Lot Ended
Description
Rock solid California import; owned from new by Hollywood actor
Stephen Boyd (Messala in Ben-Hur) and remaining in the family ever since;
straightforward project
As the
original shipping documents confirm, this Jaguar MkII 3.8 Automatic left
Dagenham aboard the MS Brandanger bound for Jaguar Cars Inc of New York in
August 1962. Finished in Opalescent Bronze, it had been specially ordered by the
Hollywood actor Stephen Boyd and was delivered to his home in Los Angeles in
November 1962.
Born in County Antrim in 1931,
Boyd became an actor at an early age and moved to America in the 1950s
where his ruggedly handsome looks meant he was not short of work in
Hollywood. He is most famous for playing the murderous charioteer Messala,
duelling with Charlton Heston in the 1959 epic Ben-Hur, a role which earned him
the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Boyd had the Jaguar registered with a distinctive MESALA number
plate and was to keep it right up until his death in 1977, at which point
ownership transferred to his wife, Elizabeth Mills, who kept it until her death
in 2007. It was then inherited by our vendor's aunt and was shipped back from
California to England in 2008. Forming part of the Boyd Trust, it
came with a detailed report from West Coast Auto Appraisals which graded
all aspects of the car from 1 (excellent) to 6 (greatly deteriorated).
On the plus side, the bodywork was graded as 3
(very good; rust-free) but most other aspects were graded below this. The
mileage was stated as 49,245 – exactly as it is today. The report concluded:
“Vehicle is not operational and has not been operated for at least 20 years… The
body is very straight and rust-free. It would make a great project vehicle for
someone who loves Jaguars, but it will be a costly one” - this at a time when a
good example was worth aound $20k.
Stored in a
heated garage since arriving in the UK 15 years ago, it is in much the same
condition today as it was when it left the Sunshine State. It retains all its
original handbooks, including the service book which has one stamp at 783 miles
in November 1962. Photos of Stephen Boyd are also included, along with various
documents bearing his name.
It has not yet been
UK registered but comes with lots of documentation, including a California
Certificate of Title and HMRC papers to prove that all import duties have been
paid, so getting it registered should be simple enough using the usual DVLA
channels. It does have some Coventry-issued UK plates in the boot, 3282 WK,
which may have been on the car when it first left the Browns Lane
factory.
On offer here as a straightforward
restoration project with a rock solid structure, this one-family-owned
Jaguar has the potential to make a very nice car indeed and could be
converted to RHD if desired using parts readily available from
specialists.
For
more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]