1960 Jaguar Mark 9 Saloon

Asking Price: $8,500
Location: Portland, OR
Title Status: Clean

Seller’s Description: Talk about a Barn Find! This car (and an additional parts car) hail from Washington state and was last on the road sometime in the 1980s. You got to love a good story and this car has it. The story went that the owner popped the hood one day and thought that the cam (valve) covers were a little dirty so he pulled them off to polish. The engine must not have been running all that great because he also got the head rebuilt, and that’s where it sat for a long time. That owner moved from Seattle to Spokane, trailing both cars over with hopes of getting it back up and going. When he moved back to Seattle a few years later, he sold the pair not wanting to haul them back home. That was the late ’90s when the second owner purchased the cars, parking the good one in his garage and the parts car out in his barn in eastern Washington, where they sat for 15 more years. Women must not like the looks of the Salons because his wife told him it was time to part with the cars and don’t you know, that’s exactly what my wife is saying now, too!

Last summer we embarked on what we had hoped to be a successful restoration project in this car. With the help of my brother, we hauled the good car and engine down to Dobbins, CA where a friend of his was going to get this car up and running again. Headache after headache ensued trying to get a machine shop in northern CA to do the needed engine work. Finally, we took the parts back half completed from Hust Brothers and reassessed. Luckily I was able to connect with Walt at Vintage Jag in Idaho and he was able to get the work needed to be done so we could reassemble the engine. While Walt was working on the crank, he machined in a new rear main seal so we no longer need to worry about the leak-prone rope seal that was original to the engine. The Engine was reassembled on an engine stand where it came alive for the first time in probably 30 years. Oh and that thing about the cam covers needing to be polished… that’s because the timing chain went, resulting in the need for a valve job too.
So the engine is good and ready to roll! I have two BW automatic transmissions in unknown condition, take a chance that one will work or take it in to be rebuilt, should be fairly easy to do. The brake system is shot and will need a complete overhaul, brake lines included. Body wise the car is solid, the only rust is in the trunk in the spare well, which looks to have been repaired with fiberglass a long time ago.

While I’d love to cruise in this car, I just don’t have the money to do it right with a young and growing family. I’m asking $8,500 which is what I have pretty much in the engine alone. A rebuilt engine is worth $8-10K from what I’ve seen. The good car is now in the Portland area, I have an additional parts car that is available if you desire it, it’s located in eastern Washington.