Photo: Facebook Marketplace Fort Lauderdale, FL
Before the brazier fires and picket lines, classic British cars could be pretty reliable. One example that bucks the trend of old British sports cars being unreliable is the much-beloved Mark V Jaguar. The Mark V Jag was so un-British in reliability that legend says UK police squeezed over 200,000 miles out of their pushrod straight-six engines. Imagine a Ford Crown Victoria, just far older and holding a cup of tea in one hand and Bovril on toast in the other. Oh, and while wearing a monocle.
But let's be real; nothing beats an old-fashioned 350 small-block Chevy V8 if reliability is what you're after. After 50 years of putting them in passenger cars and another 20 as performance crate motors, the ins and outs of a small block 350 are like the back of your hand to wrenchers tinkerers across America. So when a crusty-looking 1947 Mark V came across our radar on Facebook Marketplace, it made sense that a small block Chevy motor lurks where a plucky British six-pot resided. Sadly, the dimensions of the new engine mean that original hood isn't going to close correctly.
Even so, that only adds to the hot rod mystique of this unique restomod. In truth, it was in part because American tuners used to love shoving American engines into lightweight British sports cars that timeless classics like the Shelby Cobra saw the light of day in the 1960s. In so many famous Anglo-American sports cars from the period, American horsepower and a British penchant for good handling made for some of the most iconic automobiles every to see the light of day. Still, this Mark V falls short of all that in the aesthetics department.
Yes, Mark V Jags were more reliable than most people give them credit for. But with obvious exposure to the elements seen in wayward rust patches across the exterior of this Jag, we can see it spent at least some of its time since the late 40s parked in a field somewhere, either in the US or the UK. With an absolutely tattered roof serving as a reminder to the hell this Mark V endured, it's going to take a particularly skilled craftsperson to get this old Jag in condition to be back on the road again.
Hapillly, there's more how-to guides and video tutorials for Chevy 350 V8s than you could possibly get through in one sitting. There's also bound to be a lot more parts available for a 350 Chevy than a long-defunct Jaguar engine built by people who used to service Cromwell tanks and Spitfires. For $10,000 out the door, you'll need to be pretty good with a wrench to make an investment like this worth it.
Even so, that only adds to the hot rod mystique of this unique restomod. In truth, it was in part because American tuners used to love shoving American engines into lightweight British sports cars that timeless classics like the Shelby Cobra saw the light of day in the 1960s. In so many famous Anglo-American sports cars from the period, American horsepower and a British penchant for good handling made for some of the most iconic automobiles every to see the light of day. Still, this Mark V falls short of all that in the aesthetics department.
Yes, Mark V Jags were more reliable than most people give them credit for. But with obvious exposure to the elements seen in wayward rust patches across the exterior of this Jag, we can see it spent at least some of its time since the late 40s parked in a field somewhere, either in the US or the UK. With an absolutely tattered roof serving as a reminder to the hell this Mark V endured, it's going to take a particularly skilled craftsperson to get this old Jag in condition to be back on the road again.
Hapillly, there's more how-to guides and video tutorials for Chevy 350 V8s than you could possibly get through in one sitting. There's also bound to be a lot more parts available for a 350 Chevy than a long-defunct Jaguar engine built by people who used to service Cromwell tanks and Spitfires. For $10,000 out the door, you'll need to be pretty good with a wrench to make an investment like this worth it.
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