2011_08_Racing_Jagua..

photo by Art Evans
I scored a second-in-class trophy at the last Paramount Ranch on
December 8, 1957.
Racing Jaguars
Back When...
-story by Art Evans
During the Golden Age, my favorite cars were
XK120 Jaguars. A 1952 model was my first
Sports Car and eventually I ended up with two
1954s. During the fifties, I not only raced all
three but they were, for the most part, my daily
drivers. Consequently an important aspect for
me was that they were dead reliable. The only
mechanical problem I ever experienced was a
broken fan belt!
When I first became involved with vintage
racing during the eighties, both as a driver and
an official, I noticed quite a few XK120 entries.
But as time has gone by, I see fewer and fewer,
perhaps because they have increased in collector
value.
The XK120 Roadster was introduced at the
London Motor Show in the fall of 1948. A year
later, cars began to appear on American roads
and tracks. They came in three configurations:
roadster, convertible and coupe. The Fixed Head
Coupe was launched in 1951 and the Drop Head
Coupe in 1953. All three were raced, but most
entrants preferred the somewhat lighter roadster
version.
photo by Phil Hill Collection
Phil Hill’s first big win was at the
first Pebble Beach on November
4, 1950 in his XK120 Jaguar.
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• Victory Lane
The first roadsters came with aluminum, rather
than the later steel bodies. One of the earliest
aluminum XK120s in the U.S. was owned and
campaigned by Phil Hill. He won the main event
photo by OCee Ritch
Palm Springs was one of my
favorite venues. I raced all three
of my Jaguars there during 1956
through 1958.
at Pebble Beach in his 120 on November 5, 1950,
his first major victory.
The XK120 model was offered for sale until
1954, when it was replaced by the XK140 and
then, in 1957, the XK150. The 140 is similar in
appearance, but with a revised grill. The 150
retained the basic body shape smoothed out,
with wind-up windows and improved creature
amenities.
The 120 Roadster had a top even though
it was not apparent when not in use. The top
hid behind the seats and took some degree of
patience to erect. There were no door windows.
Side curtains, which also stowed behind the
seats, provided a modicum of protection from
the elements. The tops and side curtains from
my 120s resided permanently in my garage. The
windscreen was designed in such a way that I
remained relatively dry when it rained so long
as the car was in motion.
The engine was an in-line 6-cylinder having
a 3.4-liter displacement with chain-driven dual
overhead camshafts. It was fitted with twin two-
inch SU carburetors and had a 7:1 compression
ratio. Output was rated at 160 bhp at 5000 rpm
although I sometimes took the engine to 6000
with nary a problem.
Power was transmitted through a 10-inch Borg
& Beck clutch to a four-speed transmission with
synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd and 4th. It was virtually
bulletproof and popular among specials builders.
At the rear was a live axle. The brake shoes
were rather narrow Lockheed-Girling 12-inch
drums. Under continual hard use, as in racing,
they would sometimes fade. I solved some of the
problem by fitting Ferodo linings.
The car had a wheelbase of 102 inches. The
frame was a rather heavy conventional steel
box-section. With fluids and driver, the roadster
weighed in at about 3,000 pounds. Convertibles
and coupes were somewhat heavier.
A designation used only in the U.S. was "M"
for modified. The official Jaguar name was
“SE,” for Special Equipment. This version had
increased power due to a higher compression
ratio of 8:1. When the company made it
available, some owners replaced their engines
with the more powerful C-Type version.
Disc brakes were a welcome feature of the
XK150 and the displacement was increased to
3.8 liters yielding 250 bhp. The additional weight
of creature comforts such as roll-up windows and
a more decent top offset the advantages of higher
horsepower and increased stopping ability.
While I was a Cadet at West Point, my cousin,
a fashion model at the time, was dating the son
of Hattie Gimble (of Saks and Gimbles). The
couple was invited to a fancy New Year's Eve
party and took me along. Later in the evening,
everyone decided to go to the 21 Club. I ended
up riding with a fellow who had an XK120, my
first experience in a Sports Car. I thought this is
what I want when I get out.
Back in civilian life, my uncle Phil invited
me to go with him to a Sports Car race at Palm
Springs. He had just acquired an Austin Healey.
The only race I had been to previously involved
horses, so I agreed. On the long stretch between
Banning and Palm Springs, Uncle Phil told me he
wanted to see just what the Healey could do, so
he put the pedal to the metal. We went faster and
faster and I thought, Wow! But then an XK120
passed us like we were standing still.
Soon afterward, I noticed a used 1952 XK120
at a dealership in the San Fernando Valley owned
by cowboy star Roy Rogers and his partner,
photo by David Evans
Me (center) with friends in 2008:
John Fitch and Stirling Moss.
7/20/11 9:42:02 PM
Frank Millard. Frank took me for a demo ride.
Stopped at a signal, we both noticed a comely
lass waiting for a bus. Frank told me that if I
had the Jag, girls like this one would jump right
into my car. Now I knew I had to have that very
photo by Will Edgar
I met Richie Ginther at the 1955
Singer Owners Club Hill Climb.
He won a class trophy there, only
the first of many more to come.
one! After I bought it, there was never a comely
lass who jumped in with me. That was my only
disappointment, however. That night, I drove and
drove and drove; I loved that car.
In those days, my dad lived on a ranch
northeast of Los Angeles. One night we were
invited to a party some distance away. My dad
had gotten me a date with the daughter of a
friend, so this attractive gal and I set off over hill
and dale in my Jag sans top, Gardner-Reynolds
racing recapped tires humming.
After the party, we headed back towards the
town where my date lived with her parents.
Thinking to have some fun and impress the girl,
I got a little heavy on the loud pedal. Much to
our surprise, when we got to the little town, there
was a roadblock. We were stopped and asked to
wait. Eventually, a California Highway Patrol
car came chugging up. The officer got out, asked
Here I am sitting in good ‘ol #93.
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for my license and started to write me a ticket.
(My license had just been returned to me after
three months on my bicycle due to a previous
problem.) Meanwhile, I asked the officer what
I had done. He replied that he had been chasing
me, but was unable to catch up and pull me over.
He told me that while he was following me, he
could see my taillights. But as time went by, the
two lights became closer and closer together
until they were one and then finally vanished.
He wrote me up for 90 mph, which was, he said,
as fast as his patrol car would go.
A few weeks later, I was in a courtroom
accompanied by my dad, standing before the
judge. Surprise! He was my date’s father! When
my case was called, the judge adjourned to his
chambers with my dad and me in tow. Boy,
did I get a bawling out? Putting his daughter in
jeopardy! In consideration for his friendship with
my father (who happened to be the mayor), he
levied a $50 fine rather than putting me in the
slammer. That was a lot of money then; more
than I had on me. So rather than seeing me go
to jail, my dad floated an on-the-spot loan. I
never could get another date with that girl; I
think maybe her father told her to stay away
from me.
I used the ’52 Roadster as a daily driver until I
heard about something called a “hill climb” put
on by the Singer Owners Club on February 6,
1955. It wasn’t far away, so I went to see what
was going on. It looked like fun, so I entered.
Lined up waiting my turn, I was behind a
fellow in an Austin Healey. We started to chat
and introduced ourselves. His name was Richie
Ginther. He ended up winning his class, the start
of many more to come.
I wore that car out and the two other 120s after
it. The XK120 was a true dual-purpose Sports
Car. If you had enough tread on the tires, you
could drive it to a race, paint on numbers and
go directly to the grid. Not only that, in those
days a used XK120 could be had for a rather
modest sum. Except for tires and shocks, they
didn't require much investment beyond the
purchase price. Being a mechanical dunce, I
wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway.
My race preparation consisted of removing the
windshield, muffler and bumpers, changing the
oil and getting a dyno tune up at Ak Miller's shop
in Whittier.
One time when I had
entered a race, I was fooling
around in my pit when a
rather pretty girl strolled by.
I engaged her in conversation
and, by the by, asked her
for a date. She agreed and
gave me a slip of paper with
her telephone number and
address on it. When the day
came, it turned out she lived
some distance away. I set
out in my Jaguar, sans top
as usual. When I came to a
stretch of open road, I put my
foot down. All of a sudden,
the slip of paper flew out of
photo by OCee Ritch
Here I am ready to go out on
a date in my new-for-me 1952
XK120.
my shirt pocket. I stopped and looked around, but
alas, no paper. So I had to stand her up.
Some years later when I was in the movie
business, I advertised a camera for sale. Lo and
behold, this same girl showed up. She didn’t
recognize me; I didn’t enlighten her and she
didn’t buy the camera anyway.
Even while racing the car was relatively
easy to handle and very predictable. My only
complaint was, at six feet tall, the cockpit was
a little cramped for me and the steering wheel
was closer to my chest than I would have liked.
Without power steering, racing took a bit of
physical work. All in all, I enjoyed driving the
XK120s, on tracks as well as streets.
Due to my involvement with Bill Devin,
I acquired the prototype of the Devin SS. It
was built in Northern Ireland by Malcolm
photo by Art Evans
My first competitive event was
at the 1955 Singer Owners Club
Hill Climb in Agoura, just north of
Los Angeles.
MacGregor, who had fitted it with a Jaguar
engine and transmission. It came off the boat
as a roller, so we removed the Jag engine and
trans from my 1954 XK120 and installed it in
the prototype. (Our production cars had Corvette
drive trains.) I raced it during 1959 to middling
success without ever a problem with the engine
or transmission.
When the October 1959 Times Grand Prix at
Riverside came along, we entered the prototype to
get publicity for the SS. I knew this was way over
my head, so I got my friend, Andy Porterfield,
to drive. At the time, Andy was working for a
Chevrolet dealer, so we replaced my Jag engine
with a Corvette supplied by his employer. After
all these years, Andy and I have remained close
friends. These days, he is a leading supplier of
pads, shoes and brake parts. His advertisement
can be found on these pages.
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