2008-09-26 20:46:29 | pauls writes:

Car was at auction in'08
www.brightwells.com/3rdparty/orphanspress/classiccars/viewdetails.php

Auction description:
Lot number 10
Hammer value N/S
Description Daimler 2.5-Litre V8
Registration YMW 979
Year 1965
Colour Red
Engine size 2,000 cc
Chassis No. 1A8433BW

Something of an oddball lot this one. From the outside it looks like a very well preserved Jaguar MkII riding on a set of seventies-style custom car alloys. However, get a little closer, and you may realise that it is actually a Daimler V8 bodyshell with a leaping cat mascot and a modified Jaguar front grille. Look inside and you will see some XJ6 front seats (rather scruffy, it must be said) and a strange gear knob that actually connects to a five-speed Ford gearbox – which in turn mates to the Ford Transit two-litre petrol engine that now lurks under the bonnet.

The car is registered as a 1965 Daimler 250 V8 which is how it started out in life, and how it could relatively easily be returned if so desired. In the meantime it is a very practical runabout that oozes classic style but with a relatively modern and economical engine. MOTd until December 2008 and free to tax, it is said to drive very well and to draw admiring glances wherever it goes.

It can be enjoyed as it is, turned back into what it was, or used as a donor car to restore another rusty Jaguar or Daimler to what it should be. Whichever way you look at it, the bodyshell is certainly in excellent condition and must be worth the guide price on its own.