This was the top of the line model of the Mk. VII, VIIM, VIII, and IX series, which started in 1950. The introduction of the Mk. VII in that year caused a big sensation, and Jaguar was immediately deluged with orders. Among other features the Mk. VII had the second most powerful production car engine in the world, exceeded only by the Cadillac V-8. This model series was the mainstay of the Jaguar line through the 50's, and most likely produced most of their income.

The Mk. IX model was even more powerful and had many features that were ahead of their time in a production car. It has a 3.8L XK engine, power disc brakes on all four wheels, power steering, and a Borg Warner DG-250 3 speed automatic transmission with a lock-in in the high gear as well as an electrically actuated intermediate speed hold (or downshift). Top speed was quoted as 115 mph. The interior boasts copious wood and leather, including folding tables and storage locker plus clock in the back side of the front seat. The body differs little in overall structure from the original Mk. VII, but has many changes in trim. The most notable are shared with the Mk. VIII and are the one-piece windscreen, the more massive grille surround, the leaping cat on the bonnet, fog lamps mounted ahead of the body rather than recessed in it, the thin chrome trim down the side of the car, and the cutaway rear wheel spats. Externally, only a small "Mk.IX" badge on the boot lid distinguishes this last model in the line, but the Mk. VIII lacked the higher mechanical specification.

When this car was new, it was considered a very good value in luxury and performance over similarly appointed cars from Rolls or Bentley. The Mk. IX cost about 2/5 of the price of a Rolls, and one contemporary ad stated that "the Mk. IX is the most expensive of all Jaguars, but only $6200". A number of cars in this series were used by the British diplomatic corps, and one was used by The Queen Mother from 1955-1973, starting out as a Mk.VIIM and being upgraded mechanically and with selected trim as used on later models, ending up as a Mk. IX with no side chrome strip and full spats.

This car was bought from an owner in Southern California, where it had sat for something like 25 years before I found it. The person I bought it from had done a few things to it very slowly, but had mostly just preserved it. It was not in running condition, but with 40K original miles it was a very good find, even to the point of never having had any holes drilled to install accessories, none whatsoever! A couple of items were missing, and I obtained many of these from a specilized junkyard (Jaguar Heaven in Stockton CA), such as a spare wheel, the oil pressure/ temperature gauge, a better grille, and a few other items. The original paint shows laquer checking and damage from what appears to be a minor fire. But the car looks very good from 20 feet away!

I worked on it for about 14 months before I drove it, and had to do extensive work on a number of systems. Brake, engine, transmission, electrical system, gauges, exhaust, wheels, tires, and various miscellaneous items all needed attention. Much cleaning was done, trying to reverse the effects of the years. But it was all a pleasure, because of the way the car was built and how little it had been molested over the years.

The brake system required a full rebuild, all hydraulic cylinders (a total of 12 bores!) had to be sleeved before I could rebuild them, the rotors were turned, and the hoses and pads were renewed. I rebuilt the power booster too, it accounted for 3 of the bores. The "anti-creep system" (known as hill holding in the US), which works in conjunction with brake hydraulics, was not yet repaired and has been left non-functional for the moment.

A couple of cylinder head nuts were loose, so I decided to remove the head and sump and examine the engine. It was surprisingly clean inside. The head was interesting in that it appeared very new and clean, and was unique in having no serial number at all. The previous owner had told me that the car had once been shipped across country and the shippers had stolen the cylinder head. I guessed that the shippers insurance had paid for a new head from the dealer, and it had come without a serial number. I can't think of another explanation, because Jag engines have the engine number on the block and a matching one on the cylinder head. The head had lots of acorns in it's ports, and the radiator top and bottom tanks were full of them too. Some squirrels had been busy! The cam bearings were replaced, the valves were lapped, and the valve clearances were set before reinstalling with a new gasket. I also took the time to polish up the cam covers and the intake plenum. These were a bit rough and had some dents, they had to be sanded to get a surface worth polishing.

A pair of carbs on an intake manifold came with the car (in the back seat!), but the carbs had been grit blasted in an assembled condition and were almost useless even for parts. I had to find another pair of carb bodies and associated parts and rebuild them.

I also removed the wiring harness from the engine compartment back to the firewall, and corrected various faults in it and rewrapped it before replacing it. The car came with no exhaust system, and I purchased and fitted a stainless one. This required extensive rework, for which I receieved a discount from the seller. The exhaust as manufactured did not fit, and many trips to the tubing bender were needed! The trays that the batteries (2x 6v) fit in as well as their clamp bar were nowhere to be found, including junkyards and enthusiasts, and even other cars. A cheesy repro was available but I turned my nose up. Finally after extensive searching I found a very original car that had the correct items. The owner allowed me to take drawings and measurements and I made copies of the items. The original trays were plastic but I reproduced the trays and the clamp bar in steel. The trays were made to look exactly like the originals, even down to elements that a local sheet metal shop said "couldn't be done" (so I did it myself!) and thicker corners that I welded in and ground to shape. I found and restored the test lamp socket near the batteries, which had been missing. Overall the engine compartment looks pretty good now, though there are many more items that need attention eventually.

The tachometer had to be rebuilt. The steering wheel in-out adjustment was frozen due to dried grease. The automatic transmission shift linkage was missing parts, and had to be reworked and adjusted. The cowl vent was stuck shut, and devoid of paint, so this in itself was a whole restoration process. I tried to do each job really properly. The undercoat was flaking off the wheel wells, so I scraped, cleaned, wire brushed, treated with phosphoric acid (removes microscopic rust), primed, painted and undercoated each well. A very dirty job, but satisfying in the end. The wheels were blasted and powdercoated, and new tires were installed. These are from a RAV-4 vehicle, the only reasonably priced road style 16" radial tires I could find. You can buy the originals but they're 250 bucks each! The fuel pumps (2) were rebuilt to save the cost of new ones.

One of the nice things about a car of this type and age is that a lot of items were made from off the shelf materials and can be rebuilt by yourself if you're willing to put in the time and energy. An example is the plugs in the bottom of the fuel tanks, which incorporate a fine brass screen in a cylindrical shape that keeps crud from being sucked up into the system. My screens were shot, but I bought sheet screen at a local hardware store and using solder and patience, rebuilt the plugs for a fraction of the price of replacement.

This car is wonderful to drive. It's fast on the highway, yet you can glide into town and cruise around. It handles better than you might think, it feels very solid and secure. While it can't be called a gas miser, it gets reasonable economy for its size (16 feet) and weight (about 4000 lbs.) at about 15-17 mpg. It gets worse if you use the performance, which is definitely there if you want it! The steering feels good and responsive, and although it's light it feels precise and not sloppy like a lot of cars of the period. The car is so heavy I can't imagine using the non-power steering on the earlier models! The brakes are powerful. The transmission is a little squishy, but if you use the intermediate speed hold much of this can be eliminated. Overall it's a great feel, and it's fun to hang out in as well. It attracts a lot of attention, too much sometimes, and the way some people react to it gets kind of a little tiring at times! But every time I look at it and drive it I think, how can I be so lucky? In the words of the Talking Heads "is this my large automobile???"

Photos: above and left: more exterior views of the Mk. IX.

Below: rear interior.

Below left: interior, note foldable table extended.

The photos below show some of the construction details of a portion of the stereo system installed in this car. The system operates using an iPod mp3 player as a sound source. The iPod rests in a drawer, which is original to the car, although most of these drawers appear to have been removed to install radios etc. This car was so original it had the drawer still in place. Felt padding in the drawer protects the iPod. The iPod signal is sent to an equalizer, and then to an amplifier mounted in the trunk, and then to 5 speakers. The components of the system are all hidden so the interior appearance is not affected. The equalizer is mounted on a motorized chassis that moves the unit up and down underneath the dashboard, in response to a switch mounted under the dashboard. The power for the entire system, controlling the amplifier and the equalizer, is actuated by a switch under the dash also. The equalizer installation is completely custom, and was made using a custom metal frame I built, along with mechanicals from a bank video camera machine, with a motor, gears, bearings, a worm drive, and a pair of microswitches. This mechanism moves the door flap, on which the equalizer unit is mounted, up and down to conceal and reveal the unit. When the unit is concealed, the entire system is hidden with the exception of the switches and fasteners under the dashboard. Eventually I plan to create a box in the trunk area to conceal the amplifier.

The following photos show my restoration of a fuel tank on this car. This process was repeated on both tanks. The tanks was removed, and the outside stripped, while the interior was scoured clean, treated with metal etch, coated with fuel tank sealer, painted on the exterior, and reinstalled. The interior scouring was achieved by using small rocks of quartz as an abrasive, shaking them in the interior, and using compressed air, and vacuum to remove the debris, this was repeated until the inside was clean. The metal etch then was able to clean the metal surface. The inside was able to be inspected using a special LED lamp on the end of a flexible stalk.