Nigel Thorley has written several excellent books on the marque. (I own his volumes on the XJ40 and XJS, and can recommend them both.) While past books have concentrated on specific models, thought, this on attempts to cover the entire range of cars since the beginning, with a particular emphasis on post-war vehicles.

I think we have mentioned the curious ignition switches on SS1 'so Commonly known as 'Spade keys' they weren't coded, merely being removable after operation. These apparently were a carry over from Austin Ts, which also had them.

In a recent conversation with Dick France, the topic turned to books about Jaguar automobiles. Starting in the 1960's, I've picked up a sizeable number of books in the succeeding years. Some are excellent, other mediocre, and some make the reader wonder why the author even bothered!

Starting SS1 and SS2 engines can be a little different than later cars. I suspect in the early days there was no ignition key at all. An early 1933 SS 1 owner from New Zealand asked me to make a new plastic dash centre section, (the part holding the 4 small instruments).

The rod brakes on SS Jaguars and Mk IV's were pretty good if set up properly, but here's something that may help you get the most out of them, especially now they're a bit old. The pivots on the front and rear axles enabled the system to equally distribute the braking to each side. This was achieved by allowing them to pivot in the fixed housing on the axles. 

Scotland is famous for a certain libation, bagpipes, a dish composed of oatmeal and innards in a sheep's stomach and Ecurie Ecosse. Ecurie Ecosse was Scotland's first...

SS rain gutters are very decorative things and fiddly to install. They were actually a form of pin beading, but with a complicated cross section in lieu of the half round one used to retain the trim...

Well, I live in hope, but this may mean that Mk5 owners will now have to find something else to discuss at Register meetings apart from which pizza to order...