Jowett Cars was an English auto builder that had a nearly 50-year run in the first half of the 20th Century. One of their products was a 2-seat sports car, the Jupiter, which had a short cycle from 1951 to 1954. Only 825 were ever built, so they were a rare sight then and now, especially in the U.S. This rough 1952 edition has been sitting in a field for more than 40 years and would be an ambitious project at best. Located in Santa Rosa, California, this lost soul is available here on craigslist for $3,500.
The Jupiter was initially called the Javelin Jupiter because it borrowed substantially from that other Jowett car to come to life. At the heart of the Jupiter was a 1.5-liter OHV I-4 that produced north of 60 hp with dual carburetors and a 4-speed manual transmission. The little car found some road racing success in Europe before Jowett went out of business in 1955.
We’re told this machine is in salvage condition, though it may be restorable (if you can find the parts). The mileage is unknown, thanks to a broken odometer, and the title is long gone. The seller says the car was originally exported to Los Angeles, so perhaps it’s been in California for 73 years. If you should choose to revive this forgotten classic, the seller says he/she can hook you up with “resources” (Jowett experts?).
It’s not an I 4, it’s an opposed 4 cylinder engine.
Two inline-2s.
Engine layout preceded Subaru.
vw’n porsche got nuttin on dat motor
(cept power’n weight I bet).
Finally I can say I look better than
another my age – THIS particular vehicle
aahahahaa
I love the look though:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/classic-cars/104992/jowett-jupiter-buying-guide-and-review-1950-1954
(some good views and some specs)
you’d be luck to get $350 dollars for it even for parts. These are made of unobtainum and even new, they were problem ridden out the door. GLWS
Ran when parked……………..lol
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one. But the ones for sale seem to have been really abused and abandoned.
What a hideous beast! Best left unfound.
Ahhhhhhhh..NO.
Go online and see photos of restored ones. They’re fairly handsome. Jowett cars were designed for the rough roads and hills of Yorkshire and never made more than 3000 or so cars per year. Their bodies were made by the British branch of Briggs, and was another car company to get screwed over when Briggs changed hands.
Not entirely unknown in USA. As a kid, I’d ride my bicycle past one languishing in a carport in North Hollywood , not too far from George Barris’ shop, in the ’80s in Corvallis OregonI found a Jowet Jupiter front end at a swap meet, offered by the inimitable Tony Handler and in the 2000s I saw a beautifully restored example at a hill climb in Washington’s Columbia Gorge.
… might not pass inspection with that bald tire….
Interesting machine I’m sure out there somewhere there is someone who loves these things part of me says scrap it and my old mechanic side says I would like to try and get it running and driving. But I’m not throwing that kind of money on something I may be dragging across the scale
Baldest tire I have ever seen!
Strange cars which had some success at Le Mans and now make good older historic rally cars.
But not for me!
Yep. You can see the air in ‘er.
What a shame this poor old wreck of car wasn’t sold many decades ago to someone with deep pockets. It’s hardly even worth salvaging parts off it anymore.
It’s still got a battery in it, might need charged. That flat 4 has duel carbs, maybe a Corvair engine would fit in there. I don’t see any rust holes in the body, the floor pans are gone and rust on the bummper. Some one with big bucks could bring it back to life, not me.
I have one that I purchased in Connecticut about 20 years ago. Bodies are aluminum, and supposedly were pressed from British WWII fighter planes. Frames are chromoly. Bad crank web design from the factory killed most motors shortly after delivery… The run on the dealers/factory to make good on the bad motors caused Jowett to go under. Cars that are still on the road have had re-engineered cranks installed, or novel replacement motors installed. Mine was replaced in the 50’s with a Ford V8/60. The Jupiter Club in England is very active and has quite a trove of spare parts for members. The Jupiter was designed to compete with the Jaguar XK-120, was priced similarly, but couldn’t come close to the Jag in terms of performance.
Meet body style, swap onto a triumph frame modified to fit the wheel base and build infrastructure as needed. VW pan with many mods. Would be a cool ride!
Whoa! – Looks like something you’d see coming up out of the swamp in a horror movie, and I think that would be the best use of what little is left of this thing.
looks to me like its going to need more than just paint.
Yeah. Surrounding it with curtains might work.
if i could buy this i would restore this car not to be a 100 point trailer queen but as a daily driver. what it takes is time and at 77 i dont know how many more moons are left in my life. most of the body stuff can be rebuilt the only obstacle will be the Alumnium panels which may have major oxidization after 40 years of uv rays and acid rain. This car deserves to be resurrected and not cannibalized for parts, I am willing to buy this car and start working on it but I have to add another $ 1500 for transportation on top of the purchase price. in one year i will have something completely different to show you nay sayers.
When I was growing up in Yorkshire in the late 1940s and early 1950s, my dad had a Jowett van, and we sometimes drove by the works at Idle, near Bradford. To me, this car is restorable, and $3,500 is a small part of the overall picture. Hobbyist support in England is decent. Yes, a Jowett Jupiter did race at Le Mans.
Salvage the body and put it on an appropriate modern chassis. Solves the title problem. Gives you a cool modern sports car. Not to mention, solve your parts, problem, and service.
My comment on this car got deleted but i still get reply messages being sent to me several times a day. I did not say anything controvertial in my comments other than that i was planning on buying this car ( I already talked to the owner and made an offer to buy the car ) and would be able to do a lot of the repairs and present it in a much better condition as a daily driver in a year for everyone to see what could be done with a neglected car like this. Apparently someone at barnfinds did not find this comment to be appropriate and it was deleted. I have jowett cars and still have Jowetts and work on these cars, so comments from a guy who owns and works on them should have some value as opposed to some of the comments currently made by some people who have never owned or worked on one of these rare cars. barn finds is no longer a true barn find website in my openion Most of the cars they show case are semi / restored or non barn find type of cars. They had a good thing going for them but i no longer want to look at restored or semi restored cars, i want to see true barnfinds, like this jowett they show cased. so I am deleting my e mail subscription to Barnfinds and wish them a very good future. Hope they will show people true barnfind cars not the crap they are showing people now as true barn find cars..
We did not delete your comment. We just hadn’t reviewed it yet.
While mechanically interesting, even all spiffied up, I just don’t find them that attractive.
you mean to say you are still trying to get to my orignal comment to see if it merits publishing ? I hope you can get to it before the interest in this car weans off.
No, the comment is live!
Looks not unlike the Jaguar against whom they were competing. Wish I could afford it.
Last weekend I was at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy and I saw a man wearing a Jowett Jupiter T-shirt.
I asked him if he had one?
He had three! One is almost running!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IySSY4J8hFY
Last weekend I was at the Peggy Gugenheim Museum in Venice, Italy and I saw a man wearing a Jowett Jupiter T-Shirt. I asked him if he had one or just the T-Shirt.
He had three!
One of them, very close to running
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IySSY4J8hFY