| RESTORATION\ There was absolutely no intention to purchase a rare V12 engined series 1 XJ model Vanden Plas, and I barely knew of the model since none were sold new in Australia. After restoring a 3.8 litre S-Type a number of years ago and becoming actively involved in the Queensland Jaguar Club via one of its Country Registers (Rockhampton), the bug hit me again, and I was on the lookout for another project to dirty my hands on! A V12 engined saloon had long been a dream I harboured, and it seemed that either a later HE sedan or a very early Series 1 would be desirable. A few cars came up over the next year, but one disadvantage of living in Australia six hundred kilometres from the capital city is that by the time you get a chance to look at a worthwhile car it is invariably sold! I missed out on a few likely vehicles through that problem, and still have not forgiven the owners… However, a likely V12 saloon was eventually located ‘only’ a few hundred kilometres up the coast, and although not sounding in an overly good and long-loved condition, it was a likely candidate for restoration despite not being a Jaguar- but a very tantalising ultra-luxurious, and rare Series 1 Daimler Vanden Plas |
| Photo Above Breathtaking Stuff The task size is as obvious as the complexity behind the dash.Photo Breathtaking stuff. The task size is as obvious as the complexity behind the dash. From The Australia Jaguar Magazine, Edition no 70, By Gladstone V.C.C.C & Queensland Jaguar Drivers Club Member, Max Parnell |
| Photo Left showing Body Rust In this instance, the rear parcel shelf |
Van den Plas (the man) began coachbuilding in Belgium in 1853 and produced carriages with that ‘little bit extra’. Vanden Plas (the company) as we know it was established in England as a specialist motor body builder. Although no longer related, Van den Plas and Vanden Plas retained very close links with Jaguar after 1945. Vanden Plas (the British one) continued to build specialised bodies. When the Belgian Government imposed heavy taxes on imported cars in 1946, the national distributor there, Joska Bourgeois (and her Australian partner Nick Haynes), set up a business arrangement with William Lyons for Van den Plas to assemble 3.5 Litre (MkIV) Saloons in that country. That was the first time Jaguars were assembled outside Coventry, and a successful working arrangement continued for two until the taxes were lifted. In 1970 Jaguars were again assembled in Belgium – but now under British Leyland and with no relationship to Van den Plas!
When in 1972, the V12-powered Daimler was produced on the XJ body, and Lofty England was the chairman of Jaguar cars, he revived the charismatic 1930s V12 Daimler model name ‘double six’, with which he had been associated as a Daimler apprentice. It presented an ideal opportunity to work again with Vanden Plas in Kingsbury, London on an exceptionally high-quality carriage.
The Vanden Plas XJs were also the very first of the range to be sold with the long wheelbase body, but the extra 4″ into the rear passenger compartment proved to be such a success that it was soon announced as an optional extra on the series 1 XJ12, and in several years would be standard on all XJs with the exception of the two-door XJ-C
Vanden Plas is now owned by Jaguar and operated out of its Browns Lane headquarters, where Vanden Plas craftsmen built the famed Daimler DS420 limousine.
However, back in the early 1970s, Vanden Plas was still independent and mainly employed fitting out the Austin Princess. In order to produce the finished series 1, Daimler Vanden Plas, a standard V12 (but with a long wheelbase body) was sent down the production line only to emerge prematurely with one basic coat of paint and no interior.
The photo below – The sheer size of the Motor and the gearbox is well illustrated.
Photo above left – With the characteristic ‘beaver tail’ removed, the extent of the rust necessitated the removal of rear guards and tanks.
The incomplete car was transported by truck to London, where Vanden Plas craftsmen would flatten the single coat of paint before applying a further three from its unique colour range.
Brisbane co-owner of Heritage Trimmers Michael Elms was a select upholsterer with a Vanden Plas apprenticeship then and recalled trimming these and other Daimlers for Jaguar cars. According to Michael, Vanden Plas was assigned myriad specially ordered vehicles, including DS420 limousines with individual fittings for business or royalty, plus the off Vanden Plas V12 XJ-C and, of course, these four-door series 1 saloon.
The Queen Mother, whilst visiting Vanden Plas in 1972 when her latest DS-420 limousine was being prepared, inquired about the origins of a nearby car. It was as you might have guessed a Series 1 Vanden Plas, and a version was duly supplied for her use.
The Series 1 Vanden Plas (it has no Jaguar or Daimler badge) has many features not included on a Jaguar until the Series 3 sovereign nearly ten years later, and the very low build of only 337 in RHD and a mere 5 LHD examples, means it remains highly prized. With the vast majority of series 1 Vanden Plas having been sold and driven in the UK, the rust general wear and tear makes it not difficult to imagine how few examples survive! Perhaps half a dozen may be in Australia, all personal imports, and even that few may be a worthwhile percentage of all surviving examples.
We estimate that perhaps as few as 50 of these beauties exist.
The particular vehicle which I saw being advertised in the distance (from Coventry at least!) Queensland tropics was #243 and proclaimed by the owner as needing only a re-spray, and supposedly, the engine had recently been rebuilt (why are so many Jaguars advertised like this?).
However, the coating of oil underneath and the rust in the A-pillar and boot indicated a complete rebuild was the way to go despite the car’s driving remarkably well. I believe this, and its rarity and heritage made it worth saving.
I said I wanted a challenge, so the first task was to strip the body and see what effort would be needed to repair the shell. As always, the further the task progressed, the worse the news.
The little bit of rust in the pillars was nothing! The rear window had been leaking for a long time, and water had entered the rear parcel shelf, run down the back of the seat, into the rear wheel arch and along the sill. The beaver panel had been ‘bogged’ and riveted to what was left of the spare wheel well,
But the most serious rust was in the car’s rear, with those panels surrounding the fuel tanks requiring complete replacement.
I next removed the front passenger guard, which proved to be extraordinarily heavy – another XJ made of good British steel? No way, masses of bronze welding had been used to repair minor accident damage, and it felt like an anchor! At this point, it became important to evaluate whether to go ahead and repair the original body or purchase a wreck and transfer the components… After all, nobody would know – but I would – this car was worth the effort, and besides, I’ve seen worse examples that owners had proudly restored and featured in English magazines.
So the original body was duly delivered to a local panel works which I have faith in; I have worked on Jaguars beforehand and specialise in unusual makes – The Jaguar was parked next to a Cadillac at one stage and looked positively small in comparison! Replacement body panels were used where available, and old-fashioned skills revived to beat a flat piece of steel into shape for the half of that “heavy guard”. This may make it all sound simple, but in summary, after many hours of painstaking and often frustrating effort, the body was ready for stripping to totally bare metal for the re-spray.
The suspension was quickly found to be in a poor and definitely unsafe condition. One front ball- joint was worn to a flat surface, the rubber mounts holding the front suspension to the body had completely detached, the steering rack leaked very badly (an exchange unit was fitted), but I couldn’t believe how well the car had driven in this state. Just how good was it going to be when new bushes and other new components were fitted?
Attention was next given to the engine, which was leaking oil (of course) and had one cylinder showing very low compression. While out of the car the huge engine received new gaskets, seals on both ends of the crankshaft, a few new valves, a replacement piston and ancillary units such as the starter motor and alternator also received attention. The gearbox had recently been reconditioned and so was not touched. The diff pinion seal was replaced along with a stainless steel sleeve, and the rear brake callipers were split to have new pistons fitted.
Back on the trailer for the short trip from the panel shop to the spray booth, a decision was needed as to the colour.
In my mind, Jaguar V12 look ‘Purrfect’ in British Racing Green. Still, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate obtained from Ann Harris at browns lane showed the original colour to have been ‘Morello’….
So what does Morello look like?
Nobody knew, but a formula was found in an older book, so the paint shop mixed up enough to spray a display panel. Mmmm, sort of like a good red wine, or as other unkindly remarked – a squashed mulberry! With Morello exterior and a new chamois interior to replace the old split seats and water-damaged door trims it should look OK – so on with the two-pack paint. A new vinyl roof and a careful restoration of the inlaid dash and door panels (unique to Sanden Pals at the time) saw the body ready to accept the engine again.
The great feat Jaguar achieved with its X)12 was not in building the all-alloy V12 engine complete with four Stromberg carburettors – but actually getting it into the engine bay, and I thought an S-Type engine bay was full!. The workshop manual gives some indication of the associated problems of working on the engine when it is in there, eg. ‘Section 1.9 To Replace Oil pump, see section 1.2 (which starts ‘remove engine from the car’)’ – ‘Section 10.8 To Change Rear Tail Light Bulb – see Section 1.2’ … Only kidding, but it seems that way!
Well, the finished car is a delight to drive, very smooth, very quiet, handles beautifully, easily outbreaks the local ‘sixes’ (the Vanden Plas has ventilated front discs) and plenty of power to cruise at highly illegal speeds.
A nuisance on country roads are so-called four-wheel drives which have never seen a dirt road and dawdle along the highway until a large and long entourage of vehicles is captured behind. This used to be frustrating, but in the Vanden Pla
Next, I removed the front passenger guard, which proved extraordinarily heavy – another XJ made of good British steel. No way, masses of bronze welding had been used to repair minor accident damage, and it felt like an anchor! At this point, it became important to evaluate whether to go ahead and repair the original body or purchase a wreck and transfer the components… After all, nobody would know – but I would – this car was worth the effort, and besides, I’ve seen worse examples that owners had proudly restored and featured in English magazines.
So the original body was duly delivered to a local panel works, which I have faith in; I have worked on Jaguars beforehand and specialise in unusual makes – The Jaguar was parked next to a Cadillac at one stage and looked positively small in comparison! Replacement body panels were used where available, and old-fashioned skills revived to beat a flat piece of steel into shape for the half of that “heavy guard”. This may make it all sound simple, but in summary, after many hours of painstaking and often frustrating effort, the body was ready for stripping to totally bare metal for the re-spray.
The suspension was quickly found to be in a poor and definitely unsafe condition. One front ball- joint was worn to a flat surface, the rubber mounts holding the front suspension to the body had completely detached, the steering rack leaked very badly (an exchange unit was fitted), but I couldn’t believe how well the car had driven in this state. Just how good was it going to be when new bushes and other new components were fitted?
Attention was next given to the engine, which was leaking oil (of course) and had one cylinder showing very low compression. While out of the car the huge engine received new gaskets, seals on both ends of the crankshaft, a few new valves, a replacement piston and ancillary units such as the starter motor and alternator also received attention. The gearbox had recently been reconditioned and so was not touched. The diff pinion seal was replaced along with a stainless steel sleeve, and the rear brake callipers were split to have new pistons fitted.
Back on the trailer for the short trip from the panel shop to the spray booth, a decision was needed regarding the colour.
In my mind, Jaguar V12 look ‘Purrfect’ in British Racing Green. Still, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate obtained from Ann Harris at browns lane showed the original colour to have been ‘Morello’….
So what does Morello look like?
Nobody knew, but a formula was found in an older book so the paint shop mixed up enough to spray a display panel. Mmmm, sort of like a good red wine, or as others unkindly remarked – a squashed mulberry! With Morello exterior and a new chamois interior to replace the old split seats and water-damaged door trims it should look OK – so on with the two-pack paint. A new vinyl roof and a careful restoration of the inlaid dash and door panels (unique to Sanden Pals at the time) saw the body ready to accept the engine again.
The great feat Jaguar achieved with its X)12 was not in building the all-alloy V12 engine complete with four Stromberg carburettors – but actually getting it into the engine bay, and I thought an S-Type engine bay was full!. The workshop manual gives some indication of the associated problems of working on the engine when it is in there eg. ‘Section 1.9 To Replace Oil pump, see section 1.2 (which starts ‘remove engine from the car’)’ – ‘Section 10.8 To Change Rear Tail Light Bulb – see Section 1.2’ … Only kidding, but it seems that way!
Well, the finished car is a delight to drive, very smooth, very quiet, handles beautifully, easily outbreaks the local ‘sixes’ (the Vanden Plas has ventilated front discs) and has plenty of power to cruise at highly illegal speeds.
A nuisance on country roads are so-called four-wheel drives which have never seen a dirt road and dawdle along the highway until a large and long entourage of vehicles is captured behind. This used to be frustrating, but in the Vanden Plas, a simple touch on the accelerator gives the occupants a big push in the back. The slower vehicle is relegated to a dot in the rear-view mirror before the V12 settles back to a legal speed limit.
Was it worth spending the sort of money that would have bought a reasonable late model from the ‘big two’? Every time I fill up at the service station, I say NO, but a few minutes down the highway, the answer is definitely YES. Functional plastic versus engineering and traditional craftsmanship is no contest!
s a simple touch on the accelerator gives the occupants a big push in the back, and the slower vehicle is relegated to a dot in the rear-view mirror before the V12 settles back to a legal speed limit.
Was it worth spending the sort of money that would have bought a reasonable late model from the ‘big two’? Every time I fill up at the service station, I say NO, but a few minutes down the highway, the answer is definitely YES. Functional plastic versus engineering and traditional craftsmanship is no contest!
Queensland Jaguar Drivers Club Capricornia Branch