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Real 1938 Jaguar SS-100 Discovered In Shed!

We often bemoan the dwindling supply of significant barn find vehicles, but stories like the discovery of this 1938 Jaguar SS-100 remind us they are still out there. This particular car was unknown and perceived as lost by SS-100 fanatics until rumors began circulating of an example parked in a New Jersey shed. Find the full story here on the Classic Cars Journal.

What a fantastic discovery. The honors of extricating the SS-100 went to a Jaguar specialist and restorer who was dialed into the small circle of enthusiasts that own these early sports cars. Like so many other marques, if you’re plugged in and people know to call you, to the victor go the spoils. I learned this when I found my 1980 Euro-spec BMW 320/6 on a farm in Connecticut; a scrapyard owner knew I was a fool for old BMWs and made the connection for me. This SS-100 looks to be in fine condition despite being parked in 1960.

The story is a familiar one, with the SS-100 likely coming to the U.S. with a servicemember and then being sold to the New Jersey father who intended to restore the vehicle. Some minor work was performed and some parts procured, but the owner’s son says his father drove the car home from the sale, parked it in the shed and never drove it again. Notable modifications point to a racing history, with exterior door handles and seats that could be moved forward and back for quick driver changes. The new owner has found photos of the Jaguar racing at Chrystal Palace in England in the 30s.

This is a particularly desirable example, as it is equipped with the larger 3.5L mill, of which just 115 were made. It has never been apart! Note the “owl’s eye” tail lamp assembly mounted on the spare tire – this is also a race modification, making it easier to remove the rear fenders for competition. Overall, this SS-100 is a car you can lovingly restore while leaving the details of its past intact; this is, in fact, exactly what the current owner intends to do. We can’t wait to see it on the road again.

Comments

  1. Avatar Beatnik Bedouin

    In a word: WOW!

    Like 26
  2. Avatar Bob S

    Terry Larson is very well known in the Jaguar community. I was at his place back in 89/90 time frame and he has a couple of C & D-types in his shop. He also had some early E-type too. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

    Like 8
  3. Avatar 86_Vette_Convertible

    What a car!

    Like 8
  4. Avatar Mike B

    First saw one on my first trip to Glacier. (Scenery overload!) Didn’t believe it to be real when it passed us because who can afford to drive one on the road? Then the XKSS passed us too, as part of some road rally event. Parked next to the pair, unattended, at Lake MacDonald lodge. Stunning!

    Like 16
    • Avatar Jeepster

      Speaking for the rest BF’ers – post some more photos Mike B

      Like 9
      • Avatar Mike B

        And…

        Like 15
      • Avatar Mike B

        Last one: you may have to squint, but the SS 100 is directly in front of the XKSS entering the park.

        Like 12
      • Avatar Mike

        Repeating Jeepster; More photos Please! When I was just a sprout, think it was maybe 1953, an eccentric neighbor came by our house in a cloud of dust & a lotta noise. When the dust settled, there the neighbor was, sitting at the wheel of Jag SS! He took my dad for a ride- THRU THE AVOCADO GROVE(!) & down the street on the other side- then back up our street all the while slapping each other on their backs & laffin like a pair o’nutz. Never forgot THAT visit!

        Like 0
  5. Avatar Jeepster

    Wow indeed..
    being a Jeep/Willys/FJ40 person … Uhhmm-
    Isn’t this similar to finding a bag of cash and gold ?

    another like the Cobra 427 & Ferrari GT in the barn last month – COOL !

    Like 8
  6. Avatar Coventrycat

    Bet you could fit a VW engine in the back.😀 Kidding aside, that’s a proper barn find. Gorgeous.

    Like 5
  7. Avatar kem jones

    My barn find not quite a Jag but a close cousin at the time .TRA 834 a left hand drive roadster .It came from an estate sale .In barn in Ontario for over 50 Years . It needs bit of work but I have most of the pieces plus 2 more parts cars

    Like 26
  8. Avatar Dick Johnson

    I really hate myself for being born poor, and 30 years too late. I should have been driving this Cat to the aerodrome to scramble into my Spit or Hurricane.

    Doug Bader, Johnny Johnson, are two examples of the ultimate fighter pilot profile.

    Back to the future. I still hate myself for being born poor. Nice kitty. Guess I’ll go to my cave and polish my SS 100 model.

    Like 12
  9. Avatar Cncbny

    Next time you see a ’69 Camaro rusting in someone’s side yard. Be glad it’s not something irreplaceable like this. I can appreciate a muscle car, but this is a work of art.

    Like 14
  10. Avatar Ken Carney

    Last time I saw one was in a 1972 issue of Car Classics Magazine. Seems that
    car too came from Connecticut. The car I
    saw was found behind a cabin owned by
    an Englishman who lost his sight and could no longer drive it. When it was
    found, the car full of leaves and branches,
    was in very sad shape. The gentleman
    that bought it spent $25,000 in 1972
    money to totally restore it. Just imagine
    what that restoration would cost now.

    Like 7
    • Avatar KEN TILLY Member

      That’s true Ken, but imagine what it is worth now!

      Like 2
      • Avatar MikeH

        Ken—remember a car(or anything else) only has value when you sell it. If you keep it forever, it’s
        value only matters to your heirs.

        Like 2
  11. Avatar Chinga-Trailer.

    Gee, when I first saw the initial photo I thought might have been my old car . . . except I know my car went to Germany. I discovered mine in New Zealand but on the US eBay site about 20 some odd years ago. Mentioned it to a friend and he bought it! He left it to me when he passed on and as much as I initially loved it, it really wasn’t much of a car for modern traffic. Steering real “loosey goosey,” the mechanical brakes were, uh . . . less than effective, the wire wheels as spindly feeling as they look. At 55 mph it was much more scary than 150 in an old Ferrari! On the positive side, it was the absolutely most dependable Jaguar that I’ve ever owned, seemed far better built than any of the newer stuff (I use that term loosely, I’m referring to XK’s 120, 150 and an E Type . . . ). But in retrospect, from a financial consideration, I should have kept it and sold the house!

    Like 6
  12. Avatar Matthew

    Although the Crystal Palace race track is now a park, parts of the old track remain and a yearly sprint race is held there.

    https://youtu.be/dR9WznEaPqY

    Like 3
  13. Avatar jdjonesdr

    What a sweetheart. I could spend an afternoon just sitting next to it and having a few beers.
    Not many cars do that to me.

    Like 9
  14. Avatar Allen Member

    What a priceless find! Small correction: it is not a Jaguar, it is an SS (Swallow Sidecar Co). The name was changed to Jaguar after World War II as “SS” had acquired a stigma.

    Like 6
  15. Avatar Ching-A-Trailer

    That’s strange, my 1938 Jaguar was a Jaguar SS100. As I recall, it even had a leaping cat on the radiator cap.

    Like 3
    • Avatar KEN TILLY Member

      @Ching a Trailer

      It’s correct name was “SS” (for Swallow Sidecars). JAGUAR, as seen on the chrome radiator surround, was the model designation. After the second world war the SS was dropped because of the association with Hitler’s SS (SchutzStaffel)

      Like 6
  16. Avatar Martin Horrocks

    Please don´t let this become a concours car. I´m not a fan of patina, but sometimes leaving alone is the right thing to do, especially on an important car. As it is, this car represents a period of time (50s/early 60s when such cars were mainly transport) and it looks like a good mechanical rebuild and some sympathetic preservation would serve it well.

    This isn´t my take on the ex-Alain Delon/Bardinon Ferrari California SWB, which was mechanically restored but left as found. That car was in good condition when parked but badly stored. I see no point in preserving deliberate neglect as the essence of the car……now it still looks like a wreck but drives beautifully, neither one thing or another.

    Would spend my millions differently.

    Like 2
  17. Avatar Jake Loring

    What a gem , and the right person has it to do it proper justice!!!! Terry Larson was always a pleasure to do business with back in the day and the person to know what is factory or not and i am sooo happy he plans to just freshen up the electricals and mechanicals and leave it as is!!!! Salute to you Terry and hope to see and hear this one some day!!!!

    Like 3
  18. Avatar Allen Member

    Ching-A-Trailer,

    Especially since you own one, I defer to your knowledge in a heartbeat. I apologize for my misinformation, but according to the sort-of accurate Wikipedia, I was partly right: the “SS” was dropped after WW II. What I didn’t know is that the Jaguar name overlapped SS during the years 1936-41. Do I gather correctly that “Jaguar” was at that time rather a model designation, like Chevrolet “Impala”?

    Like 2
    • Avatar Ching-A-Trailer

      I don’t claim to be an expert, that one car was the only pre-war Jaguar I ever owned. And obviously I wasn’t smart enough to keep it!

      Like 1
  19. Avatar LAWRENCE

    Nice find……..

    Like 0

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