Words By Dot Fuller.
Year, Make, Model, Variant: 1973 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1
How I got it & the provenance/background of the car:
Our Jag holds incredible sentimental value as she was my Grandfather’s prize possession and we were very fortunate to have inherited her after he passed away in 2007. The purchase of a Jaguar was my Grandfathers retirement gift to himself.
I was born in 1979 so all of my childhood memories are associated with my grandparents and the Jaguar, I will never forget that distinct smell of oil and fuel when being chauffeured to Sunday Church or a family outing. My Grandfather was a mechanic by trade so he was always tinkering, adjusting and refining (along with cleaning, buffing, oiling and polishing). As a child, I recall loving the novelty of magnetic seat belt clasps and air conditioning!
She was, and still is, a magnificent cruiser…utmost comfort on the open road, and still turning heads.
Why I love it:
I loved my Grandfather dearly and have never met another gentleman like him. His entire life I had never heard him raise his voice, he massaged my Grandmothers feet in front of the TV every night, he was kind, compassionate and grateful everyday for his health and all the good fortune that Australia offered (as Polish migrants and survivors of the war, Australia was like heaven on earth).
I wanted to ensure his memory would live on so we decided the Jaguar would be our wedding car…but she was definitely worse for wear after the trip down from the Gold Coast where my Grandparents moved when I was 12 years old. So we engaged Mike Roddy to get her back to her former glory.
What I have done to it:
Mike Roddy completely made her over, just in time for our wedding day. Everything mechanical and exterior has been redone…we are yet to invest on the interior. Fully rebuilt the engine, drive chain, brakes, suspension, re-spray…as a very naïve Bride I hadn’t anticipated that she would end up costing more than the entire wedding! But it was definitely worth it
We have a good laugh if we get caught out in rain…the window wipers are awful. We don’t get to take her out anywhere near as often as we’d like but our kids now look forward to special outings in Great Grandfathers ‘Pra-Dziadzius’ Jaguar.
