Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/10/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Larry, I'm not in the market for an XK140 now. At the time I had an Austin Healey 100/6 Rally rep and an MGB GT V8, both of which were a hoot. The XK was something that I saw at a small local auction. I was really looking at an XK120 fhc but even then (and we are talking 25 years ago) it was beyond me. Peter On 02/10/2015 15:35, Larry Zeitlin via LUG wrote: > Peter,? > Unless you have a of time and a fat wallet give a Jaguar XK 140 a pass. It > may be a nice showpiece but it makes a very bad users car. I owned one of > these, a bright red Jag convertible in the '50s. It may have been fast but > it was one of the worst engineered cars I ever drove. The engine featured > three SU carbs, one for each pair of cylinders, that were virtually > impossible to tune simultaneously. The spoked racing wheels had a tendency > to pop spokes on fast accelerations. Every time I tromped on the throttle > pedal I could hear the ping of a spoke popping. The knock off hubs, while > attractive, were almost impossible to remove. The steering wheel adjusted > to variety of positions, none of them comfortable. The engine intruded on > the footwell space requiring you to drive with one leg straight out, the > other bent to a crouching position. Eventually one of the brakes failed > and could not be repaired, even by the California Jag distributor. Thr=e > steering became so terminally loo se > that th > e car could hardly be driven in a straight line. It was a great babe > magnet but it was a car that I was afraid to drive. Eventually I traded > the Jag for an Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce at a used car dealership. The Alfa > had its own problems but was a joy to drive. Both the dealer and I were > sure that we had cheated the other. On the other hand, if you can pick up > a 3.8 liter Jag sedan,go for it. It is one of the best cars I ever owned. > It's safer to collect old Leicas than old cars. > Larry Z > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- =========================================================== Dr Peter Dzwig