Jag XK120

XK120 coupe.

The other morning, probably Friday, April 8, 2011. I fell in behind a classic Jaguar (“jagg-you-are”) XK120 coupe on Routes 5&20 toward the Canandaigua YMCA.

XK120 roadster.

It was maroon, with full rear fender-skirts like the roadster pictured at left.
It was definitely a coupe, and not the bloated XK140 or XK150 which weren’t as stylish.
I followed it a while, until it turned south off 5&20 up into the hills.
The XK120 is a landmark car.
An incredibly impressive styling job, long-nosed, low, and streamlined.
It set the pattern for all sportscars after it, particularly British sportscars, which it was.
The MGA, which replaced the classic TDs and TFs, is sort of an XK120 clone, in appearance anyway.

MGA roadster.

Although the MGA was smaller, and had only a pedestrian four-cylinder engine.
The XK120 was six inline, with double overhead camshafts.
That engine was state-of-the-art, and a torrid performer.
Double overhead cams are finally becoming the norm, 50 years hence, although the Jaguar engine was kind of finicky.
Enthusiasts often replaced the Jag six with a Small-Block Chevy. Similar performance, yet more reliable.
Jaguar built that engine for years. It ended up powering the XKE, a car a friend says is the best-looking car of all time.


(Photo by BobbaLew.) The best-looking car of all time.

I used to think Raymond Loewy’s 1953 Studebaker Starliner coupe was the best-looking car of all time, but compared to an E-Jag the Stud looks doughty.

Photo by BobbaLew.

Starliner.

I remember seeing an XK120 in a warehouse years ago next to a pier in the Port of Camden (NJ) across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
It had just been loaded off a ship, and was still tied down to its shipping-pallet.
It was my first school-trip, probably first grade — about age-six.
We toured the RCA (Radio Corporation of America) factory, and viewed a presentation of their new 45 rpm record-changer.
RCA’s icon was a dog named Nipper looking into an antique record-player horn, listening to “his master’s voice.”
We also toured the Campbell Soup Factory — industry on parade.
Marching cans of Campbell’s tomato soup.
We also rode the turntable at Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines’ (“REDD-ing;” not “READ-ing”) Camden Terminal Engine house (CTE).
How can a railfan forget that!
(“Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines” [PRSL] is an amalgamation of Pennsylvania and Reading railroad-lines in south Jersey to counter the fact the two railroads had too much parallel track. It was promulgated in 1933. It serviced mainly the Jersey seashore from Philadelphia. —My attraction to railfanning began with PRSL, which was still using steam-locomotives at that time.)
That Jag was unforgettable, just sitting there awaiting its lucky new owner.
Rakish! A shining icon of towering automotive achievement.
I’m sure my first-grade classmates have all forgotten, but not this kid.
Following the XK120 I couldn’t help notice how narrow it was, and how skinny the tires looked, and well inside the fender-wells.
It looked like it would flip at the slightest provocation.
Nowadays cars have a much wider stance, and their tires are much more meaty.
My CR-V, which I was driving, has a much wider footprint, and it’s probably putting twice as much rubber to the pavement.

• “5&20” is the main east-west road (a two-lane highway) through our area; State Route 5 and U.S. Route 20, both on the same road. 5&20 is just south of where we live. It used to be the main road across Western New York before the Thruway.
• I work out in the Canandaigua YMCA Exercise-Gym, appropriately named the “Wellness-Center,” usually three days per week, about three-four hours per visit. (“Canandaigua” [“cannan-DAY-gwuh”] is a small city to the east nearby where we live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” It’s about 15 miles away. —We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.)
• The Chevrolet “Small-Block” V8 was introduced at 265 cubic-inches displacement in the 1955 model-year. It continued production for years, first to 283 cubic inches, then 327, then 350. Other displacements were also manufactured. The Chevrolet “Big-Block” V8 was introduced in the 1965 model-year at 396 cubic-inches, and was unrelated to the Small-Block. It was made in various larger displacements: 402, 427 and 454 cubic inches. It’s still made as a truck-motor, but not installed in cars any more; although you can get it as a crate-motor, for self-installation. The “Big-Block” could be immensely powerful, and the “Small-Block” was revolutionary in its time.
• “Stud” = Studebaker.
• I am a railfan, and have been since age-two (I’m 67).
• The “CR-V” is our 2003 Honda CR-V SUV.