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Etude in black - SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre

Name: SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre 1938
Brand: SS

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Created on December 19, 2022

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Noble, but true to original color scheme in black with beige upholstery

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - consists half of hood

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - more of a black Panther

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - How fitting: the retrofitted rear lights were also found on the Triumph TR3

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Two-flow exhaust system with discreet but beautiful sound

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Very asymmetrical front view. Are these still English manufacturing tolerances?

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Small "Brooklands Screens" behind the folding windshield

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - "centrally secured wire wheels" from Dunlop

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Large wheels, long hood, narrow cockpit

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - The rear consists of little more than a fuel tank and spare wheel

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - In his youth, he mainly drove on roads of this quality

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - It took a lot of courage to reach almost 160 km/h on gravel

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - The necessity of the headlight protection grille becomes clear on this terrain

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Unfortunately, it doesn't fit under the railroad barrier

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Even with the windshield up, the cockpit of the Jaguar is very stormy

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Anyone asking for a wind deflector now would be better off buying a Ford Tudor

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - easy to control on a smooth road surface

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Front wheels with positive camber

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Huge headlights and corresponding horns underneath

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - surprisingly modern driving experience

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - feels 20 years younger

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Impressive view to the front with a very large hood and at least as many fenders

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Tight cockpit, but plenty of elbow room

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Dashboard with tenon cut and wildly scattered switches

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Brooklands steering wheel with four spring spokes, not quite clear whether made of wood or resin

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - The upper spoke covers the oil pressure gauge

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Rev counter with integrated eight-day clock

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Speedometer with retrofitted kilometer scale

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Enameled name on one of the four spring spokes

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Complete Smiths instrument set. Only the ammeter is from Lucas

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Many small venting gills in the hood

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Internal longitudinal leaf springs, maintenance-free according to the brochure

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Folding protective grilles in front of the headlights

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - already with "Jaguar" instead of "SS" on the radiator grille

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - The radiator cap is not a dummy

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Chrome-plated wire wheels are rather untypical

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - High-build six-cylinder with 106 mm piston stroke

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Detailed specification table on the splashback

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Two SU carburetors with automatic starter

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Two electric fuel pumps at once

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1938) - Five fuses are enough for the simple electrics

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1936) - contemporary illustration of distinct elegance

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SS Jaguar 100 (1940) - available as an "open model" with 2.5 and 3.5 liter engines

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SS Jaguar 100 (1936) - color illustration

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SS One 90 (1935) - prototype with boat stern

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1939) - with special bodywork by Van den Plas

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Summary

Everyone talks about the Ford Model A as the ideal entry-level car into the pre-war classic car scene: reliable, easy to drive, with a good supply of spare parts and affordable - but also not particularly imaginative. Fortunately, there is another model from England that at least fulfills the first three of these four criteria. This article explains why an SS Jaguar 100 doesn't feel as old as it looks and shows a picture of a 2.5-liter model.

This article contains the following chapters

Purely a matter of the mind
More power, more displacement
Youthful Methuselah

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Noise! Oh, help! The first gear change hurts the ears and the gearshift sleeve. According to the brochure, the four-speed gearbox is supposed to be synchronized in the top three gears. But that didn't sound like it. The next time you change gear, you'll probably have to be a little more careful and, above all, double-clutch. After all, you don't want to torture the 80-year-old gear train unnecessarily. There are probably more suitable objects than an SS Jaguar 100 to get used to handling a pre-war car. Not so much because the value of a well-preserved example is in the mid-six-figure Swiss franc range and excessive caution would stand in the way of the required firm hand. But mainly because it feels surprisingly modern for a car from the 1930s, as soon as you give the synchronizer rings a little help.

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