A Cache of Classics

A Cache of Classics :
Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer
by Chris Canning

These two interesting felines were made famous by T.S. Eliot, in his book and Andrew Llloyd Webber, in “Cats”. According to T.S. Eliot, “Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were a very notorious couple of cats…”

mvc-055s.jpg (50923 bytes) Could these cats be Jaguar XK-120’s? If so, then maybe these two splendid cats reside in Lake Worth, Florida at Picture Perfect Cars and luckily for us both cars were in our November 10^th Concours.

The XK-120 was produced from 1948 to 1954. The motoring public in 1948 was totally unprepared for the new style and performance brought forth by Sir William Lyons and Jaguar Cars Ltd. The engine was a six cylinder, 3.4 liter block equipped with a chain-driven double overhead camshaft. By 1951, a Special Equipment package was offered by Jaguar to satisfy new owners who wanted a more competitive automobile. This raised the standard compression ratio from 7:1 to 8:1 by using newly designed pistons. The SE package also included a lighter flywheel, stiffer springs and modified electrical components.

The XK-120 had twin SU Carburetors. The superb styling and innovative engineering makes the XK-120 one of the most sought after Jaguars. The Roadster was introduced in 1949 and the Drophead Coupe (DHC) made its debut in 1953. According to Nigel Thorley in his “Jaguar the Complete Works” there were a grand total of 12,055 XK-120’s that left the factory. Of these, 7612 were Roadsters and 1765 were Drophead Coupes and out these there were only about 400 SE DHC’s created. The top speed was 120 MPH and the four speed manual transmission would move and XK-120 from zero to 50 in 7.5 seconds.

This pastel green 1954 XK-120 SE Drophead Coupe (DHC) belongs to Reynald Roberge, having recently been restored. Unlike a lot of the fine cars we see in the Cats Meow, this one is for sale. The effort to rebuild this car started with a “body off restoration.” This car was built to Concours standards by Reynald and Patrick Dupuis of Picture Perfect Cars. This XK-120 has also been brought up to a high quality standard to enable a future owner to drive the car on a daily basis. Essentially, it’s a brand new XK-120.

The XK-120 has many classic dimensions and Reynald wanted the dash and wood trim to be spectacular. A walnut burl dash was created by using the old dash cutouts as a template. It took an estimated 120 hours to build the dash. The wooden bows for the top frame were also built by hand. The wooden door frames were built from scratch. Reynald’s car was totally dissembled before starting restoration.

xk1.jpg (15170 bytes) All components including engine, transmission, suspension, brake systems, chassis, body frame and electrical systems were taken apart. Those parts that were sound were rebuilt and older more suspect components were replaced with new. In a couple of cases the parts were not available and had to be fabricated by Reynald and Patrick. The engine was completely taken down and old elements were replaced with new including pistons, valves, carburetors and crankshaft. The transmission originally had a whine in it and was torn down and completely rebuilt and replaced. All electrical wiring was replaced and new Lucas or other new electrical parts were installed. Some authentic Lucas parts such as headlights are quite expensive but Reynald insisted that the authenticity of the XK-120 demanded the best. The starter was rebuilt to factory standards. All of the chromed parts were newly acquired from the best suppliers in the US and in a couple cases they had to go direct to the UK to get parts.

Windshield and other glass parts were completely replaced. Reynald also added new windshield wipers assemblies. The interior kit was supplied by Gary Bartlett. It is estimated that the interior/top kit and installation of the kit cost alone is roughly $6000. The estimated cost and installation of the wooden trim, mentioned above is about $5000.

All of the work on the car was done at the Picture Perfect Cars shop by Patrick and Reynald. The car drew at lot of attention when it was shown at the West Palm Beach City Place show in September. Reynald’s XK-120 SE won a first place in the C2 division at the SFJC Concours on November 10^th.

xk2.jpg (15881 bytes) The second of these wonderful cats is a 1954 British Racing Green Drophead Coupe that belongs to Gregory Babsky and is being restored by Patrick Dupuis, owner of Picture Perfect Cars. Since Patrick and Reynald work as a team, many of the same transformations that went into Reynald’s car also took place with the Patricks’ project

The engine is essentially brand new. It has all new electrical components and the transmission has been completely rebuilt. Springs, shocks and suspension elements are new. On this car, they sent the engine to South Florida Crank and Machine to be rebuilt. All serial numbers match on this car and are certified by Jaguar-Daimler Heritage Foundation. The steering wheel, which looks like a work of art, was completely rebuilt and refabricated. Wooden bows for the drophead were fashioned and bent into shape, the top and the absolutely gorgeous interior came from Bartlett. It is estimated that the cost of the kit and installation for the top and interior was more than $8000. The dash instruments were purchased direct from Coventry. Creation of the dash wood and veneer took almost 120 hours. Patrick started on this project in late 1999. He shifted into high gear in December 2000 when he and Gregory set a target of November 2001 for completion. Patrick estimates that if he started a new 1954 XK-120 Drophead Coupe today it would take about one year (full time) to complete the project. This car was about 3 weeks from total completion but Gregory requested that it go in the SFJC Concours in the D-01 Driven Class on November 10. Despite not having all of the restoration completed the car took second place with a score of 9.647. We cannot wait to see it in the next show this season.

These two very special XK-120 cats were also recently seen at Hot Rod City Nights in Lake Worth and drew a large crowd among car buffs who probably cannot remember when they have seen two XK-120’s parked side by side, let along two such beautiful restorations. Two of only 1765 DHC’s ever made.

Their owners will probably not name them Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer but its kind of fun to remember the music from “Cats” and think of them in that manner.

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