First registered on September 20, 1960, this Mark II 3.8 Litre Saloon was delivered to its first owner, Ruffler & Walker Ltd – a successful manufacturer of coin machines located on St. Johns Hill, Battersea. Specified with manual transmission and overdrive, the Mark II was finished in Carmen Red and fitted with wire wheels.
On January 5, 1966, the Jaguar was bought by Mr. Arthur Pullinger of Chessington. Pullinger desired to own the 'quickest saloon car available' and enlisted the help of renowned Jaguar modifiers, Coombs & Sons (Guildford) Limited, to aid performance. The original invoices from Coombs in the history file confirm the following modifications were made:
January 27, 1967 – 'To modify rear wheel arches at list price' – £35 – 0 – 0
March 13, 1967 – 'To supplying and fitting high rate front springs', 'To supplying and fitting modified anti-roll bar', 'To supplying and fitting Koni shock-absorbers all round', 'To supplying and fitting rear axle tie bars', 'To supplying and fitting high ratio steering box', 'To supplying and fitting boot luggage grid', 'To fitting new top and bottom ball joints, fitting new steering idler, tuning carburetors, and road testing car' – £133 – 17 – 6
June 24, 1967 – 'To carry out basic conversion and fitting 2” carburetors. Fitting modified exhaust system as per Coombs modification list. Attending to hand-brake, fitting new track rod ends, adjusting shock absorbers, fitting new cam-shaft bearings, fitting new distributor, fitting new top and bottom timing chains and tensioner assembly, and new hoses where required, road testing car' – £310 – 4 – 8
May 22, 1967 – 'To making up and fitting Coombs modified exhaust' – £30 – 0 – 0
June 13, 1967 – 'To carrying out first service on modified engine, freeing off handbrake cable, rectifying oil leaks from rear of cylinder block and camshaft cover, and road testing car' – £4 – 17 – 6
In August of '69, Pullinger bought and fitted a 'Kenlowe Thermomatic engine cooling fan, dash indicator, and manual control' but within a year had sold the Jaguar to Mr. Leslie Bates of High Wycombe who was seeking the 'best Jaguar Mark II in the country'.
Bates, who owned an automotive engineering business and later a car dealership, explains the change of vehicle registration numbers documented on the original 'buff' log book. In February 1972, the original registration number; 281 VPK was replaced with 1 JBH and in March 1973 with 7077 PP. Finally, in June 1974, the registration number LJB 4 was assigned to the Jaguar. Bates used the 'Coombs' up until the 1980s when he put the car into long-term storage.
In October 2011, historic racer Rae Davis discovered the Jaguar for sale after it had been in long-term storage. Shaun Lynn, also owner of '4 WPD' the ex-Coombs Lightweight E-type, decided to purchase it. Lynn comments, 'I liked the idea of being able to put my mark on a car, to restore it in a way that it needed to be done. I wanted perfection – anything less just wouldn't be right. So we've kept and repaired every panel, and when the guys told me it needed a new interior, I told them to put back the original'. CKL Developments were entrusted to carry out the restoration for Lynn with guidance from Ken Bell, an ex-Coombs & Sons (Guildford) Engineer and Technical Adviser to the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club.
Once with CKL Developments, Ken Bell inspected the Mark II and the Coombs modifications made to the car and confirmed that they were indeed modifications that would have been made in period at the Surrey workshops of Coombs. What followed must be one of the best and most passionate restorations ever carried out on a saloon car. At each stage of the restoration, CKL involved the very best to perform each task, and the process was wonderfully documented by Paul Hardiman in Classic Cars magazine. [1]
Following the restoration of LJB 4, Lynn used the 'Coombs' sparingly and subsequently sold the car to the current owner in November 2015. Having now covered some 3,500 miles since the restoration was completed, the 'Coombs' has had all the post-restoration niggles dispelled and is now available following recent service work.
So often do we read in advertisements and magazine articles that a car is perfect or has had an award-winning restoration, but the reality so often fails to live up to the hype. In this case, LJB 4 is so achingly right and proper – we would welcome any inspection of the Jaguar.
Photo Credit: Riiko-Andre Nuud, Riiko Photo
