Many of us remember a unique old car that showed up occasionally in our hometowns. Specifically, something special that stood out among the same old cars on the road. In my childhood, I would occasionally see a Porsche 356 coupe that was the primary car of a retiree. This 1950 Jaguar XK120 for sale on Craigslist in Kingston, New York was that car for the person who wrote the ad. The writer/good Samaritan was familiar with this special Jaguar back in the 1960s. Now, with the original owner long since gone and the widow needing the funds, this kind soul is helping her sell this milestone car. Is this disassembled but distinctive cat worth the $42,500 asking price? Thanks to Mitchell G. for this amazing find.
Some folks just have style. You can spot this quality in them by the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, and the spring in their step. When that style crosses paths with a love for fine automobiles, the result is memorable for all who see them. That kind of magic was what spurred the ad writer to assist the widow in selling the car. This 1950 Jaguar XK120 was a fixture in the area, with accounts of the car being in the Kingston, New York area since the fifties. The seller remembers the unmistakable Jaguar motoring around the area since the early 1960s. In 1980, it was sold to the former husband of the previously mentioned widow. It appears that restoration was attempted not long after. It was stored in this condition indoors until 2018, then transferred under the carport-type structure after that.
The seller states that up to 95% of the original parts are still there and that several Jaguar spares are included as well. A close look at the primered body reveals a ding here and there. However, any corrosion more substantial than surface rust is conspicuously absent. Notably, this car was likely produced near the time that Jaguar switched from aluminum bodies to steel for the XK120. Sales were especially brisk for this remarkable sports car and going from the original aluminum bodies to steel both sped up production and lowered costs.
A look through the pictures here and the rest of the ad reveals a good candidate for restoration. However, that restoration will require a lot of sweat and treasure. The body will surely need to be stripped down to bare metal to look for any filler and fix the random dent or ding. The smaller pieces all show signs of weathering and decay. Nothing extensive, but enough to keep a cottage industry of platers, body men, rebuilders, and parts houses busy for a while.
The dash is a good example of the needs of this car. The XK120 was one of the fastest cars in the immediate postwar period. Drivers were provided with a more than adequate set of instruments for the time. The problem is that this bevy of instruments will have to be refaced and likely rebuilt after being exposed to unfettered humidity for so long. The list of craftspersons who can complete such tasks is short, but their waiting lists are long. Anyone restoring such a significant car is pretty much honor-bound to use the best when bringing this car back to life.
The cost of restoring the instruments will pale in comparison to bringing the engine to a concours-worthy level in both detail and mechanical perfection. A positive is that the ad writer believes that this is the original engine, and it has never been removed from the car. Despite what it looks like in the pictures, the claim is also made that the body hasn’t been removed from the frame either. There is no mention of the engine’s internal condition as to whether it has frozen up or not. With all that is going on in a Jaguar inline six, perhaps it’s best that nobody took a breaker bar to the crankshaft to see if the thing can be turned. Regardless, this engine is going to the rebuilder anyway. A can of ether, some new oil, and a boat gas tank aren’t going to get the job done here.
The current asking price is $42,500 and is stated to be a reduced price. Despite the car’s desirability, trying to sell a vintage XK120 that has been partially disassembled is a tough job. That job is even tougher when you try to find a buyer on Craigslist. Hopefully, someone will come along with a fist full of cash and make a deal before winter in New York does any more damage. This is just too amazing a car to be off the road any longer.
Would you take on a project of this magnitude? What do you think a fair price for this Jaguar is, and what do you think a concours level restoration would cost? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
$42,000 a bit high for what’s there, but if it is solid underneath you’d have a piece of automotive history.
Hi there ,
I purchased a XK 120 OTS 1954, one owner car, stored in a barn for 40 years in driveable condition. Restoration needed I payed 50 k and spent 6 k to make it useable ….oiginal patina condition. ( whitch I like ).
but a realistic Price for a perfect restauration will cost +100 k….. leather, carpets hood, paint ,electric wheels + tyres . an of course a lot of hour`s
IMO this is overpriced. I’d really be concerned with missing parts. Looking at the front of the engine, this has not been in the best of environments for there to be that kind of oxide on the aluminum. Reminds me of corrosion from salt. While parts are available to rebuild the engine and power train, they aren’t cheap. Nor all the other things that need total rebuid/ replacement. This one needs everything. It will likely take $80K or more to make this a $100K car. Do the math…
Sorry, but it is way overpriced.
20-25 K max
When the XK-120 first appeared in 1948 it was the fastest production car in the world for a while. It was seen as a race car that you could drive to go shopping…and it helped to inject some fun and excitement into a world that had just started to catch its breath after emerging from the nightmare of the Second World War. The “120” in its designation was about miles per hour…yet when an early one was tested in Belgium with its windscreen removed, a top speed of 132 mph was officially recorded…which was amazing for its day…obviously exceeding even Sir William Lyons’ own expectations. The steel-bodied, “mass-produced” versions were marginally slower due to their extra weight, but this was an iconic sports car that captured the automotive world’s imagination…and celebrities such as Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Peter Lawford and Humphrey Bogart just had to have one.
This particular car is overpriced. It is impossible to give a definitive value without a careful in-person inspection, but I would say it should fetch in the mid-twenties as the project that it is, but if the missing parts are not too costly to replace and the overall condition is pleasantly free of unwelcome surprises, it could be worth up to 30-32 thousand.
I bought a complete, fully assembled, very original but non-running ’58 XK150 about 8 years ago for $28k. I think prices haven’t changed more than 10% or so since. $25-28 seems more realistic to me.
If there is no sign of body filler cracking after a very careful inspection then I would leave it alone. If it hasn’t deteriorated while being under a carport for the past 5 years, and in a garage for the previous 30 years, then I doubt that it’s going to crack any time soon.
Have an oil pan full of parts for one of these.
A quickie spray job with gray primer is usually done to hide all sorts of evils lurking in the bodywork. I’d stay away from this one.
I knew the body man who did the work on this, and remember seeing it in his shop. He recently passed away. He did a Corvette for me that was damaged, and a few other cars. Always happy and never an issue with his work.
He was one of the best in the area. There’s a story here, that’s typical of body shops back in the day, that weren’t restoration shops.