Lot Ended
Description
Ex-Moray Motor Museum; five owners, the fourth for 33 years; manual
overdrive; power steering; recent major service; interesting history; driven 80
miles to the sale; a rare and sporting Jaguar in fine condition throughout
A towering
genius on many levels, William Lyons was at the peak of his powers when he
designed the Jaguar MkVII. Launched in 1951 as Jaguar’s first post-war saloon,
it was the culmination of years of development and the voluptuous bodywork
was all done by eye, Lyons describing what he wanted to a team of craftsmen who
would slowly turn his vision into reality via a long process of trial and
error using full-size prototypes crafted from wood and
metal.
Astonishingly graceful for such a large
car, with an opulently appointed interior, it was less than half the price of a
comparable Bentley MkVI. Fitted with the fabulous XK 3.4 twin-cam straight-six
from the new XK120, the MkVII also had sports car performance, fully justifying
Jaguar’s claim that it offered unparalled ‘Grace, Pace and
Space’.
In 1954 an improved MkVII M version was
also offered, high-lift cams increasing the power from 160bhp to 190bhp. Mated
to a close-ratio four-speed manual overdrive gearbox, the M could sprint to
60mph in around 13 seconds with a top speed of 104mph, remarkably brisk for any
saloon car at the time, let alone one as big as this.
Despite its bulk, the MkVII was a formidable competitor on the track,
winning the Daily Express Production Touring Car Race at Silverstone five years
on the trot in the hands of drivers like Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn, a
MkVII M driven by Ronnie Adams even winning the gruelling 1956 Monte Carlo
Rally.
By the time it was replaced by the MkVIII
in 1956, just over 30,000 had been sold in total, only around 10,000 of them
M-spec models.
First registered in March 1956,
this MkVII M was originally owned by medical equipment company Wallace Cameron
& Co Ltd of Glasgow, and was perhaps the personal car of the company owner,
Lord Wallace of Campsie. By 1958 it was owned by Andrew Montgomery, Managing
Director of Montgomery Clark & Co, a high-end department store in Largs,
reputedly being chauffeur-driven throughout this time.
The service book shows that it was in regular use, with four services
by Largs Motors Ltd between May 1958 and October 1958 during which time the
mileage rose from 22,489 to 29,930. The next owner was a Robert Armstrong of
Moray who kept the car for over 30 years (1959 – 1990) and continued to use it
regularly, adding another 57k miles to the odometer.
From 1990 – 2023 it was owned by Tom McWhirter, owner of The Moray
Motor Museum in Elgin, where the car was on display for many years and was only
lightly used, 13 old MOTs showing that only around 6k miles had been added to
the odometer by 2012 (it currently shows 95,399 miles which seems likely to be
correct).
Hand-written notes on file show that the engine was fully rebuilt at
some point with new piston rings, bearings, timing chain etc. A new clutch kit
was also fitted at the same time, along with a brake system overhaul, a new set
of tyres plus various other jobs, although it isn’t clear when this work was
carried out.
Our vendor acquired the car from a
well-known Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealer in October 2023, the invoice showing
that it cost £44,000. Although there are no invoices for these jobs, the advert
stated that the car had recently received a £5k spend, including the fitment of
power steering, a new fuel tank and all new rubber hoses in the engine bay etc.
The ad further stated that the car had been
treated to: “A full, very high quality respray in its original colour of grey…
The chromework has also been redone where required… The copious burr walnut
woodwork is all in perfect condition. The car is thus in amazingly good order
and drives beautifully”.
Our vendor has improved
the car still further, invoices showing that in December 2023 it was sent to AJ
Lee Classics of Sandbach for a major service and check-over which cost £5,434.
This included a full brake system overhaul; fresh gearbox oil; differential
stripped and overhauled; reconditioned water pump; new coolant hoses; new fuel
lines; carbs rebuilt; upgrade to LED indicators and brake lights; new windscreen
washer pump; new door mirrors; full chassis lubrication plus all the usual
service items.
In August 2024 it also had a new
stainless steel exhaust silencer and tail-pipe which cost £600. Other documents
include the original buff logbook and an original owner's handbook. It retains
its original Glasgow-issue number plate, PYS 465, which is transferable,
according to the V5C, and there are a pair of lamb's wool overmats in the
boot.
As you can see in the photos, this Jaguar
is in fantastic condition both above and below, with excellent paintwork and
panel fit, superb interior woodwork and beautifully mellowed original red
leather upholstery.
Driven some 80 miles to the
sale, we are told that it drives as well as it looks and it has certainly been
starting promptly and running nicely as we have moved it around on site, with
healthy 50psi oil pressure and light power steering - a great upgrade which
transforms the driving experience.
These MkVII M
Jaguars are now extremely thin on the ground and good ones are few and far
between. This 'matching numbers' beauty must surely be among the
finest surviving examples and looks an absolute steal at the modest guide price
suggested.
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 –
james.dennison@brightwells.com