1957
Build date: 4th February 1957 (on the 12th February half of the Browns Lane factory was destroyed by fire including a number of Mk8’s and several D Types due to be converted to XKSS)
Supplied by: Henlys London.
Registered: WPX 475 in West Sussex
Colour scheme: Cornish Grey over Mist Grey. Grey interior
Transmission: Automatic
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| It looked just like this one |
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| Escaped this by 8 days! |
1976
I don’t know who the original owner was but in 1976 it was in the hands of George Lawrence.
He was a proper old-school motor engineer who owned the Station Garage in Liphook and raced saloon cars competing in an Austin A35 and a Mini Cooper in the 50s and 60s. He built an MG Magnette for the Classic Saloon Car Championship which began in 1975 but his driver wrote it off so in 1976 he converted WPX from a road car to a racer.
His modifications included:
Engine: balanced all the rotating parts, 2 inch SUs, lightweight flywheel, Iskendarian half race cams, gas flowed head, 9:1 compression.
Suspension: KONI adjustable shock absorbers all round.
Brakes: Front and rear swapped for Mark IX discs. Inadequate so the fronts were then changed for a set of front uprights from a 420 including vented discs and calipers, cutting the wishbones to remove the MK8 uprights and welding the 420 wishbones on after experimenting with the best position to avoid bump steer then having them heat treated. The rears were then updated to XJS calipers. Rear brake cooling scoops and ducting added along with a device that linked a screen wash pump to the brake lights so that it squirted water into the ducts on braking to cool the brakes.
Gearbox: replaced the original automatic gearbox with a manual close ratio 4 speed with overdrive
Wheels: the rims of the standard 16” wheels were cut off and replaced with widened 15” rims by cutting off the original rim on a laithe and welding on new rims. This was fine on the Mark 9 brakes but when the fronts were changed to those from a 420 the wheels didn’t fit the stud spacing (PCD) so series 2 XJ6 wheels were fitted along with thin spacers to clear the calipers.
Other bits: handbrake moved to the floor, brake limiter valve fitted inline to rear brakes and full roll cage. The racing bucket seats came from a powerboat. Leaper removed and replaced with a JDC badge!
Dennis Carter drove it for George but also raced his own M G Magnette so the Jaguar didn't always race.
1979 Thruxton
First set of results I’ve seen are from March 1979 at Thruxton (provided by Simon Lewis XJS racer in the Hawthorn Challenge) show WPX coming in 6th driven by Dennis Carter. Simon also provided the pics of the race below.
1979 Silverstone
This is from an extremely wet JDC event at Silverstone in 1979, it was the Pre 57 Saloon Car Race, won by Bill Postins in a Zephyr, Bill Pinckney 2nd in his Jag 2.4, 3rd Graig Hinton in his Jag Mk7 then Dennis Carter in WPX.
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1980.Silverstone
Pre 1957 saloon car race. JDC Silverstone again, Dennis Carter driving and he won! This is the programme from the event. Photos and programme supplied by Andrew Davenall currently racing an Austin A105/6 in HRDC and HSCC events.
1981 Castle Combe
Race results from Castle Combe July 1981
1981 Silverstone
JDC Silverstone 4th April 1981 Good day for Dennis Carter. First in class, fastest lap in class, 4th overall.
Results page provided by Simon Lewis.
1984 Thruxton
28th May 1984 Thruxton - Results (3rd place)
14th October 1984 - Brands Hatch, Dennis Carter 4th in practice
Silverstone again, this time in the Pre 1965 Saloon Car Championsip being chased by Dick Bradley in his Jaguar MKV11 (another Andrew Davenall photo)
1985
Made the cover of the Classic Saloon Car Club newsletter! Dennis Carter driving chasing Dick Bradley in his MKV11.
Race Programmes from a life in racing
Off Duty
1985 Jaguar Drivers Club Beaulieu Spring Meeting
The Jaguar next door with the registration CLA 551C belonged to Peter Defee, one of the founder members of the Classic Saloon Car Club.
1989 Brands Hatch
In 1989 George Lawrence sold it to Chris Logue an experienced racer of a Wolseley 15/50. Chris did 8 races in 1989 and 1990 and then sold it (continuing to race in an Austin A50)
Below video and picture is Chris’s first race in the car, spinning on oil at Brands Hatch. The oil warning lamp coming on after three laps was the sign that the oil was his own due to a leaky seal on the filter housing. George Lawrence who happened to be watching was mortified!
In his second race, at Silverstone, a shuddering and waggling motion from the rear meant stopping to check and discovering one of the rear wheels where the new rim had been welded on the weld penetration was poor and the rims on both rear wheels were coming off!
1989 Lydden Hill |
Chris at Lydden Hill below. The Minor was built by and driven by Bill Stone. |
The second pic shows Bill lunging down the outside as they entered the last corner on the last lap. Chris was leading the race.
He got past then spun off, ricocheted off the tyre wall and back across Chris’s bows who then T-boned him across the line so Bill won the race going sideways with Chris second.
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| Lydden Hill is where the dent on the nearside rear wing came from - as Chris recalled “it was caused by an A35 which tried to overtake me at The Devil's Elbow and got it wrong. He hit the rear wing, bounced off and rolled over and over down the infield doing lots of damage. The Mk8 merely got a little dent. The driver gave me some verbal in the paddock afterwards. I asked him how a ton and three quarters of car which was already committed to its line through the corner was supposed to change tack to accomodate his stupid manouvre. Of course he had no answer to that, however the next time he appeared he was driving a huge Camaro in the Pre'74 series!” |
Through the Esses at Mallory Park, Richard Ward in the Alfa.
1990 Cadwell Park.
Chris Logue is leading the race at this point from Richard Ward in the Alfa, he finished second overall to Richard after leaving a gap at Hall Bend allowed him through.
These are also from Cadwell Park, Gooseneck to Mansfield corner, WPX just coming into view following Reg Palmer in his Zephyr. Not sure if it’s the same race.
Whilst racing at Donington, one of the half shafts snapped so a wheel came off resulting in a spin onto the outside. After the race the car was towed using the dolly back to the paddock where the AA was called to take Chris home. Chris asked them not to send a man in a small van but 1 1/2hrs later that’s what turned up. He sent for a truck but the truck was too small so they sent for a trailer. Eventually back home in Surrey, the broken half shaft was drilled, tapped and extracted and the new one fitted.
Pre ‘63 race at Brands Hatch
Just before selling the car in 1980 Chris had a thicker front anti roll bar (1 3/32”) made up to reduce roll and the consequent rear inside wheel spin in corners, in theory that may have led to understeer but he sold it before getting a chance to find out.
1990
Bought by Tony Lake as a temporary replacement for his Mk1 2.4 which had an engine blow up.
Tony tried to race the Jaguar only once but the bellhousing cracked after half a lap of practice so he fitted a replacement gearbox and bellhousing and used the car occasionally to go to spectate at race meetings and at a Silverstone Classic weekend drove it in a Jaguar display on the grand prix circuit.
Reg Palmer recalled the crank pulley coming off in practice at Pembrey, cutting through the bottom hose. Terry, who worked on Tony’s other cars cut a piece of exhaust tailpipe off to fix the hose. Did the job but Tony wouldn't race it.
This is that repair still on the car 31 years later!
1991 Oulton Park
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Bill Stone at Oulton Park in 1991  In 1991 Tony then loaned it to Bill Stone for a race at Oulton Park, here he is closely followed by Peter St Barbe in 189 DBH. In the morning the crank pulley worked loose (again!) cutting through the brake pipe. Bill had to put it sideways just before Old Hall as he had no brakes. Thankfully Peter missed him! He finished the race which was won by Trevor Schumack in Bills’ Minor, a car Tony later bought and raced. Tony won the 2001 Classic Saloon and Historic Touring Car Championships in that Minor and it is now owned by Adam Gittings. |
Bill Stone sadly died in his home in New Zealand in 2012. There was a Memorial Service in the Silverstone BRDC suite. Bill was a talented driver, race engineer, builder of the first March racing car & Adrian Reynard took over his business to form Reynard cars. The obituary of this amazing man was published in Autosport and is well worth a read.
Found a photo of WPX in Nigel Thorleys book!
2019
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| As bought by me in May 2019. Needing some attention. |
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