Lake speed

On the subject of the 3.8 Jaguar that ended up in the lake at Oulton Park, my late father-in-law purchased this car and used it as a road vehicle for some years around our town. One could hear his daily journey from home to work quite clearly. He also competed in sprints at Brands Hatch and Goodwood.

A feature of this car was a leatherettecovered roof, as apparently Mr Salvadori had created a very awkward crease and this was a quick solution.

Another Jaguar memory is a trip with my friend who worked for John Coombs, to deliver a new Coombsmodified 3.8 to a customer in Darlington and take his old car back. This was in pre-speed limit days and, although delivery was at a gentle pace, on the way back we sat at more than 100mph most of the way. The only instrument to move for the length of the M1 was the fuel gauge.

As old enthusiasts say all the time, those were indeed the days.

John Millard, Gers, France