New Member Stories

from Classic Marque AUGUST 2022

Register Reports

Hi Graham, Here are some answers to your questions I have never been a member of any Jaguar car club but I was the founder of a group called Saabers of Adelaide. I was surprised when I bought my new, but 2-year-old Saab in 2013, that there was no Saab group in South Australia. If you wish, you can see our Facebook page. I believe my Saab was the second last sold in Australia. It was built in 2011 but first registered to me in 2013. Paid half of its original sticker price but disposed of it in 2019. Always been a lover of Jaguars ever since I was a small boy when my father and I looked at and he drove a MK 7. He never bought though opting instead for a Rover 75 {cyclops). I only bought mine in October last year, sight unseen from a lady in Queensland for $4,000. I have had to spend a further 3K on it but it is a joy to own. I am not mechanically minded so I need to use mechanics, but not going to spend much more on it to fix some of the little faults that I can live with.

I have over the years owned what are now classed as classic cars including but not limited to a Simca Aronde, Renault Florides {X2}, Triumph 2000, HK GTS Monaro and a 49 Hillman Minx. (Should have kept them all!!}. As you can see from attached photos it is an X type. It is a 2002 model with the 2.1 litre 6-cylinder engine. It has only travelled 103,000 kilometres and the inside is spotless. In addition, the body and paintwork is in excellent condition. I am constantly being asked about her as she seems to stand out a bit. I think it’s the wheels.

So Cheers for now Lee Bratt

Editor: In the October 2020 edition of Classic Marque there is a feature story on the X-Type that you may enjoy reading (if you haven’t already). Low milage X-Types are getting hard to find. It looks like you have done well Lee.

Hi Graham, I’ll do my best to provide you with some insight as to my classic car background. Why the Jag club? Well, the guru of Jags, Andrew Costi and I work together and we quite commonly talk our passion for cars over a coffee in our morning break. I was looking for a club to complete a historic registration on one of my Utes (a practical solution to the work I’m doing on a home in the hills) and Andrew suggested the Jaguar Club would provide a good opportunity to do so. My classic car background comes from my father who worked for Chryslers for over 40 years as a design draftsman. As a young man, I was surrounded by Valliant’s and I actually learned to drive in a 3-speed column shift AP6 Valiant. While I’ve owned about 6 or 7 Valliant’s over the years, I’ve dabbled in all sorts of marques. The first car I bought with my own money was a Mark 1 GT Cortina and since then, I’ve gone through a string of Australian, European and Japanese vehicles including an XB Coupe, Mazda RX3, Fiat 124 Sports, Mitsubishi Starion Turbo and too many others to mention. I’m currently dabbling with a couple of Japanese Utes and my son, Ty, has a 70s vintage mini shell that he is restoring when he’s back on holidays from his uni studies interstate. I’ve added a couple of photos of the last two Valliant’s that I’ve owned and the old Express Ute that I’m currently playing with.