1977 Jaguar XJC 4.2

***Auction Ended – Sold for £5,922 including buyer’s premium***

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When you take an already mightily successful XJ Series 2 saloon and turn it into a pillarless handsome coupé, decide only to produce it from 1974 to 1978 in fairly low numbers, you automatically create a future classic that will be collectable.

And welcome to the future; the status ‘collectable’ is well and truly here with this beautiful car.

Our model in question was offered with two hearts. The first is a 5.3 litre fuel injected V12; the biggest beast with immense torque and induction roar to match. And the second is a svelte 4.2 litre straight six, also torquey with a harder edged and a more energetic buzz.

I’m blessed in life. I have driven and seen first hand the maintenance required to run a cracking example of a 5.3 V12 XJC and a 4.2 straight six, albeit the power plant lived in Daimler’s version of the XJ-C.

All I will say is the number six is half of the number twelve. Also known as 50% for those of you are analytically minded. So technically half as much to go wrong in certain departments with the 4.2 and yet you still get a Gentlemen’s Express. That delivers on the “express” part and with not one but two twin fuel tanks, not only is it simply better, but you may be a Gentleman in Express for longer.

Enter Mr George Aristidou with his mighty 4.2 XJC.

The XJ-C usually comes up for sale in basket case condition. A shell. Rusted in every way. Parts missing. Stripped of its elegance (see an example in the Market Observations below).

Representative of a time where it was just an ‘old Jag‘ that sat between the E-Type and modern XJ-S, perhaps even the first XK8 included. The pillarless silhouette and sheer passive aggressiveness of the car, along with usability was yet to be spotted.

Or the alternative when a XJ-C does surface for sale, it shows up in a different manner; totally restored and thus priced according to the owner. The definition of “restoration” is individual and attention to detail is indeed in the eye of the beholder. So usually it feels overpriced. And you ask yourself, what is hidden beneath this freshly painted exterior?

And thus George’s car is special for me. From assessing the overall condition of the car from photos, history and a write up of honest quirks with his pride and joy, I think that perhaps this particular car could be usable. Buy it. Carry out some remedial work. Enjoy it.

Imagine the romantic vision on a hot summer’s day, all the windows down and just simply cruising through town, knowing all eyes are on you.

Or if you are inclined, buy it and budget to smarten up the interior, bite the bullet on a full respray and any remedial work.

And then…

Imagine the romantic vision on a hot summer’s day, all the windows down and just simply cruising through town, knowing all eyes are on you.

Funny I just used copy and paste for that tiny paragraph. A testament to the beauty of the Jaguar XJ-C, you simply need to decide what level of restoration you desire once you have a usable car, which is what this car truly seems to be.

George has owned it for 14 years and I love that. Having owned my E31 8 series (pillarless too may I add) for only half the time George and his XJ-C have been together, I know how special that is.

When I read George’s words about his time with his car I could totally relate. Here is what brought a smile to my face.

“I am a Jaguar enthusiast and club member for many years since childhood. I bought this car due to a fascination with John Steed in the Avengers. Always wanting a “Big Cat”, I decided to buy a XJ-C and take up the gauntlet of restoring and tending to the car my dreams.

The car was owned by an Italian Diplomat in the UK in the mid 70’s and was then sold onto a car dealer called Anthony Hill & Co in West London. Thereafter the car was bought by Mr William Frederick Bendon of Leyton and he owned the car until my purchase – 14 years ago in 2003. William was a Jaguar enthusiast, drove the car in hot British summers and enjoyed the Playboy look it gave him. He told me this over a coffee at his house in fact.

Sadly William had the car alongside some other cars and couldn’t keep it nor carry out the restoration required, as he was getting older and leading into later retirement. As a young enthusiast I bought the car and started to spend my hard earned money to slowly, gradually restore the car, and drove it in the same mindset, absorbing the nostalgia of the era and all that the car had to bring.

I started out by joining the JEC (Jaguar Enthusiasts Club) and attending car pageants in North London such as Alexandra Palace, Enfield and at pubs where I would often meet and become friends with like minded people, gaining advice on what the car required and where to buy parts. I soon became a regular face at Jaguars Spares in Waltham Cross and SNG Barratt who provided most of the spares I would require. The car was initially Baby Blue in colour but I fell in love with the Squadron Blue shade and decided to have the car resprayed. We started by removing the vinyl roof which always made me think it was a black taxi and checked it was sound but our first concern was to address the rear valance which was rusting and have it renewed. The car body all round was solid with no rust, the sills were always protected internally with Dinitrol protector, which I had done some years before.

The car had been tended to by a body shop in East London which had a couple of chaps who worked on Jags for many years. They started to replace the rear valance and also the two panels that covered the petrol tanks. I had the job of stripping the car, removing the bumpers and interior which was difficult but pleasing. Then we replaced the carpets inside by making our own patterns and cutting new carpets for car.

We removed the original headlining as it had sagged and the board was very brittle, instead we decided to use a backing onto the metal and later renew this, but never found a company that could make the headboard, and this has stayed as per the pictures of the interior. Both front and back screens were removed and new rubbers were fitted along with door rubbers too – all bought from Jag Spares with the kind help of the guys who gave me sound advice each time a I came in with a list of bits. The car was sanded down to almost metal where required but we were pleasantly surprised that the car had no filler anywhere and all the panels were clean and straight which to my delight gave me a sense of a good car. The engine was in good order too and my first port of call was to have the carbs overhauled, check the circulation of water in the rad and timing which were all fine, and the brake service was given a small overhaul to freshen up the paint work. I had new plugs oil, lumenition leads fitted, the AED was working and still works fine, with the points and condenser being regularly checked and changed.

The next step was for me to deal with the lights so I bought original new lamps and changed to sealed beams for the front with new brighter bulbs so everyone could see me coming. My biggest concern was the car’s exhaust, which was in very poor condition and it sounded terrible. So I contacted SNG Barratt and bought a stainless steel full exhaust minus the manifold. Once fitted and the engine was tuned, serviced, carbs balanced, it sounded great!

The leather interior and panels were colonised by a Jaguar recommended chap who travelled down from Wiltshire and he did a great job making the car good internally. The boot had all new sound insulation and was re-carpeted with close to original biscuit brown carpet throughout. Both petrol pumps were working fine until about 3 years ago when the left hand one stopped working. Sadly I never got a chance to replace it but the petrol filter was changed every few years and good fuel has always been used since. The chrome wheels were good and a simple polish made them shine like new. Lastly a new set of tyres got it ready for the MOT to get it driving. I was insured almost every year with Footman James and drove the car on most weekends to and from Epping to exercise it fully while taking the opportunity to meet other car enthusiasts to share stories. Ironically alongside a lot of American car owners but I always preferred my XJC no matter what a Mustang or Corvette sounded like.

Sadly for the last few years I have had the car stored on my drive under a cover not using it much, and last drove the car in April 2016 when the MOT last expired. The car has started to show signs of wear and tear and sadly some rust spots have evolved but nothing that an enthusiast couldn’t put right and bring the the back to as good condition. Overall there are some rust spots on the driver’s rear arch, the offside rear just above the sill, the bonnet has a paint flake on the offside, some rust bubbles on the ear boot lid at the bottom and the paint had started to come away around the petrol cap . On the interior there is some wear, mainly the driver’s seat as per the picture shows a rip. The rear window sadly stopped working 2 years ago and I suspect it’s something simple but tricky to reach as the motors were working fine. The radio doesn’t work and the wiper motor has stopped working.  

The car still drives well with good braking. Driver’s door mirror was bought but not fitted a few years back, however I have it new in a box alongside some other spare parts.

Once last thing, I’ve checked over my MOTs and there’s one slight discrepancy in the odometer reading, but I found out why, the actual mileage is as per the picture, but one of the testers had incorrectly read the mileage as the speedometer needle was covering the 8 and he read it as a 9. “

After reading the above, we all know where the car has been, what’s been done with it and crucially what needs attention. When buying a classic car, knowing the quirks and history of behaviour is priceless – thank you George.

True iconic cars don’t just offer A to B motoring in style. They also make you friends, contacts, teach you things and bring you joy. They give you a reason to work hard, just like the last 14 years for George.

Easy, make an assessment of whether you can do one of the following:

1. Buy it, give it to a trusted garage (or dust off the spanners if you are gifted with the skills) and tickle it to be drivable and reliable. Fit a good stereo, embrace the patina and history then revel in pillarless coupé excellence.
2. Buy it, swallow a pretty full on adapt-as-you-go restoration to make it super smart and neat round the edges, looking like it could be back to its glory of a car only a few years old. Fix the original stereo, embrace the history and revel in pillarless coupé excellence.
3. Live with it, knowing that one day the XJ-C is likely to reach mega heights money wise, while you get to enjoy a usable classic.

A final input, having driven the Epping roads, attended those local meets, dealt with all the suppliers and garages such as Hornsey Automatic Transmissions mentioned by George, coupled with strong experience driving and maintaining an XJC (and its Daimler equivalent), I can only say a classic Jag like this has lots of community support on offer out there; this car has been associated with some of the best in the business. With any classic Jag a good handy auto electrician is a must, but I’m sure George, the suppliers or the owners club forum will point you in the right direction should you need it. Your hard earned notes will be well invested!

A personal recommendation from me – Norman Motors on Mill Lane in London, you’ll have no shortage of help.

• Excellent – £27,000 – See here on eBay.
• Good – £11,500 – See here on eBay.
• Very Poor – £5,000 – See here on Car and Classic.

MIKE ATWAL
This auction listing was written by Mike Atwal from information gained from George (owner and seller of the vehicle).  Mike works for Trade Classics as a vehicle appraiser and journalist and has many years’ experience in the classic car sector – for over 8 years he was the General Manager of the Classic Car Club in London.

If you have any specific questions about the vehicle then please use the comments section below.  George will receive a notification and will reply as soon as he can.

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Engine
A video showing the engine running and dashboard gauges.

Bodywork
Taken by George, the seller, showing the condition of the bodywork.