2006-11-19 17:27:44 | Lofty writes:

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Jaguar-Mk-VII-MKVII-Gorgeous-Matching-s-NV-car_W0QQ ...

Car on eBay, November 2006. Ad reads:

"There is a neat and personal story about this car. I purchased this beautiful Jag about 17 years ago in dry, Hawthorne, Nevada. I bought it because it was rock solid straight, totally original and complete. (right down to the owners manual!) Additionally this car is equipped with bucket seats and the rare, factory 4-speed transmission. (most Mk-VIIs by 1955, were fitted with the awful Borg Warner automatic transmission) The 4 on the floor is MUCH more fun, fast and reliable. No modifications were ever made to this Jag and the car was never in an accident. I have purchased several cars from Nevada as, rust is not a big problem here. I found the Jaguar next to some other british cars inside a dark, dry vehicle storage building at the owners residence. It had been there a long time and still carried the Nevada license plate having been last registered way back in 1965! I have been restoring and collecting Jaguar cars and parts for decades (mostly in the interest of completing my concours XK-120M OTS) and without doubt, this is the best MK-VII I have ever seen. The elderly owner and I struck a deal, the car was put on my car trailer and we headed for home. Before even arriving home from Nevada, starved, I pulled in to my favorite restaurant with my truck and the Jag up on my trailer. The owner (and good friend) ran out into his parking lot and informed me he owned a similar MK-VII many years ago and he would really love to buy it from me! After some negotiations, I agreed to sell the car to my friend right there, on the spot. His great enthusiasm for the car was good consolation for me and the fact that the car would remain local. (hoping to get an occasional ride I was) My friend purchased a large amount of new parts for the car, including a new, cloth covered wiring harness, beautiful pre-sewn headliner of original cut and material, front and rear window seals, a set of snazzy wide whitewall tires and a host of other items. He had the radiator checked and cleaned along with both fuel tanks at the local radiator shop. He had his mechanic rebuild the brakes and install a new clutch. A fine restoration shop, Bob Sullivan Restorations, got the job of completely rebuilding the original 1 3/4" SU carburetors. Keeping tabs on the cars' progress, I brought my friend a collector car magazine that contained a great article on Jaguar sedans. He saw a sleek, silver-blue MK-VII in the article and said "That's the color I want!" He then, secured a painter and the car was painted after only needing minor bodywork. As you can see the car came out looking BEAUTIFUL. Before the Jags paint was even properly buffed out, my friend suddenly had to turn his attentions to his elderly and ailing parents. Care and devotion to his folks overshadowed most all else and he lost interest (and had no time) for the Jaguar. He put a fitted car cover on it and asked me to store it for him with my numerous collector cars, at my own storage building. He had done all that expensive, work and purchased all those parts, without ever driving the car! It remained in storage in my building for nearly 10 years. I bought some property and started moving all my cars and parts to the new acreage some 20 miles away. I told my friend that I no longer had room for his Jag but, would deliver it to his home on my trailer. He then surprisingly, offered to sell the car back to me. He put forward a price and I accepted. After all the work, time and money spent on the Jag, I decided to finish what my friend had started. (as I had wanted to do, all along) The car had been moved around my building a few times but never taken out and driven. After the long storage, I decided to pull the cylinder head and oil pan to see how the engine had held up. My friend told me the engine had been overhauled before painting by a local mechanic that owned a MK I Jaguar. (the receipts will go with the car) but I never saw what was actually done so I decided.... let's find out! I have a large stash of 50's Jaguar parts so, I was very sure I could supply any parts the engine might need. As upcoming pictures will show, the head is superb! No corrosion in the water jacket ports at all! The bores and pistons are standard (never bored out) and flawless. Only #2 cylinder pistons rings were very dirty so, we installed new standard rings on #2 piston. We did a good internal cleaning and adjusted the valves before reassembly. We cleaned and lapped in the exhaust valves, fitted a new head gasket and buttoned up the engine. The components on this car are the factory matching numbers. The original brass I.D. plate carries all matching engine, transmission, body and chassis numbers. Even the head and block are matching! (SUPER RARE!) The clear Nevada title bears VIN # 738362. Again, it's the Jags' original factory chassis number! The entire brake system (excluding the servo) and the entire clutch hydraulic system were rebuilt with all new parts from XK's Unlimited. Premium, silicone DOT 5 replaced standard hydraulic fluids (these had gotten cruddy during the long storage.) All the brake and clutch bores are great w/no pitting. Dry Nevada heat delaminated some of the wood so I contacted Larry Springer's Jaguar Warehouse in Virginia. Larry provided not one but, two sets of wood that had been in inside storage for decades! Check the pictures. This is beautiful factory wood throughout the car...not repaired, reveneered wood. I got to select the best pieces from a total of 4 sets of wood (I had collected some wood myself over the years). Everyone OOOs and AAHHs over the paint and the walnut gracing this automobile. I had the good fortune of finding a professionally made, brand new set of door, pillar and kick panels in a tone that matches the headliner. They are exact copies of the originals but the backing is thick plastic and will last far longer than the flimsy, original backing. New armrests were made to match toolbox covers in the front doors. The new headliner and new carpeting was installed at this time too. The completed interior looks fantastic. The only thing not original are the seats which were redone for another MK-VII car in vinyl. The seats are definitely not new and perfect but, are presentable and comfortable. This deal will include an additional set of original MK-VII front leather bucket seats and rear upper and lower cushions. The buyer can select the tone of leather and redo this 2nd set whenever he or she wants whilst driving and enjoying the car as it is presently. The oil and filter were changed and the car has been fully greased including, changing of transmission and differential fluids. The chromium trim is original and really nice. The only replacement chrome pieces needed were 4 brand new bumper guards. The new cloth covered, original color coded, wiring harness from Naragansett Reproductions, was just installed and all electrics function as new. (the only exception is the clock, which I am now looking into) All glass is in great shape. Just the front windshields were replaced because of fine Nevada sand etching. Front and rear windows were replaced with all new rubbers supplied by Ed West after installation of the headliner (also, provided by Ed West). The paint (base/clear) finally got its proper buffing last week by my painter and as you can see, it came out really nice! The paint job was completed with final spraying of fender skirts, fender vents and front bumper valance which the original painter did not even finish before the car went hastily, into storage. Fortunately, the color code for the paint was in the voluminous records my friend kept. View the Slideshow and Video of this car above: Watch the engine start (hear the Cat growl) and go for a drive in the Jaguar! (go with the Cat on the prowl) All photos are current and were taken during the last stages of completion just these past few months. In these initial photos, some of the trim around windshield and rear windows (we have it) has not even been installed yet. Only a very few miles (23 to be exact) have been driven since putting this silky Cat back on her feet. Remember, the car had not been driven and has been in dry, inside storage since 1965. After I bought it (and sold it) in 1989, it then went to a private shop for mechanical work, was on the back burner for quite some time, then to the paint shop, where it was for a long time also. Finally, after more parts and brake work, the Jag went into my storage building. For more than 40 long years, this Jaguar has been patiently waiting to stretch her legs again so.... You can slip into elegance.... slide the sunshine roof back.... the ride is smooooth and quiet.... prrrrrrr....

On Nov-09-06 at 16:00:32 PST, seller added the following information:

List of things completed on 1955 Jaguar Mk-VII M in the last 3 months

Engine overhaul, new rings # 2 piston, decarbonize, lapped exhaust valves, adj all valves

Brake overhaul, checked bores, replaced all rubber parts

Clutch overhaul, checked bores, replaced all rubber parts (new clutch /flywheel resurfaced)

Electrics overhaul, installed new cloth wiring harness, NOS V reg, NOS starter solenoid

New battery, cables, bulbs, adj "Otter" sw, installed new gasket, serviced fuel senders

Starter rebuilt, NOS Lucas starter solenoid w/rubber button installed

New fuel pumps installed

Radiator and fuel tanks cleaned and tested by radiator shop

Carburetors rebuilt by Bob Sullivan Restorations, readjusted at this time

Water/oil gauge replaced, NOS Smiths dash lighter tested and installed at this time

Washer system fitted w/new hoses and reinstalled

Painting completed and buffed out

New rubber door seals, trunk seal, hood seals, sunroof seal installed at this time

New headliner installed, sunvisors remade, reading light pods remade w/headliner material

Rear glass freshly installed w/new rubber (after installation of the headliner)

New door, kick and pillar panels installed, new armrests & toolkit covers made

Front glasses recut and installed w/new rubbers (after installation of the headliner)

All wood handpicked for excellence, cleaned and installed (this car has beautiful wood!)

All exterior components installed w/new rubber pads from Metro Moulded Parts

New carpeting installed at this time, gearshift boot, transmission check remade in floor

New floormats installed, NOS dimmer rubber cap

All original knobs cleaned installed and relettered (no reproduction knobs in this car)

NOS Lucas taillight lenses and rubbers , front sidelights, new Lucas pips and clips

New Sears Tires 6.50 X 16 Wide Whitewalls cleaned and refitted (matched set of 4)

4 new bumper guards fitted and 8 new rubber gaskets for guards installed

Original "Silver Peak" English license plates fitted front and rear

All fresh fluids added, oil, transmisson, rear axle, grease fittings, coolant, DOT 5 hydraulic

Wiper blades changed (Trico Rainbows as original) fresh washer fluid in reservoir

Sunroof interior panel replaced w/new headliner material (as original), refitted w/new rubber

Toolkits w/all tools completed at this time

Ignition key fits door, glove box and both petrol fill doors, 2nd key for matching boot latches

Car comes complete w/excellent original MK-VII M owners manual, shop manual, parts manual, current parts catalog from XK's Unlimited, wiring diagram, all records, receipts, period 1955 magazines to authenticate original silver blue exterior color, period Jaguar MK-VII adverts, clear Nevada title and license plate, bill of sale.

All above paperwork provided in new "Jaguar" brand suitcase in boot of car."