1949 Jaguar Parkinson Special at the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races

1947-1955 Sport Racing GT Cars over 1500cc

1948-1955 Sports Racing & GT Cars Under 1500cc

1955-1961 GT Cars Under 2200cc

1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars Under 2000cc

1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars Over 2000cc

1959-1966 Sports Racing Cars

1961-1966 GT Cars Under 2500cc

1963-1967 GT Cars Over 2500cc

1973-1980 IMSA GT, GTX, AAGT Cars

1966-1974 Can-Am Cars

1971-1976 FIA Mfg. Championship Cars

1964-1971 FIA Mfg. Championship Cars

1981-1990 IMSA GTP & FIA Mfg. Championship Cars

1947-1955 Sport Racing GT Cars over 1500cc Vehicles

1949 Baldwin Mercury Special

1949 Jaguar Parkinson Special

1950 Allard J2

1951 Hudson Hornet Series 7A

1952 Allard K2

1952 Frazer Nash LeMans

1952 Jaguar C-Type

1952 Jaguar XK 120

1952 Schaghticoke Manning Special

1953 Allard J2X

1953 Ferrari 250 MM

1953 Tatum Special

1954 Austin-Healey 100-4 BN1

1954 Chevrolet Corvette C1

1954 Jaguar XK-120

1954 Kurtis KK-500

1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

Information on the 1949 Jaguar Parkinson Special

More photographs of the 1949 Jaguar Parkinson Special

This racing special was built at International Motors in Los Angeles for the late Don Parkinson in 1951, following a racing accident at Pebble Beach in which he hit a tree. The new body was stretched by then teen-aged Robert Cumberford (who is now with Automobile Magazine), and constructed by the late Marvin Faw under the supervision of Phil Hill, Parkinson's brother-in-law. The chassis is an early Jaguar XK-120 with the engine moved rearward about 12 inches and down about 4 inches and slightly to the right. Displacement was increased from 3.4 to 3.8-liters in 1952 making it one of the first big displacement Jaguars. The car weighs about 2000 pounds.

Parkinson successfully raced the car in its present configuration for two years before replacing it with a Jaguar C-Type. The car was restored by John Buddenbaum in 1983 and it continues to be very competitive in its class.

Also photographed at :

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion >> 5B : 1947-55 Sports Racing and GT Cars

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion >> 5B: 1947-55 Sports Racing and GT

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion >> Early Production Cars

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion >> 1947-1955 Sport Racing and Prod. Cars over 2000cc

Don Parkinson was a professional architect living in Los Angles during the early 1950s. He was an avid racer with aspirations with achieving success in the competitive road racing segment. In early November of 1950 he drove his Jaguar XK-120 to a very impressive second place finish behind his brother-in-law, and legendary race car driver Phil Hill. In May of the following year, he returned to Pebble with his Jaguar determined to capture an overall victory. During the race, the desire to win exceeded the cars capabilities and he rolled the car in a sharp turn. The car was badly damaged but luckily, he was able to walk away from the wreckage.

The car was brought back to his hometown of Los Angeles and was re-worked with the help of Joe Thrall, a mechanic at International Motors In Hollywood, California. As the wrecked body was removed from the chassis, Parkinson decided to replace it with a custom body. He enlisted the help of Robert Cumberford who designed a cycle-fender Special that had a very narrow and rounded design. Marvin Faw molded the aluminum into the shape of the design. Thrall and Parkinson repaired and modified much of the drivetrain including repositioning the engines farther back, lower, and to the right in the engine bay. A new factory racing camshaft was fitted and the flywheel was lightened. The result was a car that weighed around 2000 pounds.

Upon completion, Parkinson raced the car in several events, beating some stiff competition and outpacing many talented drivers of the day. The car was raced from late 1951 through 1953 rather frequently with many podium finishes including at Palm Springs, Pebble Beach, Golden Gate Park, Torrey Pines, and many more.

During the 1970s, the car was treated to a restoration by Faw and became a frequent visitor in historic competition.

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