{"id":498279,"date":"2019-07-16T15:02:39","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T22:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=84933"},"modified":"2024-06-03T23:44:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T23:44:12","slug":"the-majors-jupiter-1951-jowett-jupiter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/the-majors-jupiter-1951-jowett-jupiter\/","title":{"rendered":"1951 Jowett Jupiter – The Major\u2019s Jupiter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>My wife made an offer on a house in New Zealand while vacationing there with her family a few years ago. She is a realtor, and not an impulsive person, so I did not object, especially after she mentioned that it had a four-car garage. I was a bit apprehensive on the flight over though, wondering what we were getting ourselves into.<\/p>\n

A couple of hours after arrival, we were driving up a lush green hill, overlooking the ocean on a beautiful warm summer day\u2014in January. The seasons are reversed here. We wound up and around and came to a park in which there were six or seven Jowett Javelins and Jupiters along with a couple of tiny Bradford trucks also built by Jowett. I asked the cabbie to stop, and walked over to a red 1951 Jupiter to get a closer look. I had only ever seen pictures of them.<\/p>\n

An older gentleman introduced himself and his car. It turned out I was speaking to Major John Holloway, retired, from the British Army. He looked as if he were sent from central casting at a major film studio, with his handle bar moustache and his very upright military bearing. He told me that he lived in town, and that his mates in the Jowett Car Club would be convening at the local pub that evening, and invited me to come up and hoist a pint or two with them.<\/p>\n

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“The Major” and his 1951 Jowett Jupiter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I went back to the taxi thinking, \u201cThis place might just work out.\u201d And then, as we went further up the hill, five World War II era AT6 Harvard trainers flew over in formation and started doing synchronized loops over the bay. At that point I thought, \u201cThis is a great country!\u201d And then when we drove up to the new house, my wife was waiting to show me the view from our living room window. When I saw it I said this is a\u00a0fantastic<\/em>\u00a0country. And we\u2019ve been going there for the American winter ever since.<\/p>\n

But back to the Major as everyone called him\u2014and his Jowett Jupiter.\u00a0 I fought off the jet lag and hitched a ride to the pub that evening. Holloway introduced me around, and then we had a chat. Turns out he had been a paratrooper in the British Army, and when he retired, he missed the adrenaline rush of throwing himself out of airplanes, so he decided to try his hand at racing. He campaigned a Jaguar XK120 for a few years, and then sold that and bought the Jowett.<\/p>\n

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He and his mate Neil Moore, also present, had been racing together all over New Zealand in classic events for years, and were having a great time. I knocked back a pint in order to get up the courage to ask the Major if I could have a spin in his Jupiter. I told him who I was, and for whom I worked, and at that he agreed to let me take his speedy steed for a spin.<\/p>\n

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1952 publicity photo for the Jowett Jupiter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was an ideal situation because noted automotive photographer David Gooley, who was also in New Zealand on vacation, came along with me. A couple of days later we met the Major at the park and he took me for a jaunt through the surrounding hills to show me what this vintage sports car could do in capable hands. I was duly impressed. He knew right where to put it, where to brake, and when to step on it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Then it was my turn. Holloway had a big grin on his face, as if to say, \u201cnow let\u2019s see what you can do,\u201d as he handed me the keys. The Jupiter sits vary low, and I have to bend down to reach the door handle. You don\u2019t climb into a Jupiter. You slip it on like a boot. But once down in the car, its bench seat is roomy and comfortable, if a bit upright. The dash has a full array of easy to read, business-like Smiths gauges.<\/p>\n

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I twist the key and hit the starter. The engine coughs to life and settles into an idle with a somewhat agricultural sound.\u00a0 But it revs freely when you give it a bit of petrol as they say here. I pull it into gear and we are off. The column shift is on the left side of the steering wheel, which is surprising, but shifting is tight and precise, making quick gear changes pretty easy. Steering is rack and pinion, with two and a half turns lock to lock, so the Jupiter is very responsive, though not twitchy.<\/p>\n

Braking is good thanks to the car\u2019s Girling, dual-bore master cylinder, large drum brakes and weight of only 2,121 pounds. The major\u2019s Jupiter has torsion bar suspension all around, and he has it set up very well for brisk cornering. The front suspension torsion bars are longitudinal and the rears are transverse across the car.<\/p>\n