CLASSIC DRIVE
Can several subtle updates make a MkIX from 1960 more civilised to drive? We find out with a neatly modified example
T he end of a long line of large, imposing saloons that never looked out of place with a chauffeur behind the steering wheel. These stately vehicles were a match for a Bentley or Rolls-Royce of the time, and although the subsequent MkX was a similarly large, cumbersome machine (and one of Jaguar’s widest), it didn’t offer the same level of perceived grandiosity as its predecessors.
Jaguar’s MkIX arrived in 1959 to replace the MkVIII that had been short-lived, having been introduced in October 1956 as an interim model to run alongside the MkVIIM. Destined to become obsolete, whilst the exterior appearance of all of these models didn’t change too much (the MkVIII saw the introduction of a more prominent radiator grille, one-piece screen and two-tone paintwork), their mechanical components did change and improved with each mark.
The MkIX, for instance, was equipped with disc brakes all round, whereas its predecessors had drums. The 220bhp 3.8- litre XK engine was fitted to the MkIX, instead of the MkVIII’s 210bhp 3.4-litre, which only shaved 0.3 seconds off the 0-60mph time at 11.3 seconds but which did increase the top speed by almost 8mph to an impressive 114mph.
As independent Jaguar specialist Ken Jenkins explains, “The MkVIII is fitted with a B-type cylinder head, the same as the XK150. This head has better porting, 45-degree valve seats and larger exhaust valves which, combined with a twin exhaust increases the power to 210bhp.
The later car was also offered with power-assisted steering, which consisted of a Hobourn Eaton power steering pump which was driven from the back of the dynamo. From lock-to-lock, the steering had to be turned 3.5 times, whereas the MkVIII needed 4.5 turns.
The s uspension wasn’t revised on the MkIX, utilising torsion bars and wishbones at the front, and leaf springs at the rear. This dated design was discarded when the MkX appeared in October 1961, which employed a new set of components comprising wishbones, coil springs, dampers and an anti-roll bar at the front and wishbones, radius arms, coil springs and dampers at the rear. The MkX’s components paved the way for a new era at Jaguar, with independent rear suspension, inboard rear brakes and a superior ride quality for models ranging from the E-type to the XJ saloon.
Despite Jaguar in danger of seemingly flogging a dead horse towards the end of the Fifties with the dated looks of the MkIX, the model still represented class with performance. In the same year it was launched, the Mini appeared with a wheezy 848cc engine that produced a meagre 34bhp and would take almost half a minute to reach 60mph. Even the then modern MGA Twin Cam, produced between 1958 and 1960, wa
