Jaguar XK140 FHC 1955 – SOLD

Manufactured in June 1955 this Jaguar XK140 fixedhead coupe is an original UK, right-hand drive car. It was first sold by Sturgess of Leicester and was finished in Pearl Grey with a Red trim. The Sturgess dealership was founded in 1897 selling bicycles and then went on to deal in motorcycles. By 1948 they were appointed dealers for Jaguar and Land Rover and the business remains in the same family to this day. 

Little is known of the car's early life however the extensive history file does include the buff continuation logbook which documents the owners from 1962 onwards. By this time the car appears to have been repainted Bronze and was owned by a Stuart Ravell of Lincoln. In 1963 it was sold via W. P. Maidens dealership to David Strachan Ryles whose address was R.A.F. Cranwell the world's first Air Academy. In 1964 he sold the car to Geoffrey Eke who registered it to his company C F Putterill LTD based in Hertfordshire. The car continued its journey south being sold to Leslie Brown and registered in London N13. The last entry in the old log book shows the car still in the hands of Mr Brown having moved to Enfield in 1966. It seems that the car was then taken off the road in 1969 and that by 1977 it was owned by a Mr Garry Wilson in Enfield who was attempting to recover the car's original registration number. Correspondence between Mr Wilson, various club experts and the DVLC shows that in 1989 he finally managed to get the car reregistered with its original registration of NRY 45. It appears that during this time Mr Wilson had started to restore the car and a photo from 1990 shows the body being lifted from the chassis in a sorry state.

In 1992 the car was sold to the current owner as a restoration project. The current owner spent many years restoring the car to a very high standard and completed the car in the mid-2000s. Since then, the car has covered just under 1800 miles. The body has clearly been built very well with nice straight panels and good shut lines. The British Racing Green paint is very good though has a few bubbles and blisters from age which do not show in the photographs. The interior is as good as the day it was trimmed though has a mellow and aged feel without being worn.

During the restoration, NRY 45 was treated to a number of upgrades. Most notable amongst these is the C-Type cylinder head which has been fitted. Although this wasn’t original to the car it is a period-correct XK140 cylinder head. The front brakes have been upgraded to discs and the car also benefits from an alternator and electric cooling fan.

SOLD