The Tale of The Big Cat

Simon Blower
Apr 9, 2018
5 min read

1966 and all that......

31 July, 1966. Not a particularly memorable date, more significant, perhaps, for the events that happened on that day: England won the World Cup. In the Blower household: It was the day that Dad sold The Big Cat. Yes, the beloved Jaguar, more affectionately known as "Hercules" was despatched to the great knackers yard in the sky, bringing an end to a memorable period of my childhood.

About a year beforehand, Dad had proudly arrived home in the sumptuous 1958 Jaguar Mark VIII, this being his first car. I asked my Mum shortly before she died about the car and how Dad came to buying it:

" Well, he (Dad) had done a favour for the foreman at work and when Dad let it be known that he was in the market for a car, this chap produced the Jaguar. Dad felt somewhat obligated and we ended up buying it. It cost £120"

Hmm, I'm sure there is some truth in that explanation, but maybe not the whole truth. You see, Dad had form. I clearly remember us all being piled into a hired car for the annual trip the Salcombe in Devon the year before. Not any ordinary car, but a Mark 2 Jaguar supplied by Evans of Cheam. Quite how we all managed to get in it, I'll never know: Mum, Dad, 3 kids, luggage, (including two garden spades, for building dams on the beach) ooh and Uncle Arthur, Dad's lifelong friend.

Uncle Arthur was invaluable. A kind, unflappable, avuncular man, who had two stock phrases; "it's only a clearing up shower...." and " Don't panic, don't panic!"

The first was used widely on our trip: after all, it was an English Summer holiday. The second was put to use as we arrived at dawn at Blueberry Down, whereupon flames erupted from the dashboard. "don't panic...don't panic ' Uncle Arthur soothingly bade as he herded us from the car to the safety of the downs. Phew!

Living with Hercules brought huge fun to the family, opening up endless opportunities to visit the coast and many other places. Unfortunately, there was a downside. Hercules, was, well, a bit tatty in places. And very rusty. Dad was no mechanic. Help was at hand in the form of Georgie Pace who ran a local garage (well, a yard with cars). Georgie looked like Michael Caine and spoke with the same South London drawl. His yard was strewn with the entrails of cars - mainly Jaguar and it seemed there was nothing that Georgie couldn't fix. Fortunately.

Fast forward 50 years to The Goodwood Revival. This celebration of vintage cars take place at Goodwood Racecourse and where attendees are encouraged to join in the fun by wearing dress from the period.

Here my eyes alighted on a veritable fleet of Jaguar Mk VII - IX racing each other. It set me thinking.......what if I could buy a Jaguar like the one I so fondly remember from my childhood?

The search was on. Not as easy as it first seemed. The cars were not as popular as the XK140 range that preceded it and the Iconic E type that followed it, consequently there weren't too many around and those that were were mainly bodged restorations.

A year passed and eventually I struck gold: a beautifully restored Mk IX. One visit was enough to convince me and two weeks later the car was ours.

It certainly is a regal ride: all leather and blur walnut, including cocktail tables and cabinet to the rear and of course, Cigar lighters in the door pillars!!. Aside from the creature comforts this car was truly ahead of its time. Our model dates from 1961 and boasts Automatic transmission, power steering, advanced ventilation system (quarter lights) and even a sunshine roof! Unfortunately this car does not feature the pig skin lined boot that was a feature on my dad's!

The Radio was an optional extra and is original and in working order (it only plays music from the '60's)

In all just over 10000 Mark IX's were produced in three years of production. Just over half were in the right hand drive format. By comparison over 72000 E types were produced.

Autocar magazine tested a Mk IX Automatic in its Used Cars on the Road series, number 200, published in the edition dated 14 December 1962. This vehicle at the recorded mileage of around 34,000 achieved acceleration figures of 0-60 mph in 10.1secs and 0-100 in 28.8secs. The Standing Quarter-mile was passed in 17.6secs.

A car with automatic transmission tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 114.4 mph184.1 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 11.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 15.2 miles per imperial gallon (18.6 L/100 km; 12.7 mpgUS) was recorded. The test car cost £2162 including taxes of £721.[3] In addition, the Mark IX attained 30 mph in 4 seconds, and 100 mph in 32.5 secs. It covered the standing mile in less than 31 secs.

Ownership

The car has a fascinating history: We are only the 4th owner in its 61 year life.

It was first purchased on 13th January 1961 for £2050 by John Fisher an Estate Agent from Saffron Walden: the equivalent of two years of the average salary at the time. In todays terms the car would retail for over £100k.

Fisher owned the car for over 35 years and during that time kept meticulous records of every item of expenditure. There is a full service history, Jaguar guarantee and owners manual. In the local area he was a well known figure and and it is said that his love for his Jaguar was matched only by his arrogance!

The car was eventually sold as part of Fishers Estate upon his death. In his Will, Fisher requested that he be buried with one set of his beloved Jaguar keys: which explains why we only have one set!

The second owner, Simon Edgcumbe bought the car in 1996. Edgcumbe apparently had the intention of restoring the car, but in his 10 years of ownership no work was done. The car appears to have slowly deteriorated into the state the you can see in the pictures below.

There are no records of mileage for the car during this time. However Edgcombe apparently had a number of other vintage cars so it would seem probable that the car was used little and eventually was left to rot.

Towards Restoration

Ralph Allen, now in his 70’s , bought the car in 2006 to add to his collection of cars including a MK 7, an E type, MK 3 and an Alvis. There is a trail of invoices dated 2007 indicting a wide range of parts being bought to commence restoration. There are no records of who conducted the restoration, but Allen had ‘a man’ who did all the work on his cars and its seems likely that he did it.

Restoration was completed by around 2009/10 and the car was added to the collection. Rarely used, the car seems to have covered less than 500 miles whilst Allen owned it. The reasons for sale are not clear but it seems that Mrs Allen never really fell in love with the car (the MK 7 was more favoured) and she leant on her husband to sell it.

The car has undergone a complete restoration and to all intents and purposes the car is in ‘as new condition’:

Veneers all restored

New carpets

All electrical wiring update and restored

Complete re spray

New tyres

All mechanicals restored or replaced

Most latterly, the engine was completely rebuilt and restored by the team at The Splined HubStainless Steel exhaust fittedElectronic ignition installed

Living with a Mark IX Jaguar

Well it is fabulous fun: drawing admiring attention wherever we go. A return trip to the Dordogne went without incident. It is also very comfortable and smooth. I haven't dared work out the fuel consumption, though fortunately it does have two fuel tanks: one on either side. We love the Jaguar so much we have just bought an E type to restore.........