[Benson]

Seen this Jaguar MarkVII as junk a few months back with Suraj of TMW. Surprised to see a fully restored smooth running Jag this time. Had the pleasure of going for a ride with Suraj. Posting pics:












Posting pics with permission..not blanking number plates

Thanks

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Benson

Looks neat, though the painted bumpers and screws on the door panels are a pretty tacky touch. I dont agree with the colour combo either.

[Jay]

nice car, hey benson could you post a pic of the whole car if you have any, from the front or front + side view...

[AMATMO]

Benson the cars looks royal
do you have a pic where we can see the complete car?

[V-16]

At first glance i would like to congratulate the owner and the restorer for salvaging the car. Saying that I would like to call a spade a spade and without any malicious intent i would like to state as under;
Restoration is a very involving job and needs to be taken up and done passionately. Sorry Benson,but although the job may be a neat and of a good quality, who ever has restored this car has done a tacky job, from the restoration aspect, not to mention he has not done any home work on the restoration too. Most so called restorers will push the parcel of a tacky job done by them, on the owner by saying " the owner wanted it that way". That is all humbug. The truth is that these guys don't know their job.
Sorry, not pointing fingers to anyone and not trying to sound like a know it all but the following are the things I could see, incorrect on this restoration job, besides those already pointed out by Karl i.e. the colour combo of the paint job,( IMHO though I may be wrong the two tone paint, separated by chrome strips was available in the Mk VIII and was not an option in the Mk VII, Please correct me if i'm wrong), the white painted bumpers and the tacky screws on the door panels.
Cant see the rear bumper guards. Maybe they have not been fixed yet as one can see the holes in the rear bumpers, meant for the guards.

1). The Dash also should be sporting Burl finished glossy Walnut Veneer as shown under. The one on the restored car looks like cheap hand painted polish.




2). Even the seats design is not right.
Below is the right seat design for the front and the rear seats.

Front Seat Design




Rear Seat Design





3). The steering should be in Black Bakelite and not white as is in the restored car.

[Benson]

Hey V16

quality of restoration is also as much a function of owners budget as it is of restorers skill. I noticed the same things you and karl observed too, however this was done due to budgetary constraints...so was i told.

thanks

[Nitin]

Pretty good job! The car looks good,of course a higher budget would have shown better results,none-the-less the job done ranks 8/10.

[awini]

Originally Posted by Benson

Hey V16

quality of restoration is also as much a function of owners budget as it is of restorers skill. I noticed the same things you and karl observed too, however this was done due to budgetary constraints...so was i told.

thanks

is this the ex Dr Kapadia mark VII that used to be in Colaba?
i disagree about the budget issue, as i have said before, don't try to run a Cadillac on a ford budget, or in this case, a jaguar on an Austin budget, it doesn't work that way,it ruins the car in the long run, one might as well put in a gas kit or a diesel too!!
we have owned a mark seven, its not a cheap car to maintain, even today. so if budget is such an issue, the owner ought to have spent the same on a lesser marque and done it well.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by awini

is this the ex Dr Kapadia mark VII that used to be in Colaba?

I may be mistaken, but I think that was BMU 2966, pictured below. It was further spruced up and I shot the car in 2006 at Bombay.

[awini]

yes karl, this is the one, i have seen it in daily use till the mid eighties... i have even met the original owner of the car, who sold it to Dr kapadia because he lost his sight.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by Benson

Hey V16

quality of restoration is also as much a function of owners budget as it is of restorers skill. I noticed the same things you and karl observed too, however this was done due to budgetary constraints...so was i told.

thanks

Benson, I know who the car belongs to so there is no question of a Budgetary constraint.
Secondly it does not take a whole lot more to put in one sheet (thats what it will maximum need with some remaining) of Veneer and to make sure that door panel screws are concealed. Also painting the car, in correct colour shade and the steering in black instead of white and having a particular design on the seats is not going to cost an extra cent than what he has already spent. I agree that the chroming of the bumpers would be a tad expensive but then like Awini said, get another car.
All these expenses would not amount to even an extra 30-35K. Dont tell me he found that expensive.
This proves my theory of the misinformed, so called, restorer blaming the owner for not doing his home work....!! Best of all we all know that the restorer in question, does charge a fat fee fro his labour and "Expertise".

[the mole]

Originally Posted by V-16

Benson, I know who the car belongs to so there is no question of a Budgetary constraint.
Secondly it does not take a whole lot more to put in one sheet (thats what it will maximum need with some remaining) of Veneer and to make sure that door panel screws are concealed. Also painting the car, in correct colour shade and the steering in black instead of white and having a particular design on the seats is not going to cost an extra cent than what he has already spent. I agree that the chroming of the bumpers would be a tad expensive but then like Awini said, get another car.
All these expenses would not amount to even an extra 30-35K. Dont tell me he found that expensive.
This proves my theory of the misinformed, so called, restorer blaming the owner for not doing his home work....!! Best of all we all know that the restorer in question, does charge a fat fee fro his labour and "Expertise".

fat? very very fattt!!!

[Benson]

Originally Posted by V-16

Benson, I know who the car belongs to so there is no question of a Budgetary constraint.
Secondly it does not take a whole lot more to put in one sheet (thats what it will maximum need with some remaining) of Veneer and to make sure that door panel screws are concealed. Also painting the car, in correct colour shade and the steering in black instead of white and having a particular design on the seats is not going to cost an extra cent than what he has already spent. I agree that the chroming of the bumpers would be a tad expensive but then like Awini said, get another car.
All these expenses would not amount to even an extra 30-35K. Dont tell me he found that expensive.
This proves my theory of the misinformed, so called, restorer blaming the owner for not doing his home work....!! Best of all we all know that the restorer in question, does charge a fat fee fro his labour and "Expertise".

Thanks V16 for the insight. I was just quoting what i heard from restorer with respect to imperfections. I was told that Bumpers were painted to conceal rust as he didnot have sufficient funds for new bumpers. And car was in such condition as a huge amount of money was already spent on it earlier and rest would be done at another time.

V16 what you say makes sense as some things could have been much better job with simple presence of mind on restorers part.

[Mpower]

Great car. Please have him chrome the bumpers as soon as possible. The white looks too cheap. (even padmini taxis have chrome bumpers, for christ's sake)

[dhrishikesh]

@ awini,
This car (BMU 8008) is not owned by Dr. Kapadia of Coloba...
It is owned by Mr. Viraf Chiniwala from Tardeo where my father works...
The car is still in a regular use & also a regular participant @ VCCCI Rally.
This year also the car was there....