9 replies to this topic

[RacingCompagniet]

Anyone knowing of any threads, etc where I can get more information about the Grant Williams ex-Coombs Jaguar Mk 1 'BUY1'?

[Sharman]

I spent a considerable length of time in the 80s trying to trace the MK 1 And Mk 2 Jgags, the Works cars, the Coombs Cars, Equipe Endeavour etc and never came within a mile of any of them. The only car which did crop up under somewhat peculiar circumstances was a Mk 1 reputed to have been the ex Hawthorn car. That was sold by Gerry Marshall to Pete Hall in about 1985 or whenever Gerry got divorced. I suspect that this was because when their racing career was over they were converted back to 2.4s and put on the forecourt as "1 careful lady owner" or "only raced at weekends"

[David McKinney]

My question was going to be, do you mean the Grant Williams Jaguar 'BUY1' or the Coombs Jaguar 'BUY1'?

[RacingCompagniet]

Originally posted by David McKinney
My question was going to be, do you mean the Grant Williams Jaguar 'BUY1' or the Coombs Jaguar 'BUY1'?

Sorry for not being clear: I did mean the Williams car, not the original Coombs one. Actually, I was not aware that they only had the registration number in common (which is what your question implies).

[David Birchall]

Just as an aside to this question; when I was a lad and working in a service station down the road from Coombs we would occasionally get BUY 1 and BUY 12 in for fueling. I was told by my boss, who seemed to be well connected, that the real meaning of 'BUY 12' was 'Buy one too'.
Just thought you might like to hear that....

[Paul Parker]

I spoke to Gerry Marshall some years ago about a Mk2 that was claimed to be the ex-John Sparrow car (if memory seves me correctly), but according to another source this car had been destroyed long since.

The problem with the Mk1 and Mk2 Jaguars was firstly they quickly became obsolete post 1962 in saloon car racing terms and secondly like all period Jaguars they turned to ferrous oxide at the first hint of rain. Some of course raced on but the majority disappeared within a few years.

Without checking there must have been two or three Endeavour cars (Parkes, Sears, G. Baillie?) and I think two Coombs Mk2s (Hill and Salvadori), certainly when I attended Goodwood, Brands etc., in 1961/2 and there were always 4 or 5 cars contesting the lead.

I suspect that most of these cars were either written off or rusted away. Perhaps one could start with checking the registration numbers to see if any are still in use or John Coombs and Tommy Sopwith might know of their fate in period.

On a slightly different tack BUY 1 was also used on the original Coombs E type in 1961 for those not aware of ancient history. Meanwhile I would like to know what happened to these Mk1 and Mk2 racers but am too committed just now to pursue it. I'm sure that someone much better informed on this forum will have the answers.

[Flaminiasupersport]

Originally posted by Sharman
I spent a considerable length of time in the 80s trying to trace the MK 1 And Mk 2 Jgags, the Works cars, the Coombs Cars, Equipe Endeavour etc and never came within a mile of any of them. The only car which did crop up under somewhat peculiar circumstances was a Mk 1 reputed to have been the ex Hawthorn car. That was sold by Gerry Marshall to Pete Hall in about 1985 or whenever Gerry got divorced. I suspect that this was because when their racing career was over they were converted back to 2.4s and put on the forecourt as "1 careful lady owner" or "only raced at weekends"

Ex-Hawthorn car??? I tought this car was cut into pieces and scrapped. The engine was sold to Peter Lindner in Germany (poor Mike... his engine in Germany... don't think he would have loved the idea!)

[Sharman]

The road car in which he had the accident was not the works race car

[D-Type]

But he raced his own car at the 1958 Daily Express Trophy and on other occasions

[Sharman]

You are quite right of course about VDU 881, but it was never Mike's property and was always owned by Jaguar. I'm not 100% certain but I think that car was only ever raced the once at the Daily Express Silverstone meeting. I guess that the 3.4 which Gerry had would have been the 1956/1957 car or even an upgraded 2.4 which Mike raced in 1956. i just don't know, which is about where I came in in 1984. There is still little evidence of which cars were which. registration numbers basically have bugger all to do with it. Mike Salmon said that when a car was getting a bit tired they would take another 2.4 [much cheaper] strip it out, do the necessary mods, (I don't think seam welding was de rigeur at that time) and slap the required plate on it. The old one was returned to stock