That Lost Jaguar Mk.V

Sir,

I read with interest Mr. Colyer’s letter in the June issue of Motor Sport, concerning his Mk. V Jaguar, registration mark EDP 100. I owned this car briefly during 1966/67.

It was a 1949 3 1/2-litre saloon, chassis 620183, originally painted gunmetal blue, and supplied to Henlys. From there it went to Great Western Motors, at that time Jaguar Distributors in Reading, and then to Mr. Smith, who founded and I think still runs Smiths Coaches of Reading. It was first registered on May 31st 1949. In 1957 Mr. Smith had the car resprayed black and ivory, creating a particularly distinctive vehicle. I believe he acquired a Mk. 2 in about 1960, when the Mk. 5 was sold to Mr. Colyer.

In 1966 Mr. Colyer part-exchanged it through Jarvis Motors, and they passed it on to P.C.E. Motors of Cardiff Road, Reading.

I bought it from them for £45 (!) since the clutch had all but expired; and when that had been rectified it formed a fine stable-mate to the XK 140 which I also ran at that time. It was amazingly sound and complete, even to the original valve radio, and every last detail was in working order. Since it had been used by Mr. Smith when he was Mayor of Reading, I sometimes found myself accorded VIP treatment when sweeping through Reading traffic, even in 1966! Regrettably this procedure soon ceased when the Constabulary discovered that it was no longer a pillar of local society at the wheel, but merely a disreputable layabout!

For simple financial reasons (the begging bowl was empty again), the Mk. V had to be sold early in 1967; and it went to a Corporal Couchman of the RAF stationed near King’s Lynn. It was a grand old car and exuded a feeling of strength and dependability rarely equalled by a variety of Jaguars I have owned since, including the current 4.2 Dairnler XJ. I often regret disposing of the car, and shall be as interested as Mr. Colyer to discover its fate.

Wallingford IAN CAMPBELL