Dedication: 1935 SS1 Airline Saloon

Jim and Lisa Hendrix are committed fans of all things Jaguar.  Nearly everything automotive inside and outside their garage is a Jaguar, with the notable exception of the Sunbeam motorcycle, but it has a Swallow sidecar mounted.  The Hendrix were ready to add something Jaguar to their collection and were debating what it would be.  They were looking at a book by Paul Skilleter titled “Jaguar Saloon Cars,” and saw the photo of a SS I Airline Saloon on the back jacket cover.  They knew that was the car they wanted, but they may have underestimated what was necessary to find and restore one.  Together with their friend and restorer, Jason Manns, they consider themselves a team.  It took a lot of teamwork and determination to find and restore their very rare 1935 SS I Airline Saloon.  It has been a worldwide effort to bring this car back with many people involved.

Prehistory of Jaguar

The company that became Jaguar was the result of two men named William working together.  The first was William Walmsley who was building stylish sidecars for the war (WWI) surplus Triumph motorcycles he reconditioned in his garage in Blackpool.  Walmsley had no engineering training, but he did have an eye for style, something that was missing in the carts that were being attached to motorcycles at the time.  Assisted by his sister and his wife, he produced about one sidecar per week.  A young neighbor, William Lyons, ten years Walmsley’s junior, liked the look of the aluminum-bodied, octagonal sidecars and bought one.  Lyons joined Walmsley when he turned 21 and was able to borrow £1000, and they launched the Swallow Sidecar Company in a larger workspace.  With a workforce of about a dozen men, their goal was to produce ten or more sidecars per week.