1966' Jaguar Mk2 3.8 Litre Sedan

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley. In 1934 Lyons formed SS Cars Limited to effectively take over the operation from Walmsley. The SS brand was quite successful; though they had a reputation for having ‘more show than go’. The Jaguar name first appeared as a model name on an SS 2½ Litre Sports Saloon introduced in 1936. For political reasons Lyons changed the name of his company to Jaguar Cars in 1945.
Whilst the SS100 is indeed a fabulous car, it was with the launch of the legendary Jaguar XK120 at the London Motor Show in 1948 that really put Jaguar on the map. The car caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and design boss William Lyons to put it into production. The XK120 morphed into the XK140 and ultimately the XK150 and in total just over 30,000 cars were built over fifteen years of production.
In 1961 at the Geneva Motor Show Jaguar introduced the E-Type, which like the XK120 all those years ago, took the motoring world by storm. The body styling was simply gorgeous and technologically the E-Type was an engineering masterpiece and it set new standards in all areas.
Whilst automotive styling is somewhat subjective the E-Type is often ranked atop lists of ‘the most beautiful cars’ and in fact it has been described by Enzo Ferrari as the most beautiful car ever made.
Jaguar could build sports cars but they were also very successful at building sports saloons. In 1955 the Jaguar Mk1 was introduced to fill a gap in the model range of a small to medium sized luxury saloon. Initially introduced with a 2.4 litre 6 cylinder engine and later a 3.4 litre 6 cylinder engine this model was very successful with some 38,000 examples sold between 1955 and 1959. In 1959 the Mk2 was introduced and whilst visually similar at first glance the ‘new car’ had many improvements over its predecessor. In addition to the 2.4 litre and 3.4 litre engines the Mk2 was also offered with a 3.8 litre engine as used in the E-Type. Just over 80,000 Mk2’s were built from 1959 to 1967. The Mk2 was to be replaced by the XJ6, however, delays with this car resulted in Jaguar producing another series of the Mk2 which was designated as the 240 and 340 to fall into line with the nomenclature used with other models on offer at the time, specifically the 420. The 240 and 340 were built from 1967 to 1969 and almost 4,500 and 2,800 respectively of each model were built.
Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 1966 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 Litre sedan. This Australian delivered, factory RHD example has the desirable manual gearbox with overdrive.
This car has its original service book which confirms that the car was originally sold through Hollywood Motors in Footscray (Melbourne) on the 2nd December 1966. The car was sold new to a Mr A McMahon who had the car serviced by Cecil R Lamont Motors in Geelong, Victoria. The service book records go through until November 1967. Mr McMahon was obviously fastidious with his Jaguar as there are fifteen service book entries through until November 1967 at which time the odometer was at 25,973 miles. There is one subsequent service book entry from AJ Williams c/o Peter Valentine Motors dated 27th August 1971 at 58,750 miles.
The car’s subsequent early history is not known and the documentation on file commences in 1996. At that time the car was in NSW. The Mk2 changed hands in the late 1990’s to a new owner in Canberra, ACT. It was then acquired by its current Brisbane based owner in 2007 and sent to Jaguar specialists Mike Roddy Motors in Melbourne for a major freshen up. There is an invoice on file for just over $30,000 of work which included rust repairs, engine bay restoration, refurbish woodwork, a new stainless steel exhaust system, new steering wheel, miscellaneous mechanical works, including: brakes, suspension, clutch and cooling system. The engine was not touched and the invoice notes the compression test results which were excellent. At this time the interior was totally refreshed at a cost of $13,500.
Since then the car has been used sparingly, however, it has been regularly maintained by Jaguar specialists in Brisbane. The owner is fastidious to say the least and he has maintained his car with no expense spared as evidenced by the service records and receipts on file. The car had an engine rebuild in July 2015 and at that the time the odometer was at 74,096 miles. Today the odometer reads 74,776 miles, so the rebuilt engine is barely run in.
The car has had an engine change at some stage in its life, however, the engine that is in the car is importantly a correct Jaguar Mk2 3.8 litre engine with an LC prefix.
Today the car presents and drives beautifully. The old English white with a red leather interior colour combination is ‘just perfect’ for a Jaguar Mk2. This car is fitted with smaller rear wheel arches to accommodate the 15” wheels which combine to give the car a more aggressive stance. The wire wheels set the car off perfectly and are like new. Overall the paint work is in good condition with the odd blemish or stone chip evident. Structurally the car looks solid underneath though there is some evidence of body filler in the bottom of the doors which is starting to swell. We’re being picky, but this should be mentioned. All of the chrome and exterior trim is in very good condition. The engine bay and boot are exceptionally clean and very well presented.
Inside the cabin of this Jagaur Mk2 is ‘just lovely” and almost like new. The leather and timber work are unmarked, all of the instruments and controls are in excellent condition with only the carpets showing some signs of wear.
This Jaguar Mk2 starts easily and its engine settles instantly into a smooth idle. It definitely has a slight edge to it and the exhaust note means business. Once warm and on the open road the car is a delight to drive. The power band is smooth and the car is incredibly taut on the road. The car handles and stops better than one would expect and it is surprisingly quiet on the road at cruising speed. Drop a gear and hit the ‘go peddle’ and you find that ‘edge’ again. Nice . . .
With the creature comforts of the overdrive (factory), power steering (Jaguar) and modern air conditioning this car would make a great ‘classic daily driver’.
Accompanying the car is the original service book, history file with receipts dating back to 1996, Service Manual, Spare Parts Catalogue and the Operating, Maintenance and Service Handbook. There is also a spare wheel, tool kit, jack and some spare parts.
The car is currently registered in Queensland (as MKZ66) with an expiry date of January 3rd 2019 and it has a valid Queensland Roadworthy Certificate.
Highlights:
- Australian delivered factory right hand drive example.
- the most desirable of this type of Jaguar, being the 3.8 litre Mk2 with manual gearbox and overdrive.
- excellent recent history
- low mileage since refresh in 2009 by Mike Roddy Motors in Melbourne.
- recent engine rebuild by Jaguar specialist, The Independent Jaguar Workshop in Brisbane.
- a well presented and fantastic car to drive.

Listed price: AUD $59,950.