Concours-winning restorations are fast becoming a habit at JD Classics, with our third award-winning vehicle in a week! So how did we get here again so soon?
To start at the beginning, a customer approached us in the Spring of 2006 wanting to buy the ultimate XK Jaguar. We didn't hesitate to recommend the XK150S 3.8 litre Roadster. Not only was it the ultimate Jaguar in its day, this particular model was built at the end of the XK's life. Out of just 36 ever built, 24 were right-hand drive. It was enhanced with a host of class-beating features, too, including its (at the time) high performance straight port cylinder head, triple SU carburettors, overdrive gearbox and limited slip differential. A true performance car.
So we bought and sold him a very good and useable XK150S.
But after only owning it for two months, our customer got back in touch having decided he wanted it perfect and showcase it in a concours competition.
So in the summer of 2006, we set about a complete chassis-off restoration, back to the car's original specification.
We finally completed the car the day before the competition at the Jaguar Drivers' Club international weekend at Stanford Hall, Lutterworth, UK, and drove it to the concours arena the following Sunday morning. And one detail clean later, we'd won!
But that wasn't our customer's only success that day. He also entered his SS100 3.5 litre in the Jaguar Drivers' Club SS Concours that weekend, where he also won first prize - the car we'd detailed and sold to him in February 2007!
As if that wasn't enough, there was more plaudits to come! Another customer had a XK150S 3.8 litre Drophead going through a full concours-ready restoration with us. However, this couldn't be completed in time for him to enter the XK competition that weekend.
So we pulled a car from our showroom and allowed him to use it to visit the Jaguar Drivers' Club event that weekend. And then his courtesy car won the Club Chairman's Car of the Day, giving him his moment in the spotlight after all!
“It's been an amazing month for us,” enthused JD Classics' Managing Director, Derek Hood. “Both our customers are now hoping to gain entry into the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours in California with cars they're very proud to own and we're very proud to have built.”
Watch this space and we'll let you know how both they and JD Classics get on!