The hour that paid for itself fifty times over
In 2007, having flown from Leeds Bradford to Southampton to see an XK140 that turned out to have been sold the previous afternoon, Bob Exelby was taken by Twyford Moors' Ian Mills to look at an XK150 in storage twelve miles away.
After persuading the custodians to leave us to it, armed with a torch and a very sharp screwdriver, Ian proceeded to give me an amazing 60-minute master class in exactly where to probe to discover the real quality of any XK for sale. It soon became apparent that this was a pretty decomposed example masquerading and advertised as a light restoration project.
Hard to quantify the real value of that hour examining the 150, but I would say at least fifty times the cost of the flight.
The lesson generalises: take somebody who knows the model, and take a torch.
Check the numbers before you check the metal
An XK140's chassis number tells you the body style, the drive, the specification and the transmission before you have opened the bonnet. Identifying and dating an XK140
A Heritage Certificate proves what left the factory. It does not prove what is in front of you. Check the car against the certificate, not the certificate against the advertisement.
Then the structure, in this order
Work from the most expensive outwards. Full detail on each is in fault finding.
- Chassis outriggers, anti-roll bar mountings and rear spring mounts
- A- and B-posts, and the shutlines they produce
- Sills, inner and outer
- Boot floor, inner wings and tonneau panels
- Lower wings, particularly the wired edges
- Floor pans, door bottoms, headlamp pods
Take a checklist
Bob's own, compiled over a couple of months of viewings before he bought WPK38:
Just too easy to get home and then remember all of the questions you forgot to ask and bits you forgot to check. With list in hand it doesn't take long to make an accurate assessment and it also allows comparison with other cars viewed, to evaluate what represents the best possible value.
It had an effect he had not anticipated. The seller had been dealing with bargain-hunting tyre-kickers; a buyer with a written list changed the tone of the visit, and he went out of his way to give a transparent account of the car.