Grace… Space… Pace – that was the sales motto for Jaguar cars, and the Mark II fits that bill perfectly. Its predecessor was the first Jaguar utilizing unitary construction, which substantially strengthened the body. This new method of body construction, a more sophisticated suspension, disc brakes all around, and any of three inline six-cylinder motors offered added up to an incredibly usable saloon. This was truly a car you could race on Sunday and take to the grocery store on Monday. Here on craigslist is a 1967 Jaguar Mark II for sale, with an asking price of $4,800, negotiable. The car is located in Erie, Colorado. Thanks to T.J. for the tip! This car has been hanging out in a barn for thirty years. The seller rescued the car from the estate of a British car enthusiast, stabilized the rodent damage, and stored it for the heirs. Now those heirs have decided to sell it. This is the last year of the Mark II (though there was a continuation model called the 340 until the XJ6 arrived). In 1967, the fog lights were replaced by vents as seen above.
This listing could hardly be briefer, and we are only given three photos. But we do know that the car has a Borg Warner automatic with a 3.4-liter motor. It should be equipped with twin SU carburetors. This motor produced 210 bhp, allowing the car to launch from zero to sixty in about 11.5 seconds. Ok, that’s not THAT fast; the 3.8-liter motor was much spunkier. Still, top speed was respectable at 120 mph. The car is equipped with wire wheels, and we are told it’s not rusty. No word on whether it starts, rolls, or stops. As a bonus, there’s a spiffy Netherlands badge on the trunk lid! Although the trunk and door show gaps, my hunch is that’s only because they aren’t fully closed since this car is pretty straight.
The interior is represented as rodent-damaged. This being the last year of the Mark II, the interior may be Ambla, an imitation leather, rather than the real McCoy. The walnut veneer dash and door caps were retained. Almost 84,000 Mark IIs were produced from 1959 through 1967, so parts availability is quite good. Plenty of examples have been restored to the nth degree; something about the Mark II’s gorgeous “face”, wire wheels, and sinuous shape beg for restoration. This isn’t the best platform for restoration, with the smaller motor and automatic transmission – but if you’re very lucky and it can be made to run, you may have a bargain on your hands.
Nice writeup, Michelle. The Mark II holds co-first-place on my sedan/”saloon” wish list.
This looks like a good prospect, although for once I couldn’t keep it “as-is” if I bought it. A 3.8 engine and manual transmission would be essential for me; I doubt the swap would be unduly difficult. If I was feeling especially frisky, I might even do a select few mods to bring this car up to a state matching the Mark IIs I saw being raced at Riverside Raceway by Walt Hansgen and Augie Pabst back in 1960. Those gave most of the Corvettes fits….
Not sure about the interior, but the the seat skins look more like drying leather than Ambla to me. The 340s definitely had Ambla. My experience with the latter is limited, but I recall it simply tearing away instead of cracking.
Even with the fairly friendly price of admission, this one is going to coast a few bucks to get in the condition it deserves. Wish I could!
It sure is pretty.
Love this car but the auto tranny kills it for me. We have a MkII project with the 3.4 and manual trans, but the subject car is much cleaner than ours. Silver car is too nice to turn into a parts car, but on the other hand it needs a lot.
Beautiful! Cries out for restoration is right! I owned a ’62 in Old English White over black. I had dreams of correcting the Ford drive train conversion back to a 3.8 with a manual trans. But but as much as I loved the car, my wife hated it, so that kind of effort would have been wasted. I don’t understand how a person could dislike this shape, but to each her own … she drives a Porsche.
Presents well.. that phrase rodent damage conjures up pictures of a nest somewhere made of insulation and upholstery.
The best direction for this is to replace the BorgWarner tranny with a 700R4 that gives you overdrive. Conversion kits are available, and that 3.8 DOHC will be singing a happy tune on the highway. Restored to a high level these go for $50K or more, and a 700R4 helps the value. At the asking price there is room on this one to do alot.
One to see in person. I have a 3.8 with the manual and OD. Agree with Johnfrom SC, change the trany and leave the motor. These are wonderful to look at and drive.
Depending on the rodent damage, any rust, state of the wood, and if the leather can be revived with a few bottles of Gliptone this could be a good buy. The motor is quite robust so it is worth a roll of the dice if everything else checks out
3.4 with 210hp is fine to run with it through the landscape.
here in the mountains a manual is more useful in a classic.
But i prefer automatic but ZF especially as this old BW – as
basically any Borg-Warner i drove – takes a lot off from
the engine power and torque. And the often mentioned
700-R4 wandered mostly to a recycler by failing overdrive
lockup’s in the transmission. Buy american buy only a
manual.
But old Jaguar always suffer that smell of mystery how
it was cared and driven from its past owners. Basically
good cars but mostly overrepaired from ‘classic shops’.