1953 Jowett Jupiter
No Reserve – Entered from a deceased estate

Registration No: FVG 634
Chassis No: E3SA933R
MOT: Exempt

• Entered from a deceased estate
• An exciting stalled restoration now in need of finishing off
• Accompanied by a large history file including buff logbook and photographs of the restoration work
• To be sold with a spare Jowett engine

Encouraged by the Javelin's success in motorsport, Jowett's prime motivation for the Jupiter was to gain an increase in its steel allocation by exporting a Sports Car version to the USA. The chassis was penned by former Auto Union engineer Eberan von Eberhorst, and the initial intention was for Jowett to supply production examples of it for independent coachbuilders to add their own design of body, and 75 frames were duly supplied to names such as Stablilimenti Farina, Ghia Suisse, Gebruder Beutler, Richard Mead and Abbotts of Farnham for this purpose. However the costs involved proved hard to justify for a car with such modest power, and the factory was ultimately obliged to pen and create its own bodies. Crafted in aluminium, the Jupiter featured two doors leading to a single bench seat. Luggage space was accessed from inside, while the whole of the front hinged upwards from the scuttle to give optimum access to the engine and transmission. Power was provided by a high compression version of the Javelin's 1,486cc flat-four OHV engine mounted well forward in the chassis.

What it lacked it outright power, the Jupiter made up for in handling and roadholding, which resulted in an impressive level of international motorsport success, including class wins at Le Mans in 1950, 1951 and 1952; the 1950 Monte Carlo Rally; the 1951 Dundrod TT; and outright victory in the 1951 Lisbon Rally. Many private owners employed the model for racing, rallying, sprinting and hillclimbing. Production ran from 1950 to 1954, during which around 900 examples were manufactured. A promising-looking composite-bodied successor, the R4, never progressed beyond the prototype stage and the company closed its doors in 1955.

Despatched on June 24th, 1953, ‘FVG 634’ was registered in Norwich but its first five owners were all around Birmingham. Alfred Edward Abraham of Kings Norton owned it from August, 1953, to June, 1962, when KD Motor Service of Aston took it in and sold it that October to Clifford Ventris-Field of Ward End. It was powder Blue when, after two more owners, Jowett Car Club member Clive Jackman bought it in 1973 “in a sorry state but driveable – just.” Unable to restore it, it lived at his parents’ house until 1985, when he gave it to a builder friend who then sold it to a mechanic.

Between 1999 and 2001, the mechanic co-ordinated a mechanical restoration, overhauling the gearbox, rear axle, brakes and steering and entrusting the engine work to specialists. Despite removing the body and investing in several new panels, he sold the Jowett on the understanding that the bodywork restoration required completion. Though the project stalled, it is now assembled and painted with only minor fitting left to be done, along with mechanical recommissioning. The Jowett boasts an impressive history file including the 1953 buff logbook, original maintenance manuals and parts lists, Pitman’s Book of the Javelin & Jupiter, a before-restoration photograph from 1984 and several pictures and invoices from the 1999-2002 renovation.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430