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Article by Dave Bray Dave Bray Some years ago, truck driver Ray Andrews found that he was putting more time and effort into sourcing parts and working on his and his friends’ Jaguars than he was into his ‘day job’. He was enjoying it more too, so he and his wife Sue decided that this was a good enough reason for them to have a change of life-style. This change involved moving, and the pair of them can now be found most of the time at their 3000 square foot Montgomery Avenue premises in Upper Hutt, among their vast stock of Jaguar parts, panels and components which in places are shelved and stacked as much as two stories high. There is also another nearby (non-public) store containing fourteen or fifteen other cars “…just a small reserve stock of parts…” Ray tells me. While he is also running a repair operation at the back of the premises, Sue is usually the first person that a caller encounters and she and Ray are well-known to local enthusiasts and others for their friendly service – and of course for Ray’s very quick ‘73 XJ6 which he has campaigned both on the track and in the Dunlop Targa, where he has been partnered by Bernie Huynen. His most recent success with this car was at the FMG Classic Race Series at Manfeild where he won the ‘Over 3500cc’ class – and that after having several weeks out with a blown motor. The work hack is a 1953 MkVII Jaguar pickup – a conversion done some time back in the ‘80s by a chap in the Hastings area; currently this is awaiting some updating by way of the fitment of power steering and swapping the front drum brakes for a set of XJ6 discs – just to make it more usable in today’s traffic. The stock of ‘Jaguar Spares and Repairs’ includes just about anything that might be sought to put right Jaguars ranging from the older MkVII to the MkI and MkII, 420, S-type, XJS and XJ40 – but more particularly the Series 1 to Series 3 XJ6. I also know from my own experience that Ray has a few other gems among his vast stock and was able to help me with not only the basic parts for my XK120 replica, but also such odd items as the anti-clockwise tachometer that was used back in the ‘50s and a matching speedo. Cable-driven from the rear of the left-hand camshaft, the rev counter was a rare find, but one which finished things off very nicely, thank you very much. The eventual aim is to have a stock list available on a web site – www.jagsparesandrepairs.co.nz being the address chosen, but right now they are both too busy trying to keep up with what’s already going on to be able to devote too much time to that part of the business. Call it ‘work in progress’ for now. Until this can be achieved, Ray, Sue, and Jaguar Spares and Repairs pride themselves in being able to source those ‘hard to find bits’ and they can be contacted by phone on (04) 939 3763, by fax on (04) 939 3764, by email at jagspares@paradise.net.nz or by dropping in to see them at 16 Montgomery Crescent. |
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