Coombs, McAlpine and the first year

The log book

The original brown log book, issued on 7 April 1955, records Coombs and Sons of Guildford as the supplying Jaguar dealer. Coombs appear to have kept the car a week, presumably preparing it, because it was registered in the name of the Sir Robert McAlpine company on 14 April.

Kenneth McAlpine

The significance of that company name was not obvious at first. It became clear when Exelby went through the file that came with the car and found a letter from Kenneth McAlpine — the car's first driver — complaining of severe brake fade from 100 mph on the way back to London, and of having to take to a footpath to avoid stationary vehicles.

WPK38 was in his hands during 1955: his final season driving for Connaught, the team he also owned, and the year he raced at Le Mans.

McAlpine was a close friend and associate of John Coombs, the supplying dealer and himself a Connaught driver. That connection is the likeliest explanation for the unusually long list of extras fitted to the car when new, wired into a custom-built loom.

Kenneth McAlpine OBE died in April 2023, aged 102. He was at the time the oldest living Formula One driver.

What Coombs fitted

In the fifties and sixties Coombs of Guildford were the premier suppliers to gentleman racers of Mk2 saloons and E-Types, with their own range of performance upgrades. What they fitted to this car in 1955:

• Under-bonnet and engine bay lamps
• Under-dash courtesy lights, individually switched and door-operated
• Handbrake warning lamp, and a brake fluid level warning lamp
• Lucas 576 spot and fog lamps, with a flash button
• A heating element under the rear window — in 1955
• 12-volt supplies in the engine compartment and the boot
• A battery level gauge in the engine compartment
• A deceleration-activated brake bias device, mounted inside the chassis rail

Most of it is still on the car. Exelby's verdict on the installation is affectionate rather than reverent:

All very professionally installed with a custom wiring loom, but a total dog's dinner of switches and warning lights scattered below and around the dashboard. I've retained most of these electrical accessories primarily because they are part of the car's heritage, but also because some do occasionally come in handy.

The small things

The Coombs keyring came with the car. The black leather fob had nearly disintegrated and was replaced with one matching the trim. The Coombs sticker in the rear window is a reproduction and a later addition — and, as Exelby notes, one that XK aficionados routinely assume is bogus, "with only the sight of the brown log book satisfying the enquiry."

The car also still had its original St Nicholas Press Operating, Maintenance and Service Handbook, found tucked in the passenger door pocket.

While matching numbers are important, it's the other small things that define a car's heritage, like the original logbook, ownership history, key fob and service handbook.

Ownership

Years shown are those for which there is definite documentary evidence.