Description
Source: RM Auction – YouTube
1938 SS 100 Jaguar 3½-Litre Roadster
Sold for $451,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Amelia Island, Florida 2014
Chassis no. 39010
Engine no. M1398E
Body no. 4896
125 bhp, 3,485 cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine with a competition head, four-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 104 in.
•Offered from the Pray Collection
•An iconic British sports car
•Desirable 3½-liter power with a competition bronze head
In 1944, a group of East Coast enthusiasts, inspired by a pre-war club established by the Collier Brothers, established the Sports Car Club of America. It is important to note that, at this time, Max Hoffman’s New York dealership, which would play cradle to virtually every post-war sports car, was fledgling. MGs had not yet begun to come stateside except in small, privately imported numbers. The founding fathers of the SCCA were racing the great cars built before the war: Bugattis, Type S Mercedes, and, perhaps most prominently, the slinky, wide-eyed SS Jaguar 100s.
As its name implied, the 100 was capable of “the magic century,” 100 mph, especially with its 3½-liter engine, which had two SU carburetors and could produce some 125 brake horsepower. Those horses were laid to the track or country road by a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on its top three gears, and, at 2,600 pounds, the result had plenty of energy, which is why many owners chose to race or rally the cars.
Malcolm S. Pray Jr. acquired his SS Jaguar 100 in 1998, and amongst its earlier owners was renowned collector of vintage sports cars Bruce McCaw. As verified by its Jaguar Heritage Trust Certificate, this example started life as a 3½-liter model, although the present 3½-liter engine was installed at a later date. Importantly, the engine is equipped with a performance-oriented, bronze-coated cylinder head, which was reportedly installed by the factory only on cars intended for competition use. Both the original data tag and body tag are still present on the car; further, it is worth noting that it was originally finished in black with red leather upholstery before being delivered to its first owner, a Mr. J. M. Archer, in Scotland.
In Mr. Pray’s ownership, this car has been extensively shown. It served as the poster car of his beloved Greenwich Concours d’Elegance in 1999, and it was Best in Class at Meadow Brook in 1999, Bridgehampton in 2004, and Cranbrook in 2005, among other appearances. It is obvious that he was proud of this car, as he should have been. The body was refinished in British Racing Green during his ownership, and it presents with only light road wear, which is matched by a light stretching of the biscuit-toned seats. Equipment on this car includes Lucas headlamps, fender lights, dual fog lights, and both a folding windscreen and Brooklands racing windscreens. Naturally, as a Pray car, the SS 100 is accompanied by service receipts and documentation from his ownership.
In the early days of post-war automotive enthusiasm on the East Coast, cars such as this were those that stirred the fires in young motorists like Malcolm S. Pray Jr. Offered here is a car with fire in its belly, beauty in its lines, and an aura of times past that will continue around each curve in the road ahead.
Source: Ultimate Car Page
– Chassis: 39010 – RM Auctions Monterey Sale – Auction: 2015 RM Sotheby’s Monterey (Sold for $583,000)
Photo: original-39010-36.jpg
Source: ConceptCarZ
Roadster
Chassis #: 39010
Engine #: M1398E
Sold for $451,000 at 2014 RM Auctions – Amelia Island.
Sold for $583,000 at 2015 RM Sotheby’s : Monterey.
William Lyons and William Wamsley set up the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922 in Blackpool, England. The six-man shop made motorcycle sidecars and by 1927 they began offering special sporting bodies on popular chassis for Austin, Fiat, Standard, and other small cars of the period. They moved to Coventry one year later, marketing their first car in 1931. That car was introduced to the public at the Olympia Motor Show in London in October 1931, instantly becoming a sensation. A Standard chassis and engine were used on the first SS1, and on this chassis was built a stunning coupe body with elongated bonnet and an extremely low-slung body. It was underpowered and Lyons immediately set about resolving the lack of power.
The name Jaguar debuted in 1935, coinciding when the first six-cylinder SS 90 was introduced on a shortened SS1 chassis. The roadster was a stunning looking vehicle with numeral 90 used to refer to the top speed. It was a smash hit, but speed merchants immediately wanted more horsepower, so 10 months later the SS 100 was introduced and remained in production to November of 1940. The initial version introduced in 1936 was powered by a 2.5-liter engine, upsized to 3.5-liters in 1938.
In 1936 the first SS 100 was produced. The SS 100 was the first true 100 mph sports car available to the public. In four years of production, the SS100 earned an exceptional reputation in winning road races, endurance contents and rallys. This car has a six-cylinder 3.8 liter engine generating 125 horsepower. The original selling price was $1,925.
The SS 100 was a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1940 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England. The last one is thought to have been delivered in 1941.
In 1936 the name Jaguar was given to a new saloon car and from then on to all the car. Following World War II, due to the connotations then attached to the initials SS, the company was renamed Jaguar.
The chassis with a wheelbase of 8 feet 8 inches, was essentially a shortened version of the one designed for the 2.5-liter saloon, a car produced in much great numbers, and had first been seen in the SS 90 of 1935. Suspension was half elliptical springs all around with rigid axles.
The engine was a development of the old 2.5-liter Standard unit converted from side valve to overhead valve with anew cylinder head designed by William Heynes. The power output was increased from 70 to 100 horsepower. Twin SU carburetors were bolted directly to the cylinder head.
Widely considered to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing Jaguar cars, it is also one of the rarest with only 198 of the 2.5-liter and 116 of the 3.5 liter models being made. Most stayed on the market but 49 were exported.
This rear-wheel-drive car is powered by a 212.7 cubic-inch, inline six-cylinder engine, fitted with twin SU carburetors, developing 125 horsepower and coupled to a four-speed manual gearbox. The 2,575-pound vehicle is capable of 101 mph and sold for $1,925.
This SS100 Roadster was purchased by Malcolm S. Pray Jr. in 1998. It is a 3½-Litre model, although the present 3½-Litre engine was installed at a later day. The engine is equipped with a performance-oriented, bronze-coated cylinder head, which is believed to have been installed by the factory only on cars intended for competition use. The car was originally finished in black with red leather upholstery before being delivered to its first owner, a Mr. J. M. Archer, in Scotland.
This car was the poster car for the 1999 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, and it was Best in Class at Meadow Brook in 1999, Bridgehampton in 2004, and Cranbrook in 2005.
The body has been refinished in British Racing Green with biscuit-toned seats. There are Lucas headlamps, fender lights, dual fog lights, and both a folding windscreen and Brooklands racing windscreens.
Roadster
Chassis #: 39010
Engine #: M1398E
Sold for $451,000 at 2014 RM Auctions – Amelia Island.
Sold for $583,000 at 2015 RM Sotheby’s : Monterey.
The 3.5L SS100 was produced by the Swallow Sidecar ‘SS’ company. 117 were built between 1937 and 1939. Production ceased as WWII broke out. After the war, SS Cars changed their name to Jaguar and production of SS models never resumed. The larger 3.5 liter engine, unlike the previous 2.5 liter version, comfortably achieved the namesake 100mph, hence SS100. This car is rare because it is fitted with a pre-war competition
cylinder head and block modified by John Heath of HWM Jaguar fame. Pre-war, the car competed in RAC rallies at Blackpool and Edinburgh. Post-war, it saw action at Brands Hatch and Brighton. The car was considered the fastest SS100 in the United Kingdom. The car has undergone an extensive restoration completed in 2018. It is finished in suede green a precursor to British Racing Green.
Photos: original-39010-37 to 39
Source: Flickr
1938 Jaguar 3 1/2 Litre SS 100 roadster
Taken on August 3, 2008
Photos: original-39010-40 to 42