My old man’s quest for the vintage Jaguar of his dreams continues. This time around we paid a visit to Brian Donovan of Lenox, Mass-based Donovan Motorcar Service to check out a 1957 Jaguar XK140 MC that was for sale. A rather unassuming guy, Brian greeted us sporting a work shirt and plenty of grease under his fingernails. But lurking beneath the reserved exterior is a former defense industry engineer and one of the nation’s leading Jaguar restoration experts. The unique skill set makes him an extremely dangerous individual when armed with a wrench and a budget. So outside of the traditional restorations and repairs you will find in the shop at Donovan, Brian also fields 2 E-Type race cars in various vintage leagues. He enjoys squeezing as much gut-wrenching modern performance as is humanly possible out of Jaguars [and Austins and Corvettes and Shelby Cobras] that haven’t been called new in more than 40 years. We didn’t end up going for the XK140, which is currently trying its luck in Scottsdale, but we’re damn glad to have met Brian. Stand by for a proper profile the next time we are in town.
Thanks Brian!
Hey Stu- Nice piece. Really enjoyed the background.
Loved the Healey (of course), but all are amazing autos.
You don’t know how many times i have stopped to salivate in the large open bay windows of this place. I will stop in any weather to dream.
that place looks like a must visit…road trip
I have a 1950 xk120 that has a a 0.0025 warp in the head. However it also has a 0.006 warp in the cam journals. So someone has flattened the bottom without doing the cams. It is matching numbers so I would like to save it if possible. Do you have the capability to align bore the cam journals? Thanks.
Hey Gerald – thanks for your comment…I would check out Donovan for the answer to that question – here is a link to their website – http://www.donovanmotorcars.com/DMDonovanMotorsport.htm
Thanks for visiting!
Stu