Chronicles of Alan: Cars I have Owned/ Loved- Jaguars part 3

My first ever Jaguar:-

All Video's courtesy of YouTube.

Before I built up My First Volkswagen Beetle , I was told about this Old Jaguar lying in someone's yard in Discovery , not far from Sage Street.

Went to have a look, this Gentleman had got the Car into pretty Good shape and had some Financial difficulties?, I think ( as I recall), I gave him about R150.00 for it .

The body was made up of Steel Panels, leaded together , it weighed over 2 tons!

19 inch Knock on spoke wheels , 15" brake drums, Mechanical Brakes, ( you had to be pretty strong to push the brakes) . Definitely not a Ladies car.

The Car was about 21 feet long, you could put your back against the radiator grille, sit, and place your feet on the bumper!

Mine was Black and White

The front Window could be wound forward with a Handle, The Sun Roof opened,likewise , The original tool kit was still in a shaped velvet lined box in the Boot , which could be folded open ( hinged at the bottom) and 2 people could sit in the boot in the open air as well!

The Car was very heavy on Fuel and had sufficient torque to easily pull away in 3rd Gear!

The Steering Wheel was Huge and heavy to turn, to me , it was better looking than the Rolls Royce's of the same vintage!

The Rev Counter and Speedometer, were, big and mounted in the centre of the Dash, and strangely rotated in opposite directions!

These Models were made by Sir William Lyons Company ,Swallow Sidecars , identical from 1938 to 1948 .

Before the 2nd World War they were called SS 3.5 Saloons, after the War the name changed to Jaguar .

I believe Sir William was quoted when asked on this, " The SS are a section of the community , not held in very High Regard!"

Although 19" tyres and wheels are fairly common nowadays , at that time( when I owned it) , the only vehicle that used this size was the horse drawn Rubbish collection vehicle's used in our area!

Being a total show off and extrovert , at that time?, I would often get a mate to drive me to a Gig , wearing a Chauffeurs Cap , open the Back Door for me, and carry my Bass Guitar for me into the venue!

A funny happening with this car, one night , coming home from a Gig( about 2am) , the left front wheel came off, bounced through the Huge Window of our neighbours lounge!

As I was rolling the wheel out of his lounge, his hand came through the Bedroom window with a gun in it!

"Don't worry , it's just me, Alan from across the road, I will pay for the damage!"

On top of the Large Window , it hit a large , wrought -iron , pot plant holder. modifying the shape somewhat!

Even funnier when he had dropped the Pot Plant Holder there the next day, my Uncle George was there , I ask what shape this used to be ?, George says, " A Swan".

I nearly collapsed , no way I could see that happening?, anyway , then the truth came out, It is supposed to be the shape of a wheelbarrow with an umbrella on it. Now that, I could see, re-welded it and spray painted it!

The owner did say it actually looked better than it had before!

When the Previous owner had done up the brakes on the car , he had reversed the Brake drums, with the knock on System used for the wire wheels, they would eventually vibrate the centre nut off, hence the rolling down the road on the Brakedrum!

In my next post on Jaguars, I will let you know what became of this Magnificent Beast!