Rumours of a 1972
Series 1 Daimler Sovereign came to me during March of this 2001, for sale on the
side of the road, not a million miles away from where my old Dodge truck was stored
, in
Poynton (Cheshire). Needless to say, despite having plenty of classic metal already, the
lure of a beautiful (!) short wheelbase Daimler 4.2 in a fetching shade of pea green, soon
had me speeding over to the scene, intent on checking out this latest rumoured sighting.
And lo! there she was, a slightly tired looking S1 swb Daimler XJ, parked on a grass
verge, with a tempting price tag taped to the screen. Although in no way comparable with
the condition of my old V12 (sob..sob..come back), the beauty of William Lyons' original
shape soon had me won over. Fearing for my health I decided to advise 'er indoors (who
knew where I was going and was therefore sort-of prepared for what was to come) of my
latest purchase over the phone, thinking that any frosty looks would have thawed by the
time I next saw her.
Anyway, the deal was done and fully legally (it was MOTd and taxed
after all) I drove the old duchess home, bathing in all the admiring glances from other
drivers, cooped up in there nasty bland little Daewoos and Hyundais (yuk). It could be
said that their admiring glances were in fact looks of horror, but I'd rather stick with
the rose-tinted theory instead, after all it did possess the best set of curves this side of Brigitte Bardot.
The idea was that as I was missing having a roadworthy classic to smoke about in, so I'd have this Daimler, which could be fettled
up over the coming months into something quite presentable. She came with 20 years worth
of old MOTs, 2 months current MOT, was zero-rate taxed (1972 build), and cost bugger all
to insure. Her interior was pretty ropey, the mechanics very healthy, and was bodily in
average order, the previous owner already having made a start by fitting new rear arches
and tidying the sills.
However, just as I began formulating plans to resurrect the old
girl, another daily classic loomed on the horizon, in the shape of an A40
Somerset, which really meant that I no longer needed the old Jag as my fix for missing
out on driving old cars. So, with much regret, I sold her via ebay exactly one month after
purchasing her. Despite it being only a brief affair, I will never forget the Green Meany
and those sumptuous curves. However my affair with series 1s was not yet over, as a Jag 4.2 swb joined the fleet in January 2002...!
though
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