15k: GM Power: 1962 Jaguar Mk II Saloon
You scour the internet looking for one of your
unicorn cars and run across today’s find, but unlike spotting a
Mercedes Diesel wagon with a smog exempt LS1 hiding under the hood,
this very reasonably priced ’62 Jag MkII has had its silky smooth
3.8 litre inline 6 ripped out and replaced with a 4.3 GM V6.
While not quite as bad as one of those wood burning Ford Country
Squires that you’d see in the old Planet of the Apes movies, it
evokes the same sour chord for those who would properly pronounce
Jaguar. Is it a Jag with a plebeian soul or a a Chebby in an
evening gown? Find this 1962 Jaguar Mark 2 Saloon offered for $17,500 in Hamilton, OH via craigslist. Tip from Fuel Truck.
Driving a classic Jaguar Mk II will overwhelm your senses with nostalgia for a simpler time when
gentlemen drivers wore gloves and opened doors for ladies. The faint whiff of petrol won’t send you scrambling for a dealer service like a modern car, and a lack of ignition during cranking is just a reminder that you shouldn’t have been so hasty to depart from your current location anyway. Some of my fondest car related memories are of walking down a shoulder trying to find a pay phone or gas station…and as soon as they develop a Total Recall style memory wipe, I’ll replace it with something else…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Ordinary plebs will wonder how you are able to afford the repair bills and marvel at the grace, pace and space, but only you will know that the original inline-6 has been replaced with a modern 4.3 liter V6 from some Chevrolet vehicle (probably a Camaro). It will be good for something between 140 and 200 horsepower and mated with a 5-speed manual gearbox should make the Jag faster than when stock.
See a better combination of classic exterior with modern guts? tips@dailyturismo.com
Wow, why would anyone do this to a Mark 2? First, those car a now worth fairly strong money when in original configuration. Secondly, the Jag six-cylinder engine is not one of the car's weak points. On the contrary, there are not many engines that make a sweeter sound, and while maybe not fast, they have delightful torque.
I owned a 3.8 Mark 2 for nearly a decade in the late 70s and early 80s. I had a few minor electrical problems (no, seriously, I mean it!). The only engine-related problem I recall was a porous float in one of the SU carbs.
I hope the original powertrain is included in the deal….
Think you might have misread us. We didn't say the 3.8 was one of its weak points, we said 'the silky smooth 3.8 has been ripped out". It does make you wonder what happened to the original engine though. Who knows, it may have been a 2.4. Totally agree that the 3.8 is what makes the sound of a Mk2 so distinctive and intoxicating. You're lucky to have owned one. Its one of my unicorns. $25K for a decent running one, with its original drivetrain, is the snatch-it-before-someone-else-does price.
And, see, I read Bob's comments as an indictment of the seller/butcher, and not of your write-up.
Next time let's just take the potential for misunderstanding and turn it up to 11 by authoring an entire post in texting abbreviations and acronyms. Wtf u meen I got get sum dat foo
Or something. /stupidity
Right you are, Doctordel. I was indeed criticizing the butcher …. er "builder" of this mongrel …. er "hybrid" Jaguar.
DT, come home. All is forgiven.
p.s. my knee is still sore from kicking myself in the butt for selling the Jag Mark 2; I won't even mention what I got for it in 1986….. Sigh.
Crsed by my sped rding crse again! Yeah, its tough when the market show us how smart we were long before everyone else got smart about some of the cars we've owned.