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
£25, 000 - £35, 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
The newly renamed Jaguar Cars after WWII - 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).
