1981 Jaguar XJ-S HE - 55,000miles

This delightfully retro Jaguar XJ-S is one of the very first HE, or High Efficiency, engined cars, which makes it interesting in its own right. But, what makes it even more interesting is that it was owned by the same chap from 1984 until around 2017. He was the vendor’s neighbour, you see, and the car was forgotten about when he passed away and only discovered when the new owners moved into his old house. It had been there for many, many years and had all but disappeared under the usual detritus that tends to accumulate in even the best-organized garage.

Sentimental to a fault, the vendor realized that it was far too good to scrap and took the car on as a project. He admits that he has spent far too much money on recommissioning it, and he accepts he will probably never get back the full sum he has invested in the car…

Freshly recommissioned and offered with no reserve, all that remains is for the new owner to either drive it as a wonderfully patinated and gorgeously original example of the breed, or to commence a programme of simple, cosmetic bodywork to turn it into what will be a fabulously of-the-period example of this appreciating classic British sportscar.

The bodywork is wonderfully original, and the paintwork looks to be largely, if not completely, original. It is also free of the sort of widespread structural rot that plagues the breed – and that is not as a result of a series of running repairs either, because it doesn’t look like it has been welded in its life. It really is very original and in almost unbelievably good condition.

Sure, the previous elderly owner looks like he might have had a few problems judging the car’s width if the marks and scuffs on the nearside are any guide, and yes, the front nearside wing has been dented and nibbled with rust and could do with being replaced, and yes, the bonnet is dinked and dented where it has been used as a storage platform but all the usual areas that rot are clean and solid.

This includes the area at the base of the rear flying buttresses, which is solid and virtually rust-free, as are the wheelarches and front valance, door bottoms, bootlid and bonnet. The scuttle at the base of the windscreen is good, too. The doors open and close easily, and everything fits better than almost any non-restored car of this period we’ve seen. In the words of our head honcho: “everything just lines up.”

The original alloy wheels have been recently refurbished, and the owner even went of the trouble of finding and fitting the correct classic Michelin XWX tyres.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres like this are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance, especially when he went to so much trouble to find the correct tyres from the correct manufacturer.

The floorpan looks clean and the underseal looks to have stood up to the passage of time with admirable aplomb.

It really is in remarkable condition and would absolutely justify a top-notch partial respray, after which we would expect you to be able to walk away with a couple of prizes in your local classic car show. Or, you could just stabilize the surface rust on areas such as the sills and wheelarch lips and then daily drive a nicely patinated classic Jaguar that will draw admiring glances wherever you go.

We would strongly urge potential bidders to come and view the car in order to fully appreciate its condition.

The pleated brown leather interior is magnificent. Utterly and completely magnificent. It’s so of-the-period that it will wow appreciative audiences wherever you go and is so much cooler than anything that has come out of the Jaguar factory in the past two decades.

Just look at the rear seat, for example. It is wonderfully sculpted and full of charm. Nor does it look like it has been used much, as it is almost unmarked and still firm and supportive. None of that three-abreast nonsense, either; it might be designed to snuggle two buttocks and two alone, but those lucky bottoms would be among the most pampered in the country.

The front seats are slightly more patinated, and a couple of the seams on the driver’s seat have relaxed a little. But, they are very original and need only moderate fettling witha spot of leather conditioner to bring them back to something close to their original condition.

The dashboard, with its central four revolving drum instruments for water, oil, fuel and battery that are flanked by classic round Smiths dials for speed and engine revs, is as pleasing to the eye as it is clear.

Parts of the carpet is grubby and marked but could probably be saved with a decent shampoo. The steering wheel needs no such work as it is in fabulous condition. As is the wooden veneer and the interior chromework. The door cards are very good and fit tight to the door too (we doubt that they have ever been removed), and the car even has its original radio and manual.

The boot is equally tidy and home to the battery, spare wheel with new tyre and toolkit.

Okay, there is some work to do. The rubber diaphragm on the base of the driver’s seat is shot, the headlining has sagged at the rear, and the electric mirrors and fuel gauge don’t work.

Remember, cars are only original once, and this is your chance to get your hands on a classic Jaguar XJ-S that hasn’t been bodged or nursed from one MOT to the next by a series of owners who have neither the money, inclination or skill to maintain it properly.

It had a new battery in 2017, and so starts well. However, the starter motor does seem to struggle a little when the car is hot (it’s fine when it is cold), so the new owner might want to pop a new one on. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the vendor has spent a fortune having the car recommissioned. The work was comprehensive, and included a full service, which included new spark plugs, HT leads, rotor arm and distributor cap, water pump, drive belts, radiator and coolant hoses, a power steering pipe, rear brake discs, pads and caliper seals, and a reconditioned gearbox. It has also had repairs to the driver’s door lock and handle, and the exhaust system.

But that’s not all because it has also had a new power steering rack, ball joints, track rod ends, a thermostat, an oil level switch, and a new gear selector cable.

Take a look at the underbonnet photos too to see how the originality continues, and how clean and rust-free the inner wings and scuttle are.

The vendor then reaffirmed his faith in the car by driving it 100 miles to us here in Abingdon. We’ve driven it too and can confirm that it drives very nicely, indeed just like a recommissioned 50k car should.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The MOT certificate itself expires in July 2020.

The car comes with a number of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it. It also has a stamped service history booklet, plus the handbook for the original radio and the plastic ‘Vehicle Literature’ wallet. There is even the purchase invoice from 1984 and other delights to amuse the next owner.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork.

Our boss is a bit smitten with this. Not normally given to displays of emotion (or his wallet, come to that…) he says of the Jag “it’s not perfect but it is an amazing opportunity for someone to buy an original, solid, and well-preserved XJ-S for not a lot of money.”

And that is the real charm of this particular Jaguar XJ-S; it might be a bit scruffy in places but it is original, and hasn’t been messed around with. It’s now running well, and all of the mechanical issues that the vendor is aware of have been sorted. It’s now up to the new owner to take the car in the direction they feel is most appropriate, but we’d be amazed if they didn’t decide to splash out on a high-end respray, after which they will have one of the most desirable XJ-S’s in the country. A properly early HE at that.

As to the price, who knows? It’s almost impossible to put an accurate value on a car like this as they come up so infrequently, so the owner has sensibly agreed to forego a reserve and let it sell for whatever the market values it at, which means it’ll sell from the very first bid…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.