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One of our amazing XK120 Competition Racing Cars restorations. A ‘1950 Jaguar XK120 Competition Roadster’, TAL 81 is an early RHD steel bodied car with an extensive and lengthy competition history.Built on December 15th 1950 and delivered via James Windsor & Sons, to its first owner a Mr Cash Linney. The next significant change of ownership occurred in 1958 when the car was sold through the Newport Jaguar distributors to Gordon Williams of RISCA garages fame in Wales, who promptly sold it on to race driver William “Bill” Llewellyn.It was under Bill’s ownership that TAL 81 embarked on its lengthy competition career, initially in standard form but becoming progressively more highly tuned and modified over time. Examples of some of the upgrades installed in this period by Bill include: two 2-inch SU carburettors, wire wheels, ex-Maserati disc brakes, a later fuel injection system and finally a more powerful 3.8 litre E-type engine with polished head and triple SU carburettors.Bill’s racing career took him to most of the famous UK tracks and it was at Paddock Bend, Brands Hatch, in 1960 that he suffered a crash which resulted in an extended hospital stay for Bill and a lengthy rebuild for TAL 81. In part due to safety concerns after his accident Bill subsequently fitted TAL 81 with a Morris Minor roof which resulted in the famous fast-back appearance of the car and typified the look of the mod-sport period. Bill emigrated to Australia in 1969 and by 1970 TAL 81 belonged to Richard Goode who continued to race and further develop the car. It was during Richard’s ownership that TAL 81 was re-registered on Andorra plates and the Morris Minor top was removed. Following a spell in a well-known Belgian collection, the car was returned to the UK in 1998 and stored pending further work before it was purchased by JD Classics in 2013, where it underwent a full chassis off restoration to original racing specification.A truly iconic XK120 competition roadster whose racing career spanned three decades.#jaguar #xk120 #restoration #classiccars #car #carpassion #jdclassics #millemiglia #racecar #woodhammortimer