IS THIS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL JAGUAR RACER EVER BUILT?
The opportunity to buy an inlet manifold for a 1953 Jaguar C-Type led to Vaal-based Jaguar restorer Kobus van Wyk embarking on a two-and-a-half year project to build an exacting replica of one of the most significant racing Jaguars of all time.
“I was visiting a fellow Jaguar enthusiast when I noticed this inlet manifold on his workshop shelf, and I realised it was an absolute rarity, one of the few existing in the world. It was configured to take a set of three Weber 40 mm DCO3 carburettors, and at that time, only the three 1953 factory-racing C-Types used Webers. The other 50 genuine C-Types were fitted with large SU carburettors, “explains Van Wyk.
“That’s how the whole project started. It’s been a fascinating journey for myself and my son Conrad, who is now also regarded as one of the best Jaguar E-Type restorers in the country. And I must say, looking at the car now, I believe the C-Type is one of the most beautiful racing Jaguars ever built.”
The C-Type shape was designed by aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer, who had worked for the Bristol Aircraft Company in England, prior to joining Jaguar. The Jaguar XK120 had debuted in 1948 and standard XK120s had entered Le Mans in 1950. It was Sayer’s job to design a car capable of winning the race outright.
Jaguar C-Types won Le Mans twice, in 1951 and 1953, establishing the legend that is Jaguar today. Kobus has re-created his car to replicate the famous Number 18 C-Type that won the 1953 Le Mans. It was driven by swashbuckling British drivers Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt and one of the side-bar stories surrounding this victory is that, the day before the 1953 Le Mans 24 hour, the car was disqualified from the entry list due to some typical French bureaucracy.
Seriously disappointed, Hamilton and Rolt went to a pub to drown their sorrows and spent many hours doing so! Only to be informed late on Friday evening that all was well, and that Jaguar Number 18 was now reinstated in the entry list for the start of the race on the Saturday afternoon! It was a pair of seriously hungover drivers that arrived at the Le Mans pits just hours before the race start. Somehow they not only kept their act together, but went on to score a memorable victory!
“That 1953 victory was very significant,” explains Van Wyk. “It was the first major win for a car fitted with disc brakes, and also the first time the winning average speed had exceeded 100 miles per hour. The car had been extensively developed , with revised styling in the nose and tail areas, a special thin-gauge lightweight aluminium body, and a more powerful engine. A lot of that extra power came from the fitting of the three Weber carburettors.”
Kobus and Conrad went to extreme lengths to ensure the car they were building was true in every detail to the ’53 Le Mans winner. Initially Kobus had ordered a replicated tubular chassis from England, but this resulted in Kobus losing a substantial deposit he had paid when the company he was dealing with went out of business.
The aluminium body was sourced from an English specialist firm, Shapecraft, run by Clive Smart, but with no chassis available, Conrad was given the task of designing and building the extremely complex tubular-steel chassis at his home workshop on the East Rand.
“I work with computer aided design programmes,” says Conrad, “ but initially I had to work only from dimensions that we acquired, and later a whole series of invaluable photographs that we were lucky to source through our Jaguar contacts in England. So I drew each and every part on the computer and then translated that into the finished steel product. I did all the welding on the chassis myself, and many of the other components, including the air-box for the carburettors were fabricated here in South Africa.
“The only exceptions to this were the complicated spline components for the suspension torsion bars, as the C-Type uses torsion bar suspension front and rear. These we were lucky enough to source in England, as there is a small industry in the UK for building C-Type replicas.”
Kobus was a stickler for detail when it came to using all the correct components for the car. He categorically states that he only restores cars to 100% originality and won’t tolerate any aftermarket modifications on his cars. This is not an easy task, as only 53 Jaguar C-Types were built in total, between 1951 and 1953. Countless hours of research led him to sourcing the correct Salisbury differential for the car, while the beautiful silver-painted wheels came from a company in India, built to the exact same specs as the 1953 C-Type.
The six-cylinder twin cam Jaguar engine features the correct 3,4-litre configuration with high compression pistons, as used by the factory-entered racers in 1953. The sump is also a special hammer-head design for the C-Type, as the chassis design would not accept the standard XK120 sump. A snag came about when it was realised that commonly-available Weber side-draught carbs would not fit on the original manifold that started the whole project! The bolt pattern on the manifold to mount the carbs was unique to that 1953 C-Type, and so special remanufactured carburettors had to be sourced from Jerry Booyen of D-Type Developments in the U.K..
Kobus built the engine himself, and also obtained the correct close-ratio Moss four-speed gearbox for the car. The C-Type also uses the very rare steering rack as fitted to the original, and this had to be re-manufactured. The disc brakes on all four wheels are also dimensionally true to the original specification.
Conrad recreated the fuel tank in aluminium, again to the original specifications, and used a unique annealing method to achieve the correct pressings in the tank to give it rigidity. He also made up the radiator himself using aluminium.
Cosmetically the dashboard was designed to replicate the 1953 Le Mans winner, and Kobus explains that the speedometer is unique to the C-Type as it is marked up to 160 mph. The rev-counter, which is marked to 6 500 rpm, also operates in a counter-clockwise direction.
“Luckily Conrad’s wife Carmina is a graphic designer and she reproduced the dial graphics from photographs. We then had these silkscreened onto a brass base, and they look totally authentic. Conrad also upholstered the seat, which uses a tubular steel frame.
“We managed to source the C-Type-specific aero windscreens for the car, and they are beautiful. The headlights are original items, and interestingly they incorporate a production indicator bulb as used in the XK120 road car. The steering wheel was made for me by Conrad, and although it has a wood rim, rather than Bakelite, I am using the wheel, as this was essentially a father-and-son project, very special to me.”
Kobus is extremely proud of the work that Conrad did on the chassis construction, as the body was imported un-seen from England and yet fitted perfectly, simply bolting straight on without any modifications .
“There are a number of so-called replicas of C-Types built in England, but many use the more-modern Jaguar XJ6 independent suspension which doesn’t fit with the original dimensions of the body. So then you have a car that proportionally is all wrong.
“Our car is totally correct in all respects, as to the exact car that won the 1953 Le Mans 24-Hour. It is painted the exact same Jaguar British Racing Green as the original, the wheels are identical to the original, and the tyres are the correct size.” Kobus also ensured that he added the winning Number 18 from 1953 to the rear of his faithful re-creation a world-famous racing car.
When Automotive Refinisher visited Kobus at his workshop on the banks of the Vaal Dam, he and Conrad were finalising minor details in readiness for the car’s debut at the 2023 Cars in the Park show in Pretoria in early August.
“I’ve driven the car and it behaves beautifully. The engine runs sweetly, and the handling is fantastic. I was particularly impressed with the way it rode over bumps effortlessly, thanks to those high-profile tyres. And what I really enjoyed was the sound of that straight-through, unsilenced exhaust. The car sounds just like a high-powered speedboat!”
Story by: Stuart Johnston
Pics by Jay Groat
