Description
Source: Bonhams
LOT 369
1938 SS Jaguar 100 Recreation
Chassis no. 39188 (see text) Engine no. Z4074
AU$ 150,000 – 200,000
? 78,000 – 100,000
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Collectors’ Motor Cars, Motorcycles, Automobilia & Number Plates
23 Oct 2011, 14:15 EST
Melbourne, Royal Exhibition Building
1938 SS Jaguar 100 Recreation
Chassis no. 39188 (see text)
Engine no. Z4074
Launched in 1936, the SS100 was the first real high-performance model produced by SS Cars Limited and used a new Weslake-developed overhead-valve engine in a shortened SS1 chassis. The introduction of the ohv unit was considered to justify the adoption of a new name for the series, SS Cars boss William Lyons later recalling ‘I immediately pounced on Jaguar as it had an exciting sound to me.’ (‘Jaguar’ would be adopted as the marque name in 1943, ‘SS’ having by then acquired a somewhat tarnished reputation.)
‘SS’ originally stood for the Swallow Sidecar & Coachbuilding Company, which had been founded in Blackpool, England by William Walmsley. The company branched out into motor manufacture in 1926, its first major success being an attractive sports saloon on the Austin Seven chassis, the design being the work of Walmsley’s partner, one William Lyons. Relocation to Coventry followed and the Swallow range expanded to include models on Morris Cowley, Wolseley Hornet and Standard Sixteen chassis. Marque status arrived in October 1931 with the launch of the SS1, the chassis of which was supplied exclusively to Swallow by Standard, who also provided the six-cylinder sidevalve engine and four-speed gearbox. Although unspectacular in performance, the SS1 went some way towards establishing the pattern for future Jaguars, combining sporting good looks with a better-than-average specification and all at a bargain price.
By the time the SS90 sports car arrived in 1935, William Heynes had joined as Chief Engineer. Based on a shortened SS1 chassis, re-engineered by Heynes, the SS90 again demonstrated Lyons’ consummate skill as a stylist, its long bonnet, smoothly flowing wings, cut-away doors and truncated tail making it every inch the epitome of the 1930s sports car. Although good for 90mph, the SS90 was handicapped by the limitations of its sidevalve engine, a deficiency that would soon be rectified by another of Lyons’ new recruits, gas-flow consultant Harry Weslake. Launched in 1936 alongside the 2?-Litre saloon, the SS100 Jaguar sports car marked the company’s first use of the ‘Jaguar’ name. Beautifully styled in the manner of its SS90 predecessor, the newcomer employed a shorter, 102″-wheelbase chassis and a revised version of the 2,663cc Standard six which, equipped with Weslake’s overhead-valve cylinder head and breathing through twin SU carburettors, now produced 104bhp.
Although a fine touring car, the SS 100 was marketed as primarily for competition work. Its first major success came early, if somewhat unexpectedly, when Tommy Wisdom, crewed by his wife, won the arduous International Alpine Trial in 1936, beating Bugatti and bringing the fledgling marque to the attention of the Continental public. This would be the first of many successful rallying forays, including class wins in the RAC events of 1937 and 1938, and the Alpine (outright) again in 1948. Around 198 2?-Litre and 116 of the later 3?-Litre cars had been made by the time SS 100 production was prematurely ended by the outbreak of war.
Based on a 1934 SS1 16hp chassis no. 247734 (as documented by the Heritage Certificate that accompanies the car although it has since been registered with a continuation chassis number), this superb SS100 recreation was begun in the 1970s after the donor car was discovered in the Albury region of New South Wales. Considered beyond economic repair at the time, the SS1 was broken up and the engine, gearbox and mudguards went into another SS1 Saloon while the chassis was sold to Norm Delacey in Melbourne who began to rebuild it to SS100 configuration using a high quality reproduction body by respected coachbuilders Ashton Keynes in the UK and a Mk V Jaguar engine, essentially identical to the original unit. After passing through several further owners, the car eventually ended up in Queensland and was bought by the current owner in 2004 who commissioned an exacting body-off restoration by local craftsman Dave Marsh. The attention to detail really sets this recreation apart, for example an original (and almost impossible to source) 1938 ‘Special Equipment’ generator has been procured while the correct brass regulator and fuse box were fabricated in Adelaide. Since completion, the Regency Red SS 100 has been the recipient of many awards around the country and displayed at numerous events, including the inaugural Motorclassica in 2010. Meticulously maintained and in beautifully presented, this must rank as one of the finest SS100 recreations ever completed and respected journalist Les Hughes, who wrote a detailed article on the car for the Australian Jaguar Magazine, paid the ultimate compliment by stating this “…stunningly beautiful vehicle is now more faithful than many genuine SS Jaguar 100s which have been altered over the years”.
Photos: original-39188-001 to 006
Source: FlickR
Classic Cars Australia
Taken on September 23, 2012
Photos: original-39188-007 to 010