I was 12 years old back in 1973 when our neighbour backed out their white '67 S-type with wire wheels out of the drive and my father had a chat with Phil. His son Tony and I were mate's already. It was the most beautiful car I'd ever seen. As they talked I watched all of the guages on the dash and listened to the sound it made. Twin exhaust pipes ! Not long after I was taken for a drive . The smell was intoxicating. Still want one and thanks for posting.
In 1971 I purchased a 1967 3.8 ltr S type, far superior in many ways than a Mk 2 Independent rear suspension against solid live axle on the Mk 2. When the 1972 fuel crisis hit Britain I quickly sold it before the value dropped. Those were the days when fuel was 38p per gallon. 100mph on the motorway it was straight as an arrow my onlly fault to me was a very light power steering with very little feel.
I bought myself a 1966 3.8 S Type Jag with a manual gearbox when I first arrived in England in the middle of 1973 as they were so cheap compared to prices in Australia and it was a beautiful car to drive until the Yom Kippur War in October virtually doubled the price of fuel so I had to sell it. After that I bought myself a Hillman Imp and funnily enough I had just as much fun driving that around the country lanes where I lived in Essex on the eastern edge of London as they were a great handling little car and very economical to drive around too.
My dad had a sapphire blue 3.8S, 9045 KO (Now on a Tesla) and then a slate grey 3.8S, HYM 540C, Great cars, but when he brought home his first 4.2 XJ6, XUV 11G, We thought the car was a great improvement over the S.
I remember the shelf…in the 60’s my grandad used to get me pop and crisps from pub, and we’d sit in the car eating and drinking. His was metallic blue, with manual, it was the first car I ever steered. Thank you, great video😀👍
I think you'll find the lower tea shelf is the perfect size to fit a sawn off shotgun and the glove box is actually referred to as the 'ammo nest'. Gorgeous piece of automotive history
We had a 3.8 S finished in Gunmetal with Red hide. A delightful car. The seat upholstery on S cars was Vaumol hide, and Ambla was used on door cards and console. Headlining was in wool cloth.
My brother had a couple of these S types (and Mk2’s ) back in the late 60’s early 70’s the best one was in a beautiful light metallic blue 👌🏻😎 it started my passion for Jag’s 👌🏻😎
True. When I was growing up and seeing Jags on the road, I was always confused with so many different models. There was the Daimler versions too, just to rub salt into the wound...
The descriptor "beautiful" is overused but is so true for this car. The exterior, the interior, the engineering are all sublime. Thanks for an excellent teview.
We had one of these in British racing green with red leather and I remember distinctly that there were no seatbelts since I was constantly sliding from left to right in curves as a little boy. I loved our Jaguar 😍 PS: a funny addition: my mom would always empty the left tank and my dad the right one. Of course not telling the other one. The outcome was inevitable 😂
Always loved the S-Type even over the Mk.II. I recall back in the 80s here in Oz accompanying a friend to look at a very original rust free MGA 4 sale in a Sydney suburb called Dee Why. Whilst he and the seller went off for a drive, the sellers other vehicle was an S-Type identical to the one you tested. It sparkled in the sun and I spent my time sitting in the front and back, studying its lines, engine etc. It was also 4 sale and if I recall he had trouble getting any interest in it due to it being very much the forgotten model in the 60s range due to the Mk.II etc.
Beautiful cars, I had 3 of these inthe early to mid seventies. I had a white 66 red interior same as the one in the video. I also had a 420 which was white, manuel with black leather interior. These are my favourite cars of all time. 👍
I think only maybe Brits found them odd looking only because they were used to the Mk I & Mk II, and it's tail borrowed from the Mk X. (?) My American eyes see it very differently. Love these. I have a 420 compact, the later/last version of this car.
Good video with good info and I enjoyed watching as I owned one of these cars back in the time. However one thing that you did get wrong is the intermittent power hold switch which was standard and held 2nd gear, It was even on the MK10 but not the 420 series as they had the later auto box.
In the celebrated car chase in the film "Robbery" (yes, the same chase that inspired the far better known one in "Bullitt") it is actually the police in an S-Type and the villains in a Mk 2! Relying purely on memory, I seem to recall that the Mk 2, for all its sexy curves, was actually aerodynamically pretty dreadful. The raised and extended rear end/boot of the Mk 10 and the S-Type went a long way to rectifying this. Great video, Matt! Thanks, Colin.
That's a bit of an exception. Thanks to the Ford's cosy relationship with TV and Film production companies, whether it was UK or USA, the cops were usually given Fords (like the Ford Consul GT in the Sweeney or the Ford Mustang in Bullitt) and the villains were usually in the main rival brand (Dodge Charger in Bullitt or Jag Mk2, Rover etc in the Sweeney). They also made it so the Ford cop cars looked like they were a bit faster and had better handling too, which was often untrue.
As a hitch-hiking student in 1970, I received a lift in a MK2. Very disappointing, the interior ambience just felt very dated, which really it was. I was disappointed because I thought, and still do so, that it was a most beautiful car. The following year, still a hitch-hiking student I received a lift in an Xj6 4.2. It was a revelation. A journey cross-country from Scotch Corner, to East to West to the M6. Driven very fast. Absolutely thrilling, yet so stable and effortless. Never forgot it, and 9 years later I bought one. Well used, but I still recall picking it up in London one evening, and driving home to Reading on the M4. I wasn't even going quickly. Just about 50mph, luxuriating in the leather seats, the array of dials glowing in the dark, and the purr of the engine. Loved it, and like the S-type here, you never felt like you were driving a big car, After about a year, though, and having shelled out for a new timing chain to be fitted, about £800 plus by a specialst independent, I realised that I wasn't yet in the financial league to properly run a Jaguar. So I sold it.
Peter Yates, the director of "Robbery" so impressed Alan Trustman, the Screenwriter for "Bullit", that he insisted that Steve McQueen hire Yates for the film.
I was almost chuckling at your description of the rear suspension, Matt. The word you were hunting for is deDion. It is actually a semi-independent set up with inboard disc brakes. The seatbelts were a dealer installed option in 1966. Beginning in 61, all cars sold in North America had to have the seatbelt mounts built in, so any model sold over here would have had the mounts regardless of factory location or market destination. All the car companies offered seatbelts as accessories. American Automobile Association and Canadian Automobile Association both offered seatbelts as an "install yourself" item. Ma have her father a pair of CAA seatbelts for Christmas in 1961. Still remember those belts. In 66, the driver's (left) side mirror was required. I think it was 65 that mandate came into force. When he bought it, Gramps' 61 Pontiac did not have exterior mirrors. He bought one aftermarket from the local parts store and fitted it himself. The Pontiac dealer wanted too much money for real GM mirrors. The passenger (right) side mirror was an option on some cars well into the 80s. I have owned 4 cars without the right side mirror. What a spectacular car! From Brown's Lane it would most likely have had Connelly leather upholstery on everything except the headlining, and that may well have been West of England cloth. The original upholstery in this particular CDK was likely sourced in South Africa as a way of increasing local content to reduce tariffs. It is entirely likely that when the car was restored, particularly if done in England, the original leather was either unknown or unavailable. Still, a beautiful job was done on the fitting of it all. The only time I remember seeing an S Type it was on the back of a flatbed headed to the crusher. At about 30 years old it was worth so little repair was not viable, especially considering the rot that was visible, never mind what could not be seen.
The S Type does not have a De Dion rear suspension. No Jag ever has. The Rover P6, Alfa Alfetta and Smart For Two are vehicles that use that semi independent system. The Jag rear end is a very sophisticated fully independent set up...
CKD was very popular here in Ireland with BMC, Rootes assembled in Dublin and notably Ford, being assembled at the Fordson tractor factory in Cork, loaded and unloaded on the ships at the factories own docks (Cork and Dagenham) so no road transport costs. Ended when Dagenham closed and most production moved to Europe. To comply with the very low import duty regulations they had to have at least 30% locally produced content so Irish Fords and others were easily spotted as had different interior fabrics and external/internal trim and brightwork. Fords being very popular as Henry was Irish.
Great car. Be nice if you talked lbs and tons; imperial weights and measures for pre and post war classics. The instruction handbooks are such. Great video, thanks for posting.
I remember seeing the first of these, in my mid-teens. It looked like the rear end had been borrowed from a completely different car. It still looks like that to me, whatever its other qualities.
Interesting. That helps to explain to me why British people found these to be strange. That and perhaps because you all were used to looking at the Mk II? Also the front being changed slightly as well maybe. To my American eyes, these are pretty as anything. That "stolen" back end being the best part! I have a 420 compact. It's like a miniature Mk X/420 G. While none of them may be "perfect", I find them stunningly beautiful, as do the people that see it when I'm driving it around.
With that pull out posh tea shelf you could bring your cook & butler along in the boot to serve up tea in your China cup with your salmon & cucumber sandwiches , followed by Victoria sponge 😁, gosh they knew how to do things right in the 1960s Matt 👌🏻.
I spent my childhood in the 60’s being driven round Edinburgh in my late fathers Jaguar Mark 2, in those days I could count over 30 Mark 2’s, S types, 420’s and 420G. (Mark10) every morning on the way to school. They were everywhere in the middle class suburbs. I subsequently sourced a Mark 2 from South Africa in the late 90,s. Mine was a 3.8 whereas my father a veterinary surgeon could only afford the 2.4. To this day I prefer the aesthetics of the early Mark 2 even though dynamically the S type is the better car. My father and the local GP took it in turn to take his sons and myself to school every morning. He drove a Rover P6 which even in 1968 felt much more modern than the Mark 2.
I'm surprised they let you in without a tie! Shocking! 😮😅 I just had to watch! To make sure you weren't going to be driving down a country lane and straight over a cliff at the end! 😮
Grace, space and pace. What a car. Unbelievable is the radio, who does that??? There are several solutions for radios with a classic look (and modern functionality). Anyway, a wonderful tourer. But - was "the bank robber's choice" the S? I believe it was the MK II, wasn't it? Of course, the S would have been the better choice, regarding boot (more money) and handling (getting rid of the police cars). BTW I still miss the quarter windows on modern cars. They are such a delight.
Well no decent villain in The Sweeney would drive anything except an S-Type Jag. I wonder how many dirt-cheap S-Types The Sweeney crew patched up for their final chase scene before writing them off in crashes with milk churns, warehouse support pillars or piles of sand.
In the sixties you could buy secondhand jaguars for next to nothing. They were rust buckets that nobody wanted. I am amazed to see any around today. They must have a lot of welding or been re shelled.
As someone into P6's I have to chuckle every time you review a car and say "just like a P6"... it's literally like that memorable VW Golf advert from 13 years ago "Just like a Golf"🤣 - I know exactly your thinking on this from one P6 enthusiasts to an other!
I can smell this video! The leather, vinyl, carpet and, unfortunately, the fumes that cars of that age secreted into the cabin. The latter somewhat diluted by tobacco unfortunately! (Yes, I'm that old. 🤣)
My Dad used to smoke a pipe and he used to knock it on the outside of the door when he had finished…..to knock the ash out I suppose???? Anyway one day the hot ash blew back into the car narrowly missing my siblings and me and then burnt a hole in the rear seat of our Ford Consul Cortina. Mum was not happy……😆
Psst! One thing I know about the Mk 11s (+ possibly S types, if they have the key number stamped on the ignition key surround. I think they do) was that they were easy peasy to steal. All you needed was a screwdriver & 2/6 pence! The screwdriver to open the quarter light, to open the door, then check the ignition key surround, which had the key number conveniently visible on the front, FP xxx, go & buy the correct key from your friendly local car accessory shop for 2/6 pence & off you go. If you didn't have 2/6 pence the back of the ignition key had two contacts, which you could easily short across, (by opening the drop down panel on Mk 11s at least) press the button & off you go. I wasn't a bank robber or anything, I promise: )
You should do a comparison with a locally built on. As often CKD built ones would have some locally made parts integrated in it to increase the locally built percentage for less excise.
How the mighty British car makers have fallen! This comes from a time when Jaguar, Rover and Triumph could compete with and even be better than Mercedes and BMW, and now we have plastic SUVs from Jaguar-Landrover! Nothing from Rover or Triumph. Such a shame. But to see a film like this is still heart warming as a reminder not only of a glorious past, but also that the potential for great manufacturing in Britain must still exist. One reason it has fallen away though is the horrible tendency to Little Englander syndrome rather than being outward looking. Almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy, we have doomed ourselves to a lack of genuine and large scale innovation and entrepreneurship. There is still great manufacturing, but it is cottage industry scale compared with what we used to do. Of all the cars from this era, my favourite is the Austin 1800 Land-crab! Another under-rated but fantastically engineered car with class leading handling and also robust. Cavernous inside and simply better than anything else in in sector. Please do a film on the 1800. Best wishes from George in Herefordshire.
I wonder if the late owner of Parsons Pickles in Burry Port, West Wales' Jaguar 3.8S is still in existence. My mother was one of the office staff there for over 20 years. It was dark blue, reg. no. DTH 600D, later part exed for a new F reg. 280 SL Pagoda. Those really were the days, petrol at 6 shillings and 7 old pennies a gallon, or 33p in modern moolah.
@@biroldjoshan3745 Ah, thank you, a damn shame. Even more sad, the youngest son of the aforementioned gentleman had his dad's Pagoda fully reconditioned but ended his own life just a couple of short years later. All the money in the world can't compensate for the loss of ones health.
Thats so sad to hear about the gentlemans son , yes your right there ......good health is priceless ....especially now with the way the NHS is ....im sure there a some good hospital s out there still though
"...the Mk2, favourite of cops and robbers...boot was a bit small...That's where this came in..." Hmmm Not so sure that Sir William's intention was to provide the robbers with more boot space 🤣🤣🤣
They did! The only difference with the 420 was different front wings and twin headlamp styling to preview the upcoming XJ6 of 1968. Essentially the S type and 420 are the same car and are both a development of the Mark 2.
@Iain Macleod True, although personally I still prefer the S Type front end. Having said that, the 4.2 engine and alternator of the 420 are preferable.
Quarter Lights definitely need to make a comeback. Maybe substitute them for those infernal touchscreens, and electronic handbrakes, and digital dashboards......
Has this car been fully restored? I wonder how much of the craftmanship owes to Jaguar and how much owes to the people who have painstakingly restored the car? Could it be better than standard in some areas? 🙂 Though the craftmanship seems to have ended at that wonky radio install where both the radio and one of the speakers seems to be askew.
In South Africa, noticed the aa sticker on the back straight away. If you can get the ZA reg no I'm sure we can track down it's history. Having left ZA in the 90s it would have the old reg nos that would tell us the town and province it was last regestired to. Eg reg starting with an N from KwaZulu-Natal C from the cape province some others are backwards eg if the reg ends with a T from transvaal now called gauteng. With all these plates the first letters denote the town eg TJ Johannesburg ND Durban CA Capetown etc once the new licensing system kicked in vehicles in gauteng changed the system completely reg now ends with GP and the first 3 letters denote the licence year. All though the system is very antiquated if you can provide the last reg a request for it's details can be generated and all it's previous reg nos owners etc will reflect on its licence docs
