July 9, 2014 (Milwaukee, Wis.) A 1958 Jaguar Mark VIII that spent part of its life sitting in a barn was brought back to life by Mike Kurtzweil of New London. The car will be competing in the Luxo Euro Class along with two other Jaguars at the 2014 Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014.
Nine Jaguar XKs will be competing in the Jaguar Class and two Jaguars will compete in the Pre-War Class.
Kurtzweil’s research indicates the car had been part of the LeMay collection, Tacoma, Wash., since 1989 although not used by the LeMay group. LeMay auctioned the car in 2009; it was purchased and trailered to Virginia.
“In late 2009 I found the car on Craigslist and had it trailered to Wisconsin,” Kurtzweil said. “It was still the barn find that LeMay had found in 1989. In no way was it drivable and if this had not been my first attempt at such a thing I would have realized the car should have been a parts car.”
One of only 1,668 left-hand-drive Mark VIII’s that were built, Kurtzweil was compelled to restore it.
A member of the Fox Cities British Car Club, Kurtzweil started the frame-off restoration himself using the Club facility in Oshkosh. Bill Yach of BRB Autobody in Rothschild, Wis., was called upon to restore the body and paint.
After a few remaining details were completed, the car was ready to show earlier this summer. Kurtzweil entered it in the British Car Field Day show June 15 in Sussex, Wis., where he and the Mark VIII won the Jaguar class and People’s Choice.
The weekend-long Milwaukee Masterpiece, Aug. 23 – 24, 2014, is a family friendly event.
Purchase tickets by Aug. 1 to take advantage of pre-sale advance sale pricing.