Many of us have heard of Yenko Chevrolet, Nickey (with the backward ‘k’) Chevrolet in Chicago, Royal Pontiac…there were others. In the 60s they would sell you bran spanking new, dealer- improved, special-edition cars suitable for street or racing. If GM wouldn’t sell you a 427 Chevelle or Camero, there were a number of new car dealers who would. Pretty heady times.
Now, in the south of England…Guilford, Surrey to be specific, you could order up a new MKII Jaguar sedan in somewhat the same way. It could be modified with any number of menu items. Whatever you would like, or could afford.
However, they didn’t just bolt on handling bits and drop larger mills in lighter cars. Coombs incorporated race-proven engineering modifications that made the 3.8 liter MKII sedan not just considerably faster, but smoother, less stressed, and totally reliable. They looked pretty much dirt stock to boot.
Jaguar saloons led the field in production and touring car races during much of the 60s. Not surprisingly the quickest and most successful private entries came from John Coombs’ Jaguar dealership in Guilford.
One option at 195 pounds sterling ($2.80 in the early 1960s), included 9:1 pistons, balanced crank, con rods, and clutch assembly. A lightened flywheel, gas-flowed head and trumpet carburetor intakes were also fitted. For an extra four pounds sterling the cylinder head would be machined to give 9.5:1 compression.
Some other menu picks…hand made exhaust with straight through pipes or performance ‘silencers’, Koni shocks, high ratio steering box, lowered ride height, long-range petrol tank…dream on! All accomplished with little public awareness or hoopla.
John Coombs had significant race experience and his dealership simply got it right for a fortunate few racing enthusiasts. Very early on that included Hill, Salvadori and Salmon.
A fully modified Coombs MKII reached 100 mph in company with the E-type, a full nine seconds ahead of the stock version! It was the fastest and best handling saloon car available at the time.
So, what are these cars worth today? Only a few have been authenticated with proper documentation. No records survived at the dealership.
All considered, you can just imagine the value of one of these historical Jaguar sedans. One thing is certain however; you probably won’t find one in Minnesota.
George Arthur
Jaguar Club of
Minnesota