed interiors. Retrospectively known as the MkIV range, the Jaguar 1. 5 Litre Saloon sat atop a box-section chassis equipped with all-round semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension, lever-arm dampers, Burman worm-and-nut steering and Girling mechanical drum brakes. Its 1, 608cc OHV straight-four Standard engine was allied to four-speed manual transmission and promised 70mph plus performance. Utilising the same all-steel body construction as its late 1930s SS Jaguar forebear, the newcomer appeared even sleeker thanks to a revised hypoid bevel back axle that allowed the floor to be lowered by two inches. Nicknamed the `Wardour Street Bentley' on account of its popularity with the glamorous if occasionally decadent Soho-set, the MkIV 1. 5 Litre Saloon remained in production until February 1949 by which time some 10, 980 cars had been completed. Despite its lack of out-and-out performance, a report of the time, comparing the 4-cylinder 1½-litre with its 6-cylinder siblings, opined that the smallest-engined version of the car was "as is often the case ... the sweetest running car" with a "big car cruising gait in the sixties".
More information to follow.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
