Click here if you are unable to view this gallery on a mobile device
Many people have a fondness for British Automobiles with good reason. One of the most popular is Jaguar, which earned its reputation from its styling, performance, engineering and state-of-the-art technology. They have been acclaimed as world-class luxury vehicles as well as performance cars.
The company was started by William Lyons and William Walmsley in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Co. They manufactured motorcycle sidecars and later successfully developed and built bodies for passenger cars. The next logical step was to build their own cars, so when the two founders split up in 1934 the name was changed to SS Cars Limited.
The Jaguar name was first used as a model name on the SS Sports Saloon in 1935. In March 1945, it was no surprise that shareholders voted to change their name from SS Cars to Jaguar Cars Limited to get rid of any Nazi connotation.
Jaguar earned their world-class reputation by building some real head-turning sports cars, one of which was the XK120 built from 1948 through 1954. The successful sales slogan for Jaguar for many years was “Grace, Space, Pace.” XK was the designation Jaguar gave to their new, 3442 cubic centimeter, straight six-cylinder engine, and 120 was the guaranteed top speed of the car. To make sure that was not just the advertising department talking, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium tested the car and achieved 132.6 mph with the windscreen replaced with one small aero screen and even slightly faster when a passenger tonneau cover was used.
Like many car companies, Jaguar has had different owners. It was an independent company until 1966, then owned by British Motor Holdings and British Leyland until 1984, when it became independent again. Ford owned Jaguar from 1990 until 2008, when it was sold to Tata Motors of India, the current owner.
The English and Americans use different words to describe cars. The British “windscreen” is the windshield, of course, but there are others. For example, the Jaguar XK120 came in three models; the Drop Head Coupe (convertible), the Fixed Head Coupe (two-door coupe) and the Open Two-Seater (roadster). Some of these cars were equipped with “spats” (fender skirts), with the engine being under the “bonnet” (hood) and with luggage storage space in the “boot” (trunk).
Johannes and John Verhoek are father-and-son owners of this “numbers-matching” (having original or contemporary major parts) 1954 Jaguar XK120. The father lives in Concord and the sonin Brentwood. They own one of just 370 Drop Head Coupes made by Jaguar in 1954. The elder Verhoek is only the second owner, having bought it in Oakland from an English gas station owner named Frank Halliday in 1960 for $1,100, or about $9,230 in today’s dollars.
“The Drop Head Coupe,” says John, “was more of the gentlemen’s version of the roadster. It had the roll-up windows, the wood dash, and it even had the dome light in the convertible top.”
“I drove it as a daily driver through 1964, the last year the car was registered.” Johannes said. He also courted his future wife in the Jaguar and drove her in it to Tahoe to get married in 1962. After 1964, the car sat in storage until the year 2000. Johannes offed an understandable explanation.
“I got married, had a daughter, had a son, and the car was falling apart.”
John explained that “In 1965 it went in storage in an enclosed garage until 1988.”
From 1988 to 1991 it was stored in a carport, then it got moved into Johannes’ Concord home. In 2000 Johannes began to dismantle the whole car in his garage. The total restoration time was about 15 years.
“We kind of took our time,” Johannes said. “A lot of that has to do with money.” The paint job using a rotisserie, for example, was a three-year process at a cost of $25,000.
Johannes actually rebuilt the entire car in his garage including the motor, transmission, chassis, brakes and rear end.
“The only things we farmed out,” John said, “were the seats, the convertible top and the paint. Other than that, we reassembled everything. I did the wiring front to back and reinstalled the whole interior. When we finished the car in 2015, we started putting the car in local shows. We’ve gotten Mayor’s Choice, Best of Show, Best Paint and Best Original Restored. It’s done very well.”
The car had about 104,000 miles on it before restoration, and it has only been driven about 375 miles since, mostly just to make sure everything is working correctly. The total investment, not counting the father and son’s sweat equity, is about $80,000. John estimates the current market value of this car to be about $150,000, but parting with it would be difficult. After all, it’s been part of the family since even before there was a family.
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To view more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, search for “David Krumboltz” at www.mercurynews.com.
