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Should I Show My Wife? 1959 Jaguar Mark IX

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Thankfully, this seller took pictures when they removed this 1960 Jaguar Mk. IX from the Clearwater, Florida barn three years ago. The seller at that point was the child of the owner that had kept the car in the barn for 25 years. Three years on, the seller, a Jaguar enthusiast, has decided they won’t get to this project and therefore are offering it here on eBay, where bidding is below $2,500 but has not yet met the reserve. The car is now located in Tampa, Florida. Thanks to Jim S. for this great find, and now the dilemma is do I show my wife, as she wants a Mark IX?

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The current seller decided at one point to see how well the finish would come up after polishing, so they cleaned and waxed the left hand side of the hood and front fender. As you can see, it came up nicely, although not show quality of course. I really like the color and think it fits the car nicely. Mark IX’s were the final version of this post-war Jaguar saloon, and therefore have the most refinements.

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Here’s another before/after shot. I’m left wondering whether the blemishes on the left by the headlight are rust breaking through or just dirt. Either way, it’s a pretty solid car. The seller does state that there is some rust on the bottom of the doors, but again, compared to most Mark IX’s I see this is a cream puff. I do wonder how the chrome looks under the dirt.

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Under the car looks remarkably solid as well. The ad does state that some new mufflers are included with the sale.

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One of the places these stately Jaguars shine is the interior. While the varnish is in pretty bad shape on the wood components, they are all there and are something that could  be carefully refinished. I don’t know if this is the original interior upholstery or not, but it certainly seems to be in good shape either way.

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Here’s that beautiful Jaguar inline-6. The carburetors were taken off to be rebuilt by the previous owner (said to be a Jaguar mechanic) but illness prevented reinstalling them. Yes, I’ll end up showing this to my wife when I get back home from the race this weekend–wonder what she’ll say?

Comments

  1. Avatar Blueprint

    This seems to be as nice as they get, and hey it is a barn find, sort of! I like the different colour too.

    There’s a nice Mk2 over at BaT : http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-jaguar-mk2-with-5-speed/

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  2. Avatar Scotty G

    I know how she can make room in the garage! (Kidding, I know, the Herald isn’t for sale!)

    That’s a beauty.

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  3. Avatar Ben T. Spanner

    Back in the day (mid 1960″s) these were available as drivers for $500-$600. I think these had 16 inch rims, and passenger car tires were thus expensive. 16 inch truck tires were cheap but rode poorly. We found that some domestic 15 inch rims fit just fine. Drill three holes,pound in the pins, and the original wheel covers fit.

    We gave one a speed test on the interstate. The fan belt snapped and trashed the radiator. We had a fine used radiator but the grill and trim had to come off to replace it. We had Mark VIII which as missing the rear window which made it worth next to nothing.

    The interiors were mostly shot way back then, including the wool carpet. This upholstery does not look like leather to me; nor the original pattern.

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  4. Avatar packrat

    Don’t tell the wife, just buy it and store it offsite. When she realizes that there’s an extra 600 missing from the bank account every month and starts thinking all “Maury Povitch Show”, she will be somewhat relieved to find that its storage fees, tires, parts purchases and Gunk degreaser* Try telling her “it was supposed to be a surprise for you”…
    *(If you already have bought a Pacific Ghost Fleet of old foreign iron, she will, of course, still be hella’ mad)

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    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      I couldn’t hide it from her–about 1/3 of the collector cars we have are hers!

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      • Avatar jim s

        please let us how the racing went. thanks

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      • Avatar Jamie Staff

        Jim, right now we are in third overall, with things on hold due to lightning…

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      • Avatar grant

        Jaime you have the coolest wife ever. Does she have a sister? IMO, if your lady wants one of these and you are able without causing too much discourse, pick it up for her. You know way more about these than I but it would seem to me that as the years go by solid examples will be harder to find. This is a neat car.

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      • Avatar Jamie Staff

        Grant, she doesn’t, but I agree with your assessment! This one ended up (deservedly so) going a bit higher than any budget I could scrape up. I’ll keep looking–she does deserve the best!

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  5. Avatar Ross W. Lovell

    . Greetings All,

    This is about the most solid example I’ve seen as a BarnFind.

    It probably deserves more than the usual money.

    It has been reupholstered, going to guess vinyl, the second time around.

    I think it’s a MK VIII, judging by the tai lights, could be wrong though. Thought all MKIX’s had the same tai lights as the MKII. The longer units?

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  6. Avatar John H. in CT

    I agree with Ross. A bargain at current price. Mine has the same exterior color combo and it is a head turner wherever I drive it. Everything looks doable on this one.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar van

    My wife wants a pole barn so she can fill it with cars.
    I told her as soon as she got the go ahead from the HOA.

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  8. Avatar Mr. Bond

    Pretty impressive how well that paint came back to life! Was thinking it was a repaint, for sure!

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  9. Avatar Black Cat

    The column-mounted turn signal stalk says Mk IX, but the lack of script on the boot lid says Mk VIII. Engine number / displacement (3.4 or 3.8L), and brakes (drum or disc), as well as chassis number should answer the questions on series.

    Looks like a nice project , not too far gone to bring back.

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  10. Avatar brakeservo

    Upholstery obviously not original – it looks like cheap vinyl done by the neighborhood upholstery shop. Might be fine in a boat or a beater pickup, but it devalues this Jag.

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  11. Avatar racer99

    Now at $7100.

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  12. Avatar Brad

    Love love love. That before / after is FANTASTIC, made my day for no particular reason. My only complaint is that given the current size of my stomach, I’m not sure where I’d sit in this car: that steering wheel appears to be resting on the seat!

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  13. Avatar BarryP

    Love these cars. As a Brit I had a friend that had one. It was in pretty bad shape when he got it so needed a lot of work.He owned a pub in the London area and one of the customers offered to restore it for the cost of parts only. It turned out this guy used to work for Rolls Royce and that car was amazing when finished done in two tone black and silver, done the RR way with ten primer coats hand sanded between each one and then 20 top coats again hand sanded and 4 clear coats. Buy this one if you can.

    Like 0

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