Jaguar from the Shop Floor

Part auto-biographical, and part historical, this book details life at the Jaguar company from the perspective of a long-time employee and enthusiast. Brian Martin’s story tells of his experiences both on the production line and in the elite experimental department.

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In Jaguar from the Shop Floor, Brian Martin tells the story of his life as a long-time employee at Jaguar, giving a first-hand account of the development and production processes, and the ups and downs of factory life through the eyes of someone who was actually there.
In this part-autobiographical and part-historical account, the author tells of his childhood in a typical working family of the depression era, and then describes his career from starting at the Jaguar factory in 1949, through a spell doing national service in the RAF and then going back to Jaguar. He left briefly in 1972 to try other jobs, but returned to the factory in the mid-1970s.
Providing a fascinating insight into the Jaguar production process, the book also covers the development of the XK120, Mk V, Mk VII, MK X, the Mark 1 and 2 saloons, the XKSS, E1A, E2A, lightweight E-types, XJ6, XJ12, and XJS.