S.S.120 PROJECT

WELCOME TO THE AS YET TO BE BUILT FINCH S.S.120 WE WILL FOLLOW

NO, WE ARE NOT DROPPING THE WONDERFUL XK150 restoration of Dave Taylor's XK150 FHC. Instead, it is joined by a second project, this one the work of internationally acclaimed Adelaide business Finch Restorations. Finch has concentrated on S.S. Jaguar 100 rebuilds, as well as clones they have been building for a number of decades.

Finch Restorations Managing Director, Peter Roberts: "Imagine if ... Imagine if production of William Lyons’ much-revered series of S.S.90 and S.S. Jaguar 100 sports cars had not been interrupted by World War 2.

"In reality, S.S. Jaguar 100 production stopped with the outbreak of War and didn't recommence. We know William Lyons’ company, Swallow Sidecars (S.S.), turned its manufacturing to support the War effort.

"It was a further eight years on, in 1948, that Lyons launched the Jaguar XK120 as the show-car for his new 3.4 litre XK engine. By this time, Lyons had also renamed his company - Jaguar - the name lifted directly from the pre-War S.S. Jaguar 100 model.

"In 1948, the first XK120s were hand-built with aluminium bodies on ash frames, mounted on modified Jaguar MkV saloon chassis.

"Finch Restorations, established in 1965, is Australia’s oldest car restoration business. Located in Adelaide, Finch has a solid reputation for award winning restorations, coachbuilding and replica builds. The metal and timber bodied S.S. Jaguar 100 replicas built by Finch use contemporary components from around the WW2 period.

A Finch S.S. Jaguar 100 has won the Australian Concours d’Elegance, and a 1914 Hispano Suiza restored by Finch won its class at the world's most prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

"Finch have turned their design skills and evolved an S.S.120 after imagining how Lyons might have developed the S.S.90 and S.S. Jaguar 100 series.

"The 3.4 litre XK engine might then have been an engine up-grade to the S.S.120 instead of the XK120 being the promotional vehicle for the new and sophisticated twin overhead camshaft engine in 1948.

"There is some anecdotal historical evidence that Lyons may have been considering a different development route for the S.S.90 and S.S. Jaguar 100 models in the form of a one-off ‘Baby Jaguar’ Lyons commissioned his workshops to build for his son.

"Finch have developed a beautiful range of ‘imagine-if’ vehicles. They feature styling contemporary to the classic and highly desirable vehicles of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and called these their S.S.120 range - an evolution of the S.S. Jaguar 100 that might have been.

Finch soon had their first order. A Queensland customer has commissioned the first S.S.120, an open-top two seater variant, and work is currently underway.

"The S.S.120 is based on donor MkV chassis, and has an XK 4.2 litre engine. Finch has developed a range of body options including the open-top two-seater, a convertible and a coupé.

"Various mudguard options are also possible, including a design reminiscent of Ukrainian-Frenchman, Jacques Saoutchik, the famous Parisian carrosserie who produced custom bodies for many marques, including spectacular custom bodies for the S.S. Jaguar 100.

"Finch Restorations is a boutique vehicle restoration business with over a dozen staff. As the business is predicated on preserving old skills, the average age of the workforce is in the late 40s, and together they have approximately 300 years of technical experience.

"Finch’s S.S.120 team includes Project Manager and senior mechanic, Bill, who has won the prestigious Confederation of Motor Sports (CAMS) SA Racing Driver of the Year; Colin first joined Finch in 1988 and has decades of experience with British and European cars.

He is the lead for the chassis and bodywork on the S.S.120; Matt, who has won both State and National Spray Painting championships; Kim, timber coachbuilder who is manufacturing the timber work for the S.S.120 and Peter, an engineer with 35 years of professional experience."

We are very excited by the S.S.120 project and will continue to work closely with Finch Restorations to follow its evolution. Of course, as Dave Taylor completes more work on his XK150 we will share that too.