Our newest member jibhat would like a Jowett

[Forumadmin]

PM or email jibhat which you can find in the JT members list.

[Chris Spencer]

Whilst I very much welcome new members - I consider it quite wrong that they expect other members to pander after them with what model Jowett they would like / what expectations they have / do they have a budget / are they open to a project or do they just want a on the road car - Much better & politer if the new member introduced themselves and indicated what exactly they were looking for rather than have several members chasing about after them!

[Forumadmin]

I expect John will introduce himself shortly and give more details of his desires. He registered on JT yesterday and put in his profile that he would like to own a Jowett as a response to why he would like to register on JT. This I thought was a valid reason to allow him to become a JT member. Hence my posting.

He may like a conversation about which Jowetts he would like and in what condition.

[Forumadmin]

I expect John will introduce himself shortly and give more details of his desires. He registered on JT yesterday and put in his profile that he would like to own a Jowett as a response to why he would like to register on JT. This I thought was a valid reason to allow him to become a JT member. Hence my posting.

He may like a conversation about which Jowetts he would like and in what condition.

[jibhat]

Sorry I have been slow in introducing myself, I was a little put off by the initial response to my simple declaration that I would like a Jowett.
Perhaps I should have explained that now in my late eighties I have enjoyed many cars starting with a 1929 LTOW JAP powered Morgan, many Austin 7’s, a Wolsey Hornet, a 1934 Hillman, Riley 15/6 Kestrel, Hillman Imp, several Citroen 2CV’s, VW Beetles, Volvo Amazon, Triumph Roadster and several modern cars. My working life was spent in contributing to the downfall of the once Great British Aircraft Industry.
I have never had the opportunity of owning a Jowett but being an admirer of other products of Yorkshire such as the beer, Eccles cakes, countryside, steam trains, tea, vets etc.etc I have always thought my education was incomplete not knowing the Jowett/Bradford products. The Jowett Javelin I have only admired from afar and the one recently advertised in Essex attracted my attention. I no longer want a project but would like to take advantage of the efforts and enthusiasm of another, only having to do simple maintenance and visit local classic car shows when the sun shines. I found your web site informative and wondered if I would find member’s cars for sale and even what I should look for when considering the custodianship of a Javelin. I was even hopeful of some inside knowledge of the St Andrews Autos car.
With a little help and encouragement perhaps I too can have a Jowett Javelin and join your Club.
Regards John.

[Forumadmin]

Welcome John.
The website has been going as long as the Internet so you may have to search for some of the information you need.
Initially familiarize yourself with jowett.org that has a brief overview of what you can expect of the club. The tabs on its home webpage will take you to various topics. There is also a search facility for this part of the website.
You have found the forum, JowettTalk, that has a world wide audience and questions are usually answered promptly.
As a non-member you have access to various sections so please familiarize yourself with what is in them. You can search these using the search box for the section or the overall search box at the top of the page.
However, the majority of the information in the Technical, Magazine and Historical sections is only available to members so that you cannot access or search these. Members have access to the Archive and can search nearly 2500 documents in it.

[Chris Spencer]

The Javelin at St Andrews Autos
https://standrewsautos.co.uk/portfolio/ ... condition/
Coming from the estate of a deceased owner it was purchased at auction in November with the dealer paying £4,576 including buyers premium
https://www.historics.co.uk/auction/lot ... 6&pn=1&g=1
The dealer appears to have done nothing to it - Whilst it appears to be a clean & well presented, It lacks the front bumper - Its now speculatively priced with a large margin at £11,995 - Well over where I would value it in the £8,000 region
There is a much better 1952 Javelin Deluxe for sale via a club member currently who is retiring from driving - The car is in excellent order & multiple award winning - the car is in West Yorkshire and priced at £10,500
Javelins are a fabulous car, very comfortable, easy to drive and woefully underrated

[Nick Webster]

The car at St. Andrews Autos is typical of the difficulties facing anyone trying to sell a Javelin. It was, a Chris says, one of a number if cars that eventually came up for sale after the owner died after a short illness. At the time he had three different Jowett cars all in various states of professional restoration. The Javelin was complete enough to attend the funeral. Since then the front bumper chroming has been completed and replacement brackets sourced for the missing mountings. These have recently been forwarded to the current vendor. It is a later standard car and the previous owner was most anxious that all details of the restoration should accurately reflect the detail of this model. This was very refreshing in view of an unfortunate historical trend within the Jowett Car Club where in search of an easy fix or "upgrade", spare parts are swapped between models with little thought of originality. Unfortunately, now, many owners are not even aware how much has been altered, and members actively seeking to present a correct car are few and far between. All the more a pity that the previous owner of this car did not live to enjoy it.

To return to my first sentence, the family originally advertised the car in the Jowetteer for a price not dissimilar to that being asked now. It failed to attract interest and there is a school of thought that says that advertising in Jowetteer is coals to Newcastle. Eventually they sent two cars (the other was a Kestrel) to auction where (in view of the restoration work) they were knocked down for a fraction of their true value. Which was a bit of a shocker. This scenario has played out before. A dealer will swoop in, sometimes making a killing but then in at least two cases I can think of the price is gradually reduced until it resembles something closer to the purchase price. In these cases the dealers did reasonably well for themselves and it was subsequent owners that took a hit. In all cases, though, remember dealers are not working for your benefit!

To conclude. The black Javelin in question is an excellent vehicle, sadly at present over priced in the market (although good value considering restoration costs). A prospective owner should understand its value as a "standard" and not lust after a wood dashboard and leather seats.

Nick
JCC Javelin Registrar.

[Srenner]

Happy New Year from the USA! For me, it's easy to select a Javelin as a good collector car that is very useful.

I have been driving my Javelin since 1990. It had less than 100 miles on it when I took it to Mexico and ran the La Carrera, a timed rally across Mexico's Hwy 3 from Ensenada to San Felipe. My dad drove part of the rally and we had a blast.

It has traveled round trip from Los Angeles to the east coast on the Ted Miller Memorial Drive, which can be found on this website. It has traveled through a number of National parks on up to the Arctic Circle, a 7500 mile trip carrying three of us (well, most of the time), spares and camping equipment. Never a sore back or bottom among the three of us. It also has filled in as my every day commuting car several times when needed and once, that was for a four month period.

The Javelin is comfortable, rides reasonably well compared to modern cars and certainly better than the majority of the cars of that period. As I thin out my herd, it is likely to remain.

The dealer at St. Andrews did well on a Jupiter he sold last year and was likely encouraged by that sale to try another Jowett. The market for Javelins does seem anemic. I concur that old problems long since solved still misinform a novice. Here in the States, the extremely negative in-period magazine review of a Jupiter is still the first comment most uninformed people throw out to denigrate the car.

The problem here is that low prices devalue the car, but higher asking prices can dissuade a buyer if the car is viewed as a depreciating asset. Would we all be thrilled if the Javelin suddenly became a $50,000 car?

Kudos to the JCC for the efforts at national shows to highlight the cars and the support network. The marque could use a proper PR program to elevate the profile of the Javelin. In a recent post on JT from Oz, Mr. Kemp suggested a global "Drive your Jowett Day".

[jibhat]

Thank you “Forumadmin” for your welcome, encouragement and guidance on finding my way around the web site and forum. I have found it very useful and informative.
I appreciate the trouble your Members have gone to in helping me understand the availability, the market value and some of the difficulties to look out for when considering buying a Javelin.
Thank you Chris for the St Andrews advert details and the recent background of MBJ624’s purchase. I am grateful for your view on its real and market valuation. Please would it be possible to give me a lead/link/contact of the 1952 Javelin you mention that could be available in West Yorkshire?
Thank you also to Nick. For your valuation and in particular for the previous Custodian’s desire to ensure that all restoration work maintained the original specification. A principal I support.