2011-06-20 09:31:54 | pauls writes:

Ebay item 6/20/11
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1958-Black-Jack-Special-Jaguar-D-Style-Vintage-Racer-/12 ...
Opening bid $200,000, no reserve, no bids yet 6 days left in auction. Note, the saloon VIN is provided tho the origin of this car is not verified by this site. Seller says that the XK150, claimed basis, VIN was lost, the car is being sold as S992845DN.

Sellers description:
1958 Black Jack Special
Jaguar XK-150 derived vintage racer, D-Type Inspired

An historic vintage road race special with history and genuine provenance. HSMA approved and eligible for virtually any notable vintage event

Designed, built and raced by "Black" Jack Baker, and famously campaigned around the Mid-West though 1965, at which point it was "retired" to languish in a field in Minnesota. The Black Jack was purchased from Baker in 1975 by its present owner, Frenchy Dampier, who performed a careful restoration and piloted it in vintage events for many years. Frenchy had been close to both Baker and the Black Jack since he was a young man, and even acted on Baker's pit crew at some events. It was his dream to own the car one day, and his association with it from the beginning makes for some splendid continuity; indeed it is amazing that it has had only two owners in 53 years. Frenchy has lovingly maintained a scrapbook of records, photos, publications and documents covering much of the rich history of this unique special.

Jack Baker had already cultivated some notoriety for his track exploits in his own "El Toro" specials when he began work on what became known as the "Black Jack Special" in 1958. The basis for the new car was a crashed '58 XK-150 (not an XK-140 as is often erroneously recorded), which leant its drivetrain, 4-wheel disc brakes, and its frame (shortened to 96", with a wheelbase of 89").

The gorgeous body was created in three parts: The bonnet was created in fiberglass from a mold taken directly from a Jaguar D-Type, the rear fiberglass was molded off a Maserati Birdcage (highly modified, but the contours still visible), and the center-section / cockpit was fabricated from aluminum. Both the D-Type (#XK-536) and the Birdcage (#2467) belonged to Baker's friend Don Skogmo (another Minnesota racer of some note!). The result was one of the most beautifully proportioned race cars of its class. Arguably sweeter than either of the donor cars, it looks at once both familiar and unique in any company.

By '64, the XK DOHC-6 was proving short on power compared with the latest "thin-wall-casting" Detroit V8s. A Cobra-tuned Ford 260 was installed, only to be replaced by a 289 when that became available. This kept the car competitive until the mid-rear-engined cars became the new-wave (in fact, Baker retired the Black Jack to concentrate on a Ford 427-powered Quasar).

As a Jaguar fanatic, collector, mechanic and racer for four decades, Frenchy naturally returned the Black Jack to classic Jag 3.8 power (best regarded of the big twin-cams). The car still has an original Jaguar 4-speed all- sychro box, Dunlop discs, and solid rear axle; desirable vintage features that retain legitimacy and feel for the era. The lighter-than-IRS rear axle can even be an advantage on smooth tracks.

Today, the Black Jack's engine is kept in a relatively mild state of tune, on triple SU carbs, and Frenchy prefers to adjust the car to the track by swapping the final drive in the Halibrand quick-change diff. Six different gears provide final drive ratios between 4.86:1 for tricky tracks and 2.94:1 for Jabbeke-style top-speed runs (the six gears make 11 different gear combinations). The car is fitted with a 44-gallon, custom-made fuel cell, providing up to 450 miles of range. The engine has a dry sump with 5 gallon oil capacity, belt -driven pump, and six filters. The entire car exhibits impressive fabrication, clean welding, neat finishing (for a race car) and excellent craftsmanship overall. Weight distribution is 51/49 with five gallons in the tank. Curb weight wet is 2130 lbs.

Frenchy reports that the Black Jack has been a very strong, reliable and fast partner on the track with the chassis having been well-sorted over the years. Indeed, at the 1986 Grand Bahama Vintage Grand Prix, Frenchy and the Black Jack Special had the right honorable distinction of beating, in at least one timed event, none other than Stirling Moss in the freshly restored and factory-backed Aston-Martin DBR2.

Both the Black Jack Special and the Aston have full-page feature articles in the Official Program Book from the '86 Bahama Vintage GP.

The BJS has also been featured in The Jaguar Marque (Vol. V, No. 5), and is noted in the history books: Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950-1969, by Harold Pace and Mark R. Brinker; and the excellent Road Racing Specials, edited by Vintage Motorsport (which has a 1962 photo and a particularly good write-up by Steve Conroy (with generous detail notations by Frenchy Dampier published in latter pages of the book!)

To walk around the car is to be drawn into its aura. It's clean, beautiful and presentable in any company, but it's the little chips and marks and ware that make you want to sit in it and grab the warm wood of the vintage wheel with your racing gloves. Old dash plaques, tech decals and event stickers seal the deal. It's more than patina: The fact that this car was restored only once, and thirty-five years ago, enhances a real feeling of authenticity. If you're drawn to vintage racing because you genuinely like old race cars (as opposed to "re-minted" new/old ones), then the Black Jack is like a dream.

The car is running and driving and will need very little prep before taking to the track again. It is able to go wheel-to-wheel with the seven-figure valued cars. As a way to get on the starting grid alongside Ferrari Testa Rossas, Porsche RSKs, Scarabs, Birdcage Masers, or Ol' Yaller, the Black Jack Special represents an exceptional opportunity and value. Its new owner will also be custodian to a unique little piece of American road racing history, created by a colorful virtuoso character. And that, friends, is what makes this car so cool....