Jaguar Forums Member Kicks Off 420 Restoration

By John Coyle - October 7, 2022

This gorgeous Jaguar 420 was scored in California, and looks to be an amazing candidate for a rolling resto.

The Jaguar 420 saloon was produced for just three years, between 1966 to 1969. That means they’re not nearly as common as the XJ Series which immediately followed, and I’ve only seen a handful of these in person. So it’s great to see one undergoing a restoration, and from the looks of it Jaguar Forums member dsnyder586 has a very solid car to start with.

While he’s owned more modern Jaguars, this is his first experience with a proper Coventry classic. Fortunately, he’s in California, and while there’s some rust under the accelerator pedal and the passenger wing, it appears to be minimal. Which suggests this baby spent most of its life in the Golden State, which is a great thing.

Another good sign is that the car appears to be quite original, as there’s just over 38k on the clock, and even the hose clamps on the engine appear to be factory Jaguar. Which means there hopefully won’t be too much time spent undoing of any restoration work which might have been done on the cheap. When he first tested it, one of the pots on the I6 was was down on compression, but I think that’s a better problem to have than tin rot.

At this point, dsnyder586 is planning on a year to get this old 420 up to daily driver status, and then slowly tackle some of the less-crucial bits. While the car is pearl white now, he’s considering a change to a metallic blue or gun metal gray, so it’ll be interesting to see where he lands when he takes it to the paint shop. Either way, if he decides to keep the interior blue, it’ll be a good complement.

For inspiration, Glyn M Ruck posted a few pics of his 420 — and they are stunning. Since he’s across the Pond, his is a right-hand drive model, and it shows just how gorgeous this cars are when they’re in proper nick. Seriously, just look at that dash! From pictures, I can imagine just how it smells in there, and it’s making me nostalgic for my old XJ6.

I’ll obviously be keeping an eye on this thread, and if you’re a fan of vintage kit like this, you should too. While you’re there, make sure to leave a comment and some words of encouragement! Also, I’d like everyone to know that I wrote an entire post about a car called the 420 without making a single weed joke. Amazing, right?

Photos: Jaguar Forums