Story and History

1977 Jaguar XJ5.3C - Last Owner Since 1982

A rare car in its' day and, of course, much rarer now

Most have either rotted away or been wrecked whilst racing so, of the original 640 produced in RHD, there are probably less than half left

This example, as evidenced by her heritage Certificate, was supplied by Henley's in 1977 and is therefore a late car with the benefit of the GM400 gearbox giving much smoother operation through the range.

She originally lived in the Chanel Isles and stayed there until 1982, at which point 39.000 miles had been travelled

Brought back to the UK at that time she wears an age related 'X' registration and stayed with the same owner until we bought her

Her mileage has only moved on to a still low 72.000 miles

Recently stripped back to bare metal she showed a very solid tub and panels too, therefore needing little metal work prior to being repainted in Bentley Oxford Blue with Tudor Red fine line

Her Biscuit interior is bright and tear free whilst the drivers seat shows no signs of sagging or excessive wear. Carpets too are in fine, original order

We did replace her rear bumper, with a new unit, as there were a couple of parking knocks to the over-riders, whilst the GKN alloy wheels have been completely refurbished and shod with new 215 / 65 Michelin tyres

Mechanically, as she has been more or less un-used since 2002 (71.803 miles then and 72.634 now), we stripped down her fuel tanks, filters, change over valves, regulators and injectors

Similarly we carried out a major service to include engine, gearbox and differential oils and filters where fitted. The cooling system was bleed, flushed and recharged with a new expansion tank whilst a complete new distributor kit, sensor blocks and plugs were fitted

The factory fitted automatic air conditioning (very unusual) was regased and all belts and hoses were changed

The suspension was overhauled as necessary and new front coil springs fitted and the brakes were similarly treated to fresh fluid and a thorough check over

Fully recommissioned now, she has been thoroughly road tested, and performs in that familiar silky smooth manner, characteristic of these great ground eating Coupes

A very special car in simply wonderful condition