Jaguar Lightweight

I purchased this car from XK Engineering in England, the largest aftermarket supplier of vintage Jaguar parts in England. This was their show car at the two largest European vintage car trade shows, Essen and Munich, Germany. The car was stripped down to its steel tub and reconstructed.

The bodywork was all aluminum, just like the original lightweights. The nose was even constructed by the original lightweight body supplier, RS Panels. This was a beautifully constructed and finished car. Everything fit.

The car was originally LHD, first registered in Texas. How XK Engineering got hold of it, I don't know. The wheels were pin-drive aluminum replicas of the original magnesium lightweight wheels. The motor was a 4.2 litre with Webers. In second gear, the car could easily stay with a street 289 Cobra without Webers. I know because I had Cobras both with and without Webers.

The cockpit was pretty roomy, at least compared to the LM and Cobra. The gearbox was a Getrag 5-speed, as used on later model Jags and was excellent. Like the T-10, I could shift this without the clutch easily.

The vent on the trunk lid is to exhaust air from the rear inboard brakes which are located in the trunk area. The vent on the roof exhausts air from the cockpit, though it seemed to work backward, just as some of the plexiglass fresh air vents on the nose of the first series GTO did. Oh well, this was cut and try.

This is one of my favorite photos, taken at our Arizona home. The lightweights had seven additional louvres added on each side of the top of the hood to exhaust engine compartment air. The side and rear windows were plexiglass. The cars also had a small wheel spat behind the front wheel so they could claim the front tire was entirely enclosed by the fender. The 1963 competition Cobras similarly had a wheel spat, though a bit larger.