CKL’S RESTORATIONS AT HAMPTON COURT
We were delighted to show our latest restoration at Hampton Court this week. This 1948 Jaguar Mark IV Drophead had been owned by only two families when it was found by the present owner in Brussels. Its first owner was a member of the Guérin family, owners of the Maison D’Orsay perfumier, and then years later the car was sold to Phillip Pochet, head of IBM in Europe. CKL carried out a full restoration on behalf of the car’s new owner, Jeff Gault.
“I wanted a Mark IV Drophead, which are really rare - maybe less than 40 of them exist today.”
Jeff Gault
Upon disassembly we made some discoveries along the way that have confirmed the early suspicion that this is an incredibly original car. The team dismantled the doors, to check the condition of the original ash framing, and found the original body tags inside. The original internal ash frames being in rather weak condition, they have been carefully replaced using correct original materials. Stampings all over the car match up, including even the smaller components such as the starter motor and dynamo.
The body was stripped back to bare metal. All of the metalwork was reshaped before painting in the Jaguar racing green colour. All chassis and suspension components were stripped back to bare metal and repaired as necessary, before refinishing. The original engine was rebuilt by our engine shop, retaining as many original parts as possible. Every major component was overhauled to as new condition, rather than replaced.
Hampton Court was the concours debut for this, our latest restoration, and Mark Hews and Jôrn Scharlemann were privileged to show the car on behalf of US-based owner Jeff Gault. The car was awarded Second Place in the ‘1940s’ Class.
“It was great to have an invite for the MkIV to compete in the Hampton Court Concours D’Elegance - the team have yet again completed an incredible restoration and really done us proud. An extra special touch with this one is that it was a job that has been led by our third-year apprentice Jörn Scharlemann over the past couple of years.”
Mark Hews
2024 HAMPTON COURT CONCOURS - 1st in Class, 1950s Open Sports Cars - 1953 Jaguar C-Type Lightweight
Also starring at the Palace was the 1953 Le Mans winning C-Type Lightweight XKC 051, which won the ‘1950s Open Sports Car’ Class. We reunited with its original body, engine and gearbox during a forensic restoration which we completed in 2022. The car was then shown at Pebble Beach where it won ‘Second in Class’, and at Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance in 2023 it won ‘Best in Class’ in the Le Mans Class.
Hampton Court Palace is perhaps the most beautiful setting in the world for a Concours D’Elegance, and it was great to be there this year and to spend time with many friends, clients and fellow enthusiasts.
Thank you all for coming to say hello. Our next event is a very busy Goodwood Revival where we are bringing seventeen cars in total, of which nine will be racing, plus two safety cars, four in the Jaguar XK celebration parade, and two dsiplayed on the Howdens stand. Looking forward to seeing you there.