1954 Jaguar XK120 DHC

The vendor of this superb 1954 Jaguar XK120 DHC has only owned the car since 1st July 2021. The car was originally sold by a Jaguar dealer in New York, and it has spent most of its life in the USA where it received a full restoration.

The car was then shipped to the UK and then onto Dublin, Ireland, where it spent 5-6 years with a collector who also had another XK. The seller always wanted to own an XK120 and after coming across this one it turned out that the then owner of the XK also wanted to own a Bentley, which this seller had, so a deal was struck and they basically swapped cars.

Now you may be thinking, after wanting a XK120, why sell it just a few weeks after getting it? The answer is that the vendor is 6’6”, and simply too tall to drive the XK120. The car has been inspected by Jaguar Classic who have looked at modifying it to enable the seller to fit inside, but it would require some serious work such as repositioning the front and rear bulkheads and lowering the floor. This is not really practical to carry out, and so quite reluctantly the car is being sold.

This XK120 is finished in what would appear to be British Racing Green or a very close match. The car was restored a number of years ago in the USA and is still looking fantastic. Starting with the front of the 120, the chrome work is in excellent condition with no pitting or tarnishing to the bumper, headlight surround or grille. The grille does have a couple of the bars bent slightly out of shape but probably wouldn't take much to straighten. Some small indicators have been fitted just to the underside of the bumper, and although not a factory fit, these are a sensible addition from a safety point of view. Stone chips are very minimal with just an odd few in sight. The bonnet aligns up nice and straight with the wings. Following the bonnet up to the windscreen surround, and this has a bright finish, with the rubbers to hold the windscreen in good condition.

Around to the sides is where you can really appreciate the flowing curves of the XK120’s body, and just how fine it sits on the road. Looking down the car it is nice and straight with no obvious dinks to the panels. The door shuts align well and this is uniform to both sides. There are some small micro blisters around the driver’s side wing mirror, and an odd couple of chips to the edge of the bonnet and also the edges of the wheel arches, but these could easily be touched in. The chrome mirror, door handle and window surrounds are all in excellent condition. The roof is also excellent, finished in tan. This closes up and shuts nice and tight as you would expect with minimal creasing where it has been stored folded down.

From the flanks of the XK120 the quarters flow around to the boot lid perfectly, with the panel gap nice and equal. Again, like the front, the chromework for the bumper, boot handle and lights is all in excellent condition. Safety first! Indicators for the rear have been installed like the front.

The chrome wire spoke wheels are all in very good order, with matching jaguar knock-off’s. The tyres are also matching period looking Michelin’s which have not covered many miles at all.

The XK120 has been finished in tan/biscuit leather and can only be described as simply stunning, it is an extremely nice place to be, surrounded by leather and walnut. The seats to the front have no real signs of any wear, and the same can be said for the door cards. There is a small scuff on the leather to the passenger side of the arm rest. The walnut is all in relatively good condition, with just a few areas where the lacquer finish has cracked.

The Smiths instruments are all in good condition, with the odometer reading 1,552 miles. Any switches with lettering on are all legible and are reported to be working as they should. The steering wheel looks to be the original, showing no excessive wear, as is the gear knob on which you can clearly see the 1-4 pattern.

For the back seat passengers the seat is in excellent condition and does not look to have had any real use. The carpets throughout have been replaced with leather edged carpets that fit very well,the driver’s heel pad is in good condition. The boot has been trimmed to the same high standard in leather, including the floor area. Just under the floor is the spare wheel which has a new michelin tyre fitted to match the rest. There are an odd few chips around the boot aperture.

The underside of the Jaguar is in excellent order and it’s quite clear that since the restoration, the car hasn’t seen many, or even any, wet roads.

The 3.4litre Straight-six fires up perfectly and sounds fantastic through the stainless steel exhaust system. At the time of the restoration the engine was also given a full rebuild and so, as you would expect, the XK is reported to drive fantastically with no problems noted. The 4-speed gearbox changes gear nice and smoothly as the car pulls through the gears.

Recently the Jaguar has received a new coil, spark plugs, points, oil, oil filter and electric fan to ensure the car is running as it should and be ready for its new owner.

Coming from America started off the life of this XJ120 very nicely indeed. The much warmer drier climate has ensured corrosion hasn't been a real issue for the car and has made the restoration much easier.

From 2018 to 2020 there have been some mechanical and cosmetic repairs to sort out a couple of issues and keep the car in tip top condition. New brake and master cylinders have been fitted at a cost of £1,040. There was some paintwork attended to, coming in at £1,000, and then a leak on the engine meant some new water hoses and gasket set, which was another £1,400 and, as mentioned above, the most recent service items.

The XK120 is certainly one that stands out in Jaguar’s history books, being the fastest production car in the World at the time, and its space age design body compared to other manufacturers cars.

This well maintained example was originally sold by a Jaguar dealer in New York and has done a bit of traveling from the USA to the UK, to Ireland and now settled back in the UK. It looks to have been well looked after throughout all of it’s journeys, and is now ready for a new owner, preferably one that's not 6’6” tall.

We estimate that this Historic Jaguar will bring in the region of £66,000 - £78,000.

Viewing is always encouraged and as stated this car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.