Built 27 July 1964, I am the third owner, as far as I know, of P1B78502BW. I have not been able to trace the first owner, Leroy F Caverley of Seattle. I obtained the car from the late Ray Phillips, who had been past president of the (then) Jaguar Restorers Club of the Northwest, (subsequently amalgamated to become the present JD&RC/NWA). We did little work to the car in the first few years, but it was driven regularly and in July 1994 we became members of the JCNA 100+ Club.

By the Fall of 1997, we concluded that if we were to keep the car it would need some restoration. Although the body was sound, after 112,000 miles it was clear that some mechanical wear would need to be rectified.

The plan was to leave the car through the winter months of 1997/98 at a Jaguar shop that I have dealt with for over twenty years in Vancouver, Canada. Especially important to me was the fact that the previous owner, now retired with over forty years of Jaguar experience, would come in for a few days a week while he waited for the next fishing season to commence!

Together with the current owner (with over thirty years of Jaguar experience both ex-Brits of course), work was successfully completed by early Spring 1998, including taking apart the power steering and refabricating unavailable parts

Next the car was transferred to the paint shop, a small family business with meticulous standards and reasonable prices. The original 'S'-type color was carefully matched and upgraded to a clear coat finish to add extra luster and depth. In the removal and re-assembly of various hardware, the shop referred to a copy of James Taylor's book on the 'S'-type that I lent to them so they could validate authenticity,

Patricia: "I will never clean another wire wheel again!"

even down to the correct positioning of the inside door and window handles! Finally to the trim shop, another old and trusted supplier, for installation of new headliner, upholstery and carpets.

I personally refurbished the inside door panels, all woodwork and boot interior, and with a modest level of modern technological assistance, even got the original radio and clock to work again perfectly! 

During this process, the search for original parts at the best price was a challenging exercise, utilizing the internet and telephone to check and compare prices and availability of parts in the US and UK. Once again, this process confirmed for me the significant cost savings that can be realized through careful cost comparison. This kind of project is something you only want to consider every once in a while, especially when your wife is arguing quite logically that getting the house repainted or some such thing should really have priority. This time however I feel better prepared to defend myself since we are both happy with the outcome!