1938 SS Jaguar 100 3½-Litre Roadster
- Engine
- 3.5L inline-six OHV with twin SU carburettors, ~125 bhp
- Colour
- Gunmetal
Chassis 39032 is a 1938 SS Jaguar 100 3½-Litre Roadster, one of only 118 built before World War II ended production. Originally finished in Gunmetal with a silver-black interior and dispatched to a Bolton, England dealer, it was imported to the United States in 1962. The car spent four decades with the Keno family of New York, was used on events including the 1998 Louis Vuitton China Run, and underwent a comprehensive restoration completed in spring 2014, achieving a perfect JCNA 100-point score shortly after.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$415,000
- 1938 →Factory deliveryParker's of Boltonpartial documentation
Dispatched from factory to this Manchester-area dealer in late January 1938. A replacement 3.5-litre engine was fitted at some unspecified early point in the car's life.
- 1962 → 1969Acquisition unknownEugene Faustpartial documentation
Car was imported from the UK into the US and acquired by Faust. He undertook a first restoration in the mid-1960s, during which the original wings were replaced.
- 1969 → 2009Private saleRonald Kenopartial documentation
Mohawk, New York antiques dealer and art teacher who kept the car for roughly four decades as a family vehicle; the car saw regular use over this period and accumulated considerable wear.
- 2009 →Private saleOwner post-Keno familypartial documentation
Commissioned a comprehensive two-year restoration completed in spring 2014, refinished in original Gunmetal with a red interior. Consignor at the present auction.
Competition
- 19981998 Louis Vuitton China RunDriver: Leigh Keno
The Keno family participated in a roughly 1,000-mile touring event across China; Leigh and Leslie Keno represented the family in the car.
- 2014-05-012014 Jaguar Owners Club of Los Angeles Annual Concours d'ElegancePerfect 100-point JCNA score
First major showing after the completion of a two-year restoration; the car was presented in its original Gunmetal finish with a new red interior.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2014Restoration
Comprehensive two-year restoration completed in spring 2014, refinishing the bodywork in the original Gunmetal colour, fitting a new red interior, and adding a black fabric hood with matching boot cover; work was carried out to full concours standard.
Restoration was commissioned by the owner who acquired the car from the Keno family in 2009; the finished result earned a perfect JCNA 100-point score at a May 2014 concours.
- —Mechanical
A replacement 3.5-litre engine sourced from an SS Jaguar saloon, numbered M 499 E, was fitted at some stage in the car's early life.
Timing is described only as occurring at some point early in the car's history.
- —Restoration
First full restoration carried out by Eugene Faust during the mid-1960s; original fenders were replaced as part of this work.
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