Jaguar XK120
1948–1954 · 12in drums all round · and the first 242 cars are aluminium over ash
Drums, lever-arm rear dampers and a steering box. Almost nothing on it is shared with an XK150.
Find Jaguar XK120 parts by category
RelatedJaguar XK140Jaguar XK150Jaguar
Not listed? Plenty of parts suit several marques and never get the model name in the title — ask us and we will check the books for you.
About the Jaguar XK120
The XK120 launched the 3,442cc XK six at 160bhp, with a Special Equipment version quoted at 180 or 190bhp depending on which source you read, and an optional C-type head worth about 210bhp. Underneath: independent torsion-bar front suspension, a live rear axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs, lever-arm rear dampers and recirculating-ball steering. Brakes are 12-inch drums on all four wheels and they are famously prone to fade — some cars got Alfin finned drums. The period advice still holds: they want proper adjustment and a warm-up before you lean on them.
The body is the thing to establish before you order anything. The first 242 cars are aluminium panels over an ash frame; from early 1950 the body is pressed steel, though the doors, bonnet and boot lid stayed aluminium. Early doors are wooden-framed with aluminium skins and the frames rot. Glass differs by body too: the roadster’s windscreen is removable and can be swapped for aeroscreens, while the drophead and fixed-head cars have a flat two-piece screen in a steel frame. One more warning from the trade that applies to all three XKs: the bodies were mounted on spacers and no two cars were the same, so expect body-rubber fit to vary from car to car. 12,055 built — 7,606 roadsters, 2,672 fixed-heads, 1,767 dropheads.
Jaguar XK120 — specification & changes within the model
- Brakes
- 12-inch drums, all four wheels, the whole run. Prone to fade; some cars have Alfin finned drums. The XK150 of 1957 is where Jaguar discs arrive — not here.
- Suspension and steering
- Independent torsion-bar front. Live rear axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs. Lever-arm rear dampers — the XK140 changed to telescopics. Recirculating-ball steering box, costly to rebuild once play develops; the XK140 went to rack and pinion.
- Body — and the date that matters
- The first 242 cars are aluminium over an ash frame. Pressed steel from early 1950, with aluminium doors, bonnet and boot lid retained. Early doors are wooden-framed and the frames rot.
- Glass
- Roadster: removable windscreen, swappable for aeroscreens. Drophead and fixed-head: a flat two-piece screen in a steel frame. Neither is anything like the XK150’s one-piece curved screen.
- Engine
- 3,442cc XK six, 160bhp at 5,000rpm. Special Equipment quoted at 180bhp by one source and 190bhp by another — we will not pick. Optional C-type head, about 210bhp, red painted with a plaque.
- Check the engine number against the car
- So many XK engines were built that a later unit in an earlier car is not unusual. Check block and engine numbers before ordering to the model rather than the engine.
- Not claimed
- Earth polarity and nominal voltage. No source states either for any XK. Also not established: whether the Special Equipment car is 180 or 190bhp.