Jaguar Mark IV

With the end of the Second World War, the company previously known as SS Cars, Ltd. was renamed Jaguar Cars, Ltd., and began producing the pre-war saloon models that had been known as SS Jaguars. The SS-100 sports model was not continued after the war. The post-war Jaguars were nearly identical to the pre-war models, but with changes to eliminate the hexagonal SS logo on the grille badge, wheel hub spinners, rear bumper badge, instruments, engine block and oil fill cap.

The official factory model names are simply the engine sizes, 1-1/2 Litre, 2-1/2 Litre and 3-1/2 Litre. After the introduction of the succeeding model called the Mark V in late 1948, these models came to be called Mark IV by the owners.

With these post-war models Jaguar for the first time offered Left Hand Drive, primarily for the very large and important export markets of the USA, Brazil, Belgium and Switzerland.

A few cars were produced in 1945 and even fewer in 1949, but most were in the 1946-48 period.

See Autopedia's comprehensive <Mark IV> Review.

Recent Changes

There were no major changes to the Mark IV throughout its production run.

Styles and Major Options

Three engine sizes were offered, the 1-1/2 Litre four cylinder, the 2-1/2 Litre six cylinder, and the 3-1/2 Litre six cylinder. The wheelbase of the 1-1/2 Litre was 9 feet 4-1/2 inches (112.5"). The wheelbase of the 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 Litre cars was 10 feet (120").

Two body styles were offered, a four door five passenger hardtop known as the Saloon, and a two door five passenger convertible known as the Drop Head Coupe, however the 1-1/2 Litre four cylinder was not produced with the Drop Head body, only the Saloon.

Pricing

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MODEL Trims
1-1/2 Litre Saloon	2-1/2 Litre Saloon	2-1/2 Litre Drop Head Coupe	3-1/2 Litre Saloon  3-1/2 Litre Drop Head Coupe
MSRP - UK 1945-48
L684-1009	L889-1189	L889-1189	L991-1263
Invoice - USA
N/A	N/A	N/A	$4600

Gas Mileage

Approximately 15-20 miles per US gallon for the 3-1/2 Litre.

Trim
Trim1	Trim2	Trim3	Trim4
MPG
c/h	c/h	c/h	c/h

Engine and Transmission

1-1/2 Litre = four cylinder OHV, 1775 cc, 73 mm bore, 106 mm stroke, 7.6 or 6.8 CR, 13.23 RAC hp, 65 bhp @4600 rpm, single SU type H4 carb, 4 speed manual shift double helical gearbox made by Standard Motor Co.

2-1/2 Litre = six cylinder OHV, 2663 cc, 73 mm bore, 106 mm stroke, 7.6 or 6.9 CR, 19.84 RAC hp, 102 bhp @ 4600 rpm, twin SU type H3 carbs, 4 speed manual shift double helical gearbox made by Standard Motor Co, then single helical 4 speed box made by Moss Gear Co.

3-1/2 Litre = six cylinder OHV, 3485 cc, 82 mm bore, 110 mm stroke, 7.2 or 6.6 CR, 25.01 RAC hp, 125 bhp @ 4250 rpm, twin SU type H4 carbs, 4 speed manual shift double helical gearbox made by Standard Motor Co, then single helical 4 speed box made by Moss Gear Co.

References:

Magazine articles by "The Motor" and "The Autocar".

"SS & Jaguar Cars 1936-51" by Allan Crouch

"Jaguar Saloon Cars" by Paul Skilleter

Performance

Magazine road tests of the 1946-48 cars included rally reports and tales of private touring.

The 3-1/2 Litre was considered a good performer for its time. Motoring tours conducted in the snowy mountains of the European continent showed the car to be able to perform well under those conditions.

Reliability

Warranty was six months.

Safety

The cars were considered safe enough for the time period.

Photos

Drop Head Coupe

Drop Head Coupe

Saloon. This car has a sealed beam headlight conversion.

Saloon

Colors

The Mark IV was offered in seven standard colors: battleship grey, birch grey, black, gunmetal, ivory, lavender grey, and suede green. A few cars were done in special colors, and a few others were sent out in primer to be painted at the receiving distributor.

Main Competitors

Rolls Royce Silver Wraith

Bentley Mark VI

Interior

Leather upholstery, burled walnut instrument panel and door trimmings, cut pile carpeting, cloth headliner in both the Saloons and the Drop Head Coupes.

Resale Values

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All Variants, 3 engines, 2 body types, by Condition
#1 Restored	#2 Very Good	#3 Driver	#4 Needing major work
Resale Value
$50,000-200,000	$25,000-125,000	$10,000-75,000	$5000-50,000

The larger engines are generally valued higher, as is the Drop Head body over the Saloon.

Criticisms

The brakes are mechanically operated by rods, not the more usual hydraulic system, though they are considered adequate for careful driving in modern traffic.

Worldwide

The Mark IV was sold worldwide, primary markets being the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, Argentina, India, Switzerland and South Africa.

Design quirks and oddities

A few were sent out as "chassis only" to specialist coachbuilders, primarily in Switzerland.

The engine and chassis had been designed only for Right Hand Drive, and several unusual modifications were required to produce them for Left Hand Drive.

Cars delivered to the USA often had to be converted to smaller sealed beam headlights which were fitted into the larger headlight shells.

Awards

The Mark IV is a frequent contender for awards at concours d'elegance events.

External Links

http://www.saloondata.com/

http://www.jag-lovers.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_Mark_IV

Drop Head Coupe

Drop Head Coupe

Saloon. This car has been converted to sealed beam headlights.

Saloon