I’ve pinned comments elsewhere where I’ve been wearing this coat and it’s a 1970s St Michael fake fur. It was unworn when I bought it and I wear it sparingly hence why it still looks so good on film. In real life you can tell it’s plastic fur not real 😂
@@idriveaclassic Excellent. I too have been a vegetarian for about forty years. I am proud of that fact. But secretly, I think of myself as a failed vegan.
Thanks Steph for a lovely review. Anybody interested in Jowetts, as part of the JCC Centenary there will be a Jowett meeting at the Great British Car Journey on June 18th 2023.
Steph - After commenting on your last video about the Standard Vanguard, you've just granted my wish, which was for you to feature a Jowett Javelin. My grandfather bought a new one in black in 1949 from North Riding Motors in York, the price - £999. Grandad passed away in 1955 when my father inherited the car which served us well until 1962. I have many childhood memories of holiday trips to Scotland, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. I can confirm what you say about their 82 mph top speed after nagging dad to put his foot down one day !!! Although I considered the car old fashioned as more modern cars arrived in the 1960s, I was sad to see the old girl sold and miss her comfort, space and personality to this day.
Dad used to have one, I remember me and older brother using back of car as a slide.... Dad was always fixing it... But what car back the did not need fixing..... Good motor... Happy times.
Hi Steph,following my racing Vanguard info,there was a Javelin racing at the Goodwood revival a year or two back(!) Back in the the day they ran works Jupiters at Le Mans.Just goes to show you can more or less race anything with right know-how & workshop! I recall going to an auction in the early 60,s & seeing a Javelin knocked down for less than £20! Great looking machine.Happy days.
Wonderful review! Thank you, Steph. I knew vaguely that Jowett Javelins were somewhat upscale but I wasn't expecting such an attractive interior. What a great car.
I saw a Jowet Javelin at an all british car show about 35 years ago and l have never forgotten it the bonnet was open and l saw the engine configuration and l thought how different the layout was but to see a review all these years later was fantastic thank you Steph
@@stephenholland5930 Athough it looks like a 1940s car but the configuration of the engine and gearbox also been a water cooled flat four so different from any other car from the 1940s proerably the most unusual car of the 1940s the Volkswagen Beetle had an air cooled flat four but the engine was at the rear but the engineering was very good it worked and that was done without the use of computers
Thanks for this Jowett video. Steph, what a lovely car for its time and well worth its asking price. One other factor leading to closure was the purchase by Ford of Jowett's body builder Briggs, which could no longer supply bodies. Regardless, the club and Bradford can be proud of Jowett's place in British motoring history.
At the time Jowett owed Briggs an absolute fortune, so it was no surprise they stopped supplying Jowett. Briggs also built the bodies for the Standard 8 & 10, but they continued to supply Standard Triumph until they were superceded by the Triumph Herald. The other car effectively killed off by the Ford takeover was the Lanchester 10. Lanchester were forced to change to a coachbuilt Barker body which upped the price.
My maternal grandfather had a Javelin. I have a couple of colour slides of the car in Norway when they travelled there in 1957. He was nothing if not adventurous! Sadly that was before my time, but I do remember his Mk2 Zephyr.
Back in the 1950s my grandad had a grocer's shop, and his workhorse was a Jowett Bradford van. Then another one! Then around 1959 he switched to the Morris Traveller (Jowetts no longer available). Aw, Steph, PLEASE find a Bradford!! Ideally in maroon...
There was a Jowett Bradford vqan around Colwyn Bay up to about 5 years ago not seen it for age4s, hope in in a garage safe somewhere unique sound from that Flat twin engine.
Like (Roger Coleman) I also had a teacher with a 'Jowett Javelin' silver coloured back in the early fifties (1952-56). Mr Jones was the science teacher of 'Tweenaway SM School for Boys Paignton'. I recall the car was used every annual sports day to power the 'loudspeaker' system around the sports field. Thanks for sharing Steph t ...
Steph, I tweeted to you a few months ago asking you to do the Javelin, and you came through-thank you! Fascinating car that would definitely have a place in my fantasy garage. Building transmissions in-house was a cost-saving move. In hindsight, they would have done better to keep buying them in from H. E. Meadows. There was a Javelin in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It was 500 miles from Seattle, so I never quite mustered up the initiative to contact the owner and ask if I could come and see it. I understand that he’s now deceased, and his son sold the car to someone in the eastern United States. Recommended reading: "Auto Architect," the autobiography of Gerald Palmer. Jowett Javelin and Jupiter: The Complete Story," by Geoff McAuley and Edmund Nankivell. The suspension was indeed torsion bars all around, but I don’t think it was fully independent. The car had a live rear axle.
The "P" I suspect is for panel lights. When this car was built it was illegal to park without lights, even in a 30 mph limit, so all cars had a separate switch to kill all unnecessary lights to save the battery. My 1967 Morris still had that facility.
Oh deffo. Just too expensive/too ambitious for world post war I think. Another great example of too much too soon is the Austin Atlantic (another favourite of mine…)
What a lovely video of one of my favourite makes of classic cars ,I first fell in love with the javelin around 1950 when i was 10years old and my dad was looking to buy his first car but unfortunatly they were far to expensive ,however i never lost my affection for jowetts and in 1977 i bought and restored a jupiter which i kept for 33years and i still know its present owner. i think your videos are great and imformative I would just add that i would think the stiff column change is due to lack of lubrication in the many joints of this system as they are known to be one of the best , i could change with one finger, the P switch is for panel lights and lastly the javelin had worm & peg steering box , the jupiter had rack & pinion.
Thanks so much, Steph : I was secretly expecting a serious Jowett Javelin drive test from you, as I bought a rare LHD 1950 belgian car a few years ago ....
Ive just had a call from E Jowetts son, i am the proud relative of the Jowett family & am currently looking at joining the jowett car club. At the moment i cannot say more, but i hope to be able to help him learn all about a family that we never knew existed until i went through my late mothers belongings and found all the proof & things we have!! Hopefully this will be interesting to all Jowett fans! Or maybe not lol!
Great enthusiastic review as always Steph, the ' P ' switch on the right is for ' Panel ' or dashboard instrument lamps .A school teacher of mine, Mr Hurst had one , trading in an Austin Ruby for a black Javelin and always said what a wonderful car it was !.
Thank you for telling me. We were all stumped and I was incredibly tired when I made this. I think with a bit more sleep I might’ve had a spark of thought 😂😂
So reminiscent of the Morris Minor, Which was still popular as a reasonable modern car through to the 70s, and with the enlarged rear light, much admired.
@@caw25sha Yes, I do agree, I was referring to overall body shape, although slightly over scale. I should have made myself clearer. Those Morris minors were a treat to drive, with a high level of driver engagement.
My Grandad always talked about the Javalin as a car he liked. That is definitely a car to have and that engine is so smooth, I do like the sound of a flat 4 engine, I love the Citroën flat 4 and this is a lot smoother.
Jowett was the maker of the rather humble little "Bradford" commercial vehicles , vans and pickups. When the car production finished in the 1950s Jowett was working on a new model of the Bradord van. An alternative future for Jowett would have been to just concentrate on commercial vehicles.
They were also working on the R4 Jupiter that was to share the same frame as the CD Bradford except it was a shorter wheel base. If only they held out for another year or two we may have got the new models produced
I live in the States, and I had never heard of Jowett or seen one before. Thank you so much for the history and the detailed views of this car. And you look beautiful sitting in it!
Jowett sold Jupiters to the USA. That was the sports car model using same engine / drive train that’s in the Javelin. There is a Jupiter owners club there.
When I was growing up in the early sixties, there was a Javelin at the end of the street. It had a unique look and I asked my father what it was. He told me and since he knew a lot about cars, added that Jowetts were well made quality cars. Naturally, I have thought of them in that way ever since, so I was pleased when your review confirmed it.
this channel provides a great service for those of us who never get to experience cars like the Javelin ... also love the hostess is lovely and very informed
Yay!!...been waiting for you to do a Jowett. I love these cars. My very first car was a 31 year old Javelin. It was such fun. I have since owned 36 cars but it is my Javelin that i regret selling the most. If i could afford one now i would sell my great little Citigo and buy one AND use it everyday. We hve a great owners club for Jowett here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thanks for the review
Im related to the Jowett family, my gran or Auntie were related. My mum was adopted by my gran, Irene Wood. In Bradford in 1947, my mum was from Ireland. Id love to hear from someone about the family, i have a family photo & also a grandfather clock made by him. I remember the name Elsie Jowett getting talked about a lot when i was little.
Pressed Steel made the body...Jowett was in front of its time..The British Leyland Company told Pressed Steel Co. that if they kept producing bodies for JOWETT they would take their custom elsewhere so they had no way of making their own futuristic bodies, which is why Jowett stopped production..
@@keith-nb8ps No it wasnt, it was Briggs Bodies first at Dagenham and later at Doncaster built the Javelin along with the Bradford van. The gearbox issue led to Javelins being stockpiled all round the works and beyond, waiting to have their gearboxes replaced. There was a downturn in sales both here and overseas then later Briggs was bought out by Ford.
My maternal grandfather had one. He was quite an enthusiast and owned a number of different cars and motorbikes in his time. By the time I had appeared and was taking notice, he had unfortunately given up driving, but my mother told me the Javelin was his favourite of them all. She was not at all a technically-minded person, but she told me she could always tell a Jowett by its engine note. Thanks for a great video, Stef. Colin.
Beautiful old car. You could certainly say 'they don't make them like that anymore.' Almost big enough for a board meeting! Thank you Steph for a great review.👍👍
My family moved to Queensland in 1958, when I was 11. The father of the first mate I made drove a Jowett Javelin. It was a cool car! When I got married and we honeymooned in Tasmania, our temporary landlord also owned a Jowett Javelin. That was a hoot as well! It was so good to enjoy your Jowett Javelin video tonight. You helped this 76 year old relive some memories from my youthful days!
Brilliant . As a student in Aberdeen in the sixties and seventies , a friend of mine had a Javelin and a Jupiter . I drove them both and they were immense in terms of finish and performance compared to my old Anglia !!! I was so jealous .
The lines are beautiful. This is one of those cars that I wish were produced today. Modern underpinnings, of course, but the lovely design would grace our roads.
I owned 3 Jowett Javelins in the 60s , really liked them, fun to drive and interesting engineering, flat floors throughout actually the floor were made of plywood. Had a few strange quirks but all in all a great car.
A Jowett Javelin was bought new by a neighbour of ours in country Australia. I understand that at the time you ordered a car and hoped for delivery. He hit the jackpot. My father had ten cars in time the Jowett just went on and on. We never knew him well enough to get a ride so you've filled a gap in my knowledge.
Thank you for an excellent review. As a lad I remember a neighbour owning a gold coloured Jowett Javelin: at the time the body shape seemed futuristic.
I had a Javelin in 1965 when I was 15 years old. The gear change selectors were very touchy and had to be adjusted spot on with no wear in the connectors. A brilliant car, way ahead of it's time.
In the 60s I got offered a Jowet Javelin for £15. I thought it was rather expensive as it needed a fair bit of work. I had many great classics in the 60s an Austin 8 for £5 and Ford Prefects and Angliers from £10. They were good days.
All those gauges! They tell you all is right, or going wrong. Not the idiot lights of today when it comes on WHEN it’s gone wrong! Thanks for the superb video. Ps, my first car was a'36 Ford 8 Y type. (EPH 465] wish I had it today!
My old friend who passed away recently had a passion for rebuilding old cars. The Jawa he rebuilt was far superior to the one I saw in a motor museum. I remember going away and collecting a rear windscreen for him when I took my daughter to Uni. I had to be very careful with it as it was curved. I do not know what his family did with the cars he rebuilt. Will never forget them or the years he spent working on them and working a normal job👌
The car! The outfit! Good lord Steph, it is ON today. By "taken nationwide," is it meant that the cars were first only available in Yorkshire? Fascinating…
Great review of a great innovative car....!!.....Am I the only viewer that sees echoes of Tatra, VW, Porsche etc with their flat-4 engines and aerodynamic styling.......
Wow! You’ve batted out of the park with this one Steph!! The Javelin is a thing of immense beauty! Such an advanced and clever car for the time - very sophisticated engineering…….sadly maybe a bit too sophisticated when compared with the competition at the time? Lovely, lovely things!! Thank you!!
That is what I learnt to drive in - a very nice car to drive - try to get yourself drive of the sporty model - the Jupiter - they are fairly rare nowadays - the last one I saw on the road was a participant in Targa Tasmania in the Classic section - that was in the 1980's
@@emjayay There was just a single speed fan (on or off) and two flaps on the heater unit itself to direct the heat, such as it was, to your feet or the screen. Also a valve in the engine compartment to isolate the heater from the cooling system in the summer.
From memory the flat-four engine in the Jowett Javelin was designed in the early 1920's and had seen few major upgrades when Jowett ceased production in the 50's.
If I didn't know better Id think it was a Subaru from the sound of the engine, I'm sure others will pick up on that too, A great review Stephanie and a lovely Yorkshire motor car, They seemed like old cars to me when I was a kid in the 60s, and here is it is looking so lovely, a quality car for sure.
... Yesss I'll be Staying In 'Idle Bradford' This Weekend At My Mam 'n' Dad's.. We Even Have a Club called " The Idle Working-Man's Club "... Liked the Narration Too... Informative Indeed... Cheers Alot 🥂🖖🏴 6:17
As you did your walk around I was amazed at the quality of the panels and shut lines. It was advanced for its times. I saw one about ten years ago and was surprised at how neat and compact it looked. It’s quite American in its styling. Lovely review.
Guess my wish came early this year seeing a Jowett being featured. I went to the NEC Birmingham Classics show in 2019 and remember the Jowett club. There was an old lady who wishes for her car to go to a better home. We had a talk and it seems that the car had been with her for some time and she's selling it for a relatively small price. I was eager to buy it from her but I left the show empty-handed. As Thailand doesn't allow classic car imports even tho we had a long history with cars since the early days and had some very interesting cars back then. So classics become extremely rare as they are bought overseas on one-way tickets and many times overpriced if you do find one. It's a long story. If only we allow legal imports of classics, oh what inspirations these time machines will offer for future generations. It took me 10 years to find a car and that's an adventure I'm writing for a British car club I'm a part of.
Looked unmistakably like the Standard Vanguard that you test drove last weekend, although it has a smaller engine. There was a total of 22,799 Javelins produced between 1947 and 1953.
Hi steph, enjoyed the video, I remember as a kid seeing Bradford vans. I guess this was the commercial arm of jowett, always thought the engines had a strange sound
I learned to drive in a Bradford van in NZ in 1955! Horizontally opposed twin, thermosyphon cooling, 3-speed crash gearbox, talk about basic. But I can still double-declutch up and down. Later had the pleasure of driving both Javelins and the sports version, the Jupiter. Steph didn't mention the Javelin has a worm drive diff to give a lower floor line. That car was really innovative -- and I guess paid the price. Deserved better.
Mark I learnt to also drive in a CC Bradford. One of 4 cars I learnt to drive in early 2000s I’ve driven a few Javelins. My fathers one was converted to Toyota gear box with floor change. Nice car I just found the the wheel well by the fire wall would make my new hurt after driving it for a while. I had to have my leg off to one side that caused the issue. I’m restoring a Bradford truck at the moment
A very interesting Jowett history. The Javelin was an advanced quality car when introduced. Of course you can add to this the Jupiter sports car and even the Jowett Bradford van.
My youth was full of Humber/Vauxhall column changes, so I thought i was ofey until I was faced with a HGV with 13speed on the column. Took some forward thinking to remember where you were.
Our next door neighbour had one of those when I was a kid. It was black, and I remember it looked quite menacing from behind (I *was* only a couple of feet tall!). I remember my dad telling me 'That's a Javelin', in hushed, reverential tones. Fun fact: the comedian Kenneth Horne was Sales Director of Triplex from 1945 to 1954, a company he'd worked for (barring wartime service) since 1927.
They certainly did! Alas, the big boys didn't like tiddlers like Jowett and they caused Pressed Steel to be born. A jolly good idea as it had the effect of putting the little squirts out of action.
Very accomplished gear-changing, if I might say so.
I hope the "mink" coat is faux!
I’ve pinned comments elsewhere where I’ve been wearing this coat and it’s a 1970s St Michael fake fur. It was unworn when I bought it and I wear it sparingly hence why it still looks so good on film. In real life you can tell it’s plastic fur not real 😂
@@idriveaclassic
In that case, I apologise for mentioning it.
@@paulsutton5896 honestly I’d rather people asked! I am a veggie of many years, it would knock me for six to wear some poor little creature.
@@idriveaclassic
Excellent.
I too have been a vegetarian for about forty years.
I am proud of that fact.
But secretly, I think of myself as a failed vegan.
@@idriveaclassic😅 Greetings from Switzerland 🎉
Everybody likes to see a nicely restored car but an original running and driving survivor like this is pure gold!
A wonderfully well designed car for the time. Having the door handles flow into the chrome trim is a piece of genius and looks gorgeous
@emjayay and the javelin was over 10 years older and from a much smaller company, very impressive
Spotted those, they didnt appear on a lot of other manufacturers until early 70s. Also, no quarterlight window
Those door handles are 'brilliant' in design and fine in function!
Thanks Steph for a lovely review. Anybody interested in Jowetts, as part of the JCC Centenary there will be a Jowett meeting at the Great British Car Journey on June 18th 2023.
Shockingly beautiful bodywork
Steph - After commenting on your last video about the Standard Vanguard, you've just granted my wish, which was for you to feature a Jowett Javelin. My grandfather bought a new one in black in 1949 from North Riding Motors in York, the price - £999. Grandad passed away in 1955 when my father inherited the car which served us well until 1962. I have many childhood memories of holiday trips to Scotland, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. I can confirm what you say about their 82 mph top speed after nagging dad to put his foot down one day !!! Although I considered the car old fashioned as more modern cars arrived in the 1960s, I was sad to see the old girl sold and miss her comfort, space and personality to this day.
What style! Super colour too!
It’s the colour for me
Assuming it's authentic which I'm pretty sure it is, it must have been rather startling at the time. I wonder what it's called.
Dad used to have one, I remember me and older brother using back of car as a slide.... Dad was always fixing it... But what car back the did not need fixing..... Good motor... Happy times.
Hi Steph,following my racing Vanguard info,there was a Javelin racing at the Goodwood revival a year or two back(!) Back in the the day they ran works Jupiters at Le Mans.Just goes to show you can more or less race anything with right know-how & workshop! I recall going to an auction in the early 60,s & seeing a Javelin knocked down for less than £20! Great looking machine.Happy days.
Wonderful review! Thank you, Steph. I knew vaguely that Jowett Javelins were somewhat upscale but I wasn't expecting such an attractive interior. What a great car.
Thanks Paul!
I saw a Jowet Javelin at an all british car show about 35 years ago and l have never forgotten it the bonnet was open and l saw the engine configuration and l thought how different the layout was but to see a review all these years later was fantastic thank you Steph
Yes, it would've been nice to see the engine on this example.
@@stephenholland5930 Athough it looks like a 1940s car but the configuration of the engine and gearbox also been a water cooled flat four so different from any other car from the 1940s proerably the most unusual car of the 1940s the Volkswagen Beetle had an air cooled flat four but the engine was at the rear but the engineering was very good it worked and that was done without the use of computers
Thanks for this Jowett video. Steph, what a lovely car for its time and well worth its asking price. One other factor leading to closure was the purchase by Ford of Jowett's body builder Briggs, which could no longer supply bodies. Regardless, the club and Bradford can be proud of Jowett's place in British motoring history.
At the time Jowett owed Briggs an absolute fortune, so it was no surprise they stopped supplying Jowett. Briggs also built the bodies for the Standard 8 & 10, but they continued to supply Standard Triumph until they were superceded by the Triumph Herald. The other car effectively killed off by the Ford takeover was the Lanchester 10. Lanchester were forced to change to a coachbuilt Barker body which upped the price.
@David Jones Thanks for that information, David. I don't recall reading about that.
My maternal grandfather had a Javelin. I have a couple of colour slides of the car in Norway when they travelled there in 1957. He was nothing if not adventurous! Sadly that was before my time, but I do remember his Mk2 Zephyr.
A friend had one of these in the late 60's . We had some fun on staurtday nights cruisin around in it. Thanks for posting.
Back in the 1950s my grandad had a grocer's shop, and his workhorse was a Jowett Bradford van. Then another one! Then around 1959 he switched to the Morris Traveller (Jowetts no longer available). Aw, Steph, PLEASE find a Bradford!! Ideally in maroon...
There was a Jowett Bradford vqan around Colwyn Bay up to about 5 years ago not seen it for age4s, hope in in a garage safe somewhere unique sound from that Flat twin engine.
My father restored a CA Bradford. I can’t remember what year 46-47? He painted it Maroon and Black.
Like (Roger Coleman) I also had a teacher with a 'Jowett Javelin' silver coloured back in the early fifties (1952-56).
Mr Jones was the science teacher of 'Tweenaway SM School for Boys Paignton'.
I recall the car was used every annual sports day to power the 'loudspeaker' system around the sports field. Thanks for sharing Steph t ...
I think that’s a common occurrence. Two guys in the car club were both teachers and both drove black Javelins when they were teaching
Steph, I tweeted to you a few months ago asking you to do the Javelin, and you came through-thank you! Fascinating car that would definitely have a place in my fantasy garage. Building transmissions in-house was a cost-saving move. In hindsight, they would have done better to keep buying them in from H. E. Meadows.
There was a Javelin in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It was 500 miles from Seattle, so I never quite mustered up the initiative to contact the owner and ask if I could come and see it. I understand that he’s now deceased, and his son sold the car to someone in the eastern United States.
Recommended reading: "Auto Architect," the autobiography of Gerald Palmer. Jowett Javelin and Jupiter: The Complete Story," by Geoff McAuley and Edmund Nankivell.
The suspension was indeed torsion bars all around, but I don’t think it was fully independent. The car had a live rear axle.
The "P" I suspect is for panel lights. When this car was built it was illegal to park without lights, even in a 30 mph limit, so all cars had a separate switch to kill all unnecessary lights to save the battery. My 1967 Morris still had that facility.
Park lights 😊
That must’ve been strong well-built cars I was born in 1960 and I can remember these still on the road into the early 70s
Oh deffo. Just too expensive/too ambitious for world post war I think. Another great example of too much too soon is the Austin Atlantic (another favourite of mine…)
What an absolutely beautifully looking motor car. Can you imagine turning up at Tescos to do the shop.
What a lovely video of one of my favourite makes of classic cars ,I first fell in love with the javelin around 1950 when i was 10years old and my dad was looking to buy his first car but unfortunatly they were far to expensive ,however i never lost my affection for jowetts and in 1977 i bought and restored a jupiter which i kept for 33years and i still know its present owner. i think your videos are great and imformative I would just add that i would think the stiff column change is due to lack of lubrication in the many joints of this system as they are known to be one of the best , i could change with one finger, the P switch is for panel lights and lastly the javelin had worm & peg steering box , the jupiter had rack & pinion.
A beautiful colour. It suits the car perfectly. The build quality is top notch too. A rare little beauty
Very proud to be a member of the Great British Jowett Car Club celebrating its centenary year: the oldest single marque car club in the world!
Thanks so much, Steph : I was secretly expecting a serious Jowett Javelin drive test from you, as I bought a rare LHD 1950 belgian car a few years ago ....
Ive just had a call from E Jowetts son, i am the proud relative of the Jowett family & am currently looking at joining the jowett car club. At the moment i cannot say more, but i hope to be able to help him learn all about a family that we never knew existed until i went through my late mothers belongings and found all the proof & things we have!!
Hopefully this will be interesting to all Jowett fans! Or maybe not lol!
I would love to speak to him if you can share my email address!
@idriveaclassic He seems such a lovely man. Do you have a private address i could message you on?
@idriveaclassic Id love to share more details but its far to early on at the moment. I must respect his privacy, as im sure you understand.
At last... a Javelin.
Always been fascinated by these cars.
Great enthusiastic review as always Steph, the ' P ' switch on the right is for ' Panel ' or dashboard instrument lamps .A school teacher of mine, Mr Hurst had one , trading in an Austin Ruby for a black Javelin and always said what a wonderful car it was !.
Thank you for telling me. We were all stumped and I was incredibly tired when I made this. I think with a bit more sleep I might’ve had a spark of thought 😂😂
So reminiscent of the Morris Minor, Which was still popular as a reasonable modern car through to the 70s, and with the enlarged rear light, much admired.
It's probably more comparable to the Morris Six, although with 4 cylinders.
@@caw25sha Yes, I do agree, I was referring to overall body shape, although slightly over scale. I should have made myself clearer. Those Morris minors were a treat to drive, with a high level of driver engagement.
My Grandad always talked about the Javalin as a car he liked. That is definitely a car to have and that engine is so smooth, I do like the sound of a flat 4 engine, I love the Citroën flat 4 and this is a lot smoother.
Jowett was the maker of the rather humble little "Bradford" commercial vehicles , vans and pickups. When the car production finished in the 1950s Jowett was working on a new model of the Bradord van. An alternative future for Jowett would have been to just concentrate on commercial vehicles.
They were also working on the R4 Jupiter that was to share the same frame as the CD Bradford except it was a shorter wheel base. If only they held out for another year or two we may have got the new models produced
It did seem Jowett spread itself too far, a real shame really.
I live in the States, and I had never heard of Jowett or seen one before. Thank you so much for the history and the detailed views of this car. And you look beautiful sitting in it!
Me either. Looks a bit like the Chrysler Airflow with a more restrained front end.
Jowett sold Jupiters to the USA. That was the sports car model using same engine / drive train that’s in the Javelin. There is a Jupiter owners club there.
When I was growing up in the early sixties, there was a Javelin at the end of the street. It had a unique look and I asked my father what it was. He told me and since he knew a lot about cars, added that Jowetts were well made quality cars. Naturally, I have thought of them in that way ever since, so I was pleased when your review confirmed it.
Working the engine and transmission through the gears produces a wonderful series of sounds!
My uncle had one and it was just a great car . I was only a kid back then but I remember people said it was 10 years ahead of it's time
this channel provides a great service for those of us who never get to experience cars like the Javelin ... also love the hostess is lovely and very informed
Yay!!...been waiting for you to do a Jowett. I love these cars. My very first car was a 31 year old Javelin. It was such fun. I have since owned 36 cars but it is my Javelin that i regret selling the most. If i could afford one now i would sell my great little Citigo and buy one AND use it everyday. We hve a great owners club for Jowett here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thanks for the review
Im related to the Jowett family, my gran or Auntie were related.
My mum was adopted by my gran, Irene Wood.
In Bradford in 1947, my mum was from Ireland.
Id love to hear from someone about the family, i have a family photo & also a grandfather clock made by him. I remember the name Elsie Jowett getting talked about a lot when i was little.
This car looks like a quality car , great styling and fit and finish , how could a car company fail producing that .
Pressed Steel made the body...Jowett was in front of its time..The British Leyland Company told Pressed Steel Co. that if they kept producing bodies for JOWETT they would take their custom elsewhere so they had no way of making their own futuristic bodies, which is why Jowett stopped production..
@@keith-nb8ps No it wasnt, it was Briggs Bodies first at Dagenham and later at Doncaster built the Javelin along with the Bradford van. The gearbox issue led to Javelins being stockpiled all round the works and beyond, waiting to have their gearboxes replaced. There was a downturn in sales both here and overseas then later Briggs was bought out by Ford.
I've not driven one, but I remember a chap in Bury who collected them. They were definitely ahead of their time.
My maternal grandfather had one. He was quite an enthusiast and owned a number of different cars and motorbikes in his time. By the time I had appeared and was taking notice, he had unfortunately given up driving, but my mother told me the Javelin was his favourite of them all. She was not at all a technically-minded person, but she told me she could always tell a Jowett by its engine note. Thanks for a great video, Stef. Colin.
Beautiful old car. You could certainly say 'they don't make them like that anymore.' Almost big enough for a board meeting! Thank you Steph for a great review.👍👍
My family moved to Queensland in 1958, when I was 11. The father of the first mate I made drove a Jowett Javelin. It was a cool car!
When I got married and we honeymooned in Tasmania, our temporary landlord also owned a Jowett Javelin. That was a hoot as well!
It was so good to enjoy your Jowett Javelin video tonight. You helped this 76 year old relive some memories from my youthful days!
Great sounding engine. Quite a sophisticated car for its’ time.
Brilliant . As a student in Aberdeen in the sixties and seventies , a friend of mine had a Javelin and a Jupiter . I drove them both and they were immense in terms of finish and performance compared to my old Anglia !!! I was so jealous .
The lines are beautiful. This is one of those cars that I wish were produced today. Modern underpinnings, of course, but the lovely design would grace our roads.
Thanks again for sharing Steph. The Jowett Javelin looks similar in appearance to the Standard Vanguard. 😊👍
I owned 3 Jowett Javelins in the 60s , really liked them, fun to drive and interesting engineering, flat floors throughout actually the floor were made of plywood. Had a few strange quirks but all in all a great car.
What a lovely car . Beautiful design and the leather seats still have a lot of mileage in them . Love the channel Steph x
A Jowett Javelin was bought new by a neighbour of ours in country Australia. I understand that at the time you ordered a car and hoped for delivery. He hit the jackpot. My father had ten cars in time the Jowett just went on and on. We never knew him well enough to get a ride so you've filled a gap in my knowledge.
Love the sound of that flat four engine!
It’s likely that the switch marked P was for panel lights. It’s use saved the battery a little when parking at night
Thank you for an excellent review. As a lad I remember a neighbour owning a gold coloured Jowett Javelin: at the time the body shape seemed futuristic.
Your channel seems to feature some wonderful and (often) lesser-known marques! Thank you for bringing them to us!
Thanks For Another Great Video Steph That's What I Love About Your The Variety Of Vehicles You Show & Drive Nice Dress
I had a Javelin in 1965 when I was 15 years old. The gear change selectors were very touchy and had to be adjusted spot on with no wear in the connectors. A brilliant car, way ahead of it's time.
We're recently back from visiting the museum and this one was one of my faves 👍
In the 60s I got offered a Jowet Javelin for £15. I thought it was rather expensive as it needed a fair bit of work. I had many great classics in the 60s an Austin 8 for £5 and Ford Prefects and Angliers from £10. They were good days.
Brilliant review of what is a beautiful car Steph, the green really makes the car.
Oh they are so beautiful 🥰
Agreed. A beautiful little thing.
Lovely car. My school caretaker had one.
Thank you, we enjoyed this video enormously. 🐈
There's nothing better than watching someone having fun.
All those gauges! They tell you all is right, or going wrong. Not the idiot lights of today when it comes on WHEN it’s gone wrong! Thanks for the superb video.
Ps, my first car was a'36 Ford 8 Y type. (EPH 465] wish I had it today!
My old friend who passed away recently had a passion for rebuilding old cars. The Jawa he rebuilt was far superior to the one I saw in a motor museum. I remember going away and collecting a rear windscreen for him when I took my daughter to Uni. I had to be very careful with it as it was curved. I do not know what his family did with the cars he rebuilt. Will never forget them or the years he spent working on them and working a normal job👌
The car! The outfit! Good lord Steph, it is ON today. By "taken nationwide," is it meant that the cars were first only available in Yorkshire? Fascinating…
Great review of a great innovative car....!!.....Am I the only viewer that sees echoes of Tatra, VW, Porsche etc with their flat-4 engines and aerodynamic styling.......
My dad had one in 1961 learned to drive in it ,for its day was a class car
Great video , wonderful knowledge and experience. You can see how the design evolved into the Morris minor
Great review my dad had one in the mid fifties in green too, he loved it.
Wow! You’ve batted out of the park with this one Steph!! The Javelin is a thing of immense beauty! Such an advanced and clever car for the time - very sophisticated engineering…….sadly maybe a bit too sophisticated when compared with the competition at the time? Lovely, lovely things!! Thank you!!
you could never miss a Javelin going past your -- almost unique engine sound. My father had a Jowett van 1950
I could watch your videos all day . Thank you Steph x
In 1956 my art teacher had a Bradford van made by Jowett Cool vehicle.
Looking great Steph! And so's the car...! 🙂(collective groan...) Thanks for sharing!
That is what I learnt to drive in - a very nice car to drive - try to get yourself drive of the sporty model - the Jupiter - they are fairly rare nowadays - the last one I saw on the road was a participant in Targa Tasmania in the Classic section - that was in the 1980's
Cool cars! I saw lots of Jowett's om display at the Industrial Museum in Bradford about 3 years ago!😍😍
Yes, Steph, H is for heater - It's the black circular box down by your feet, just visible behind the compass.
@@emjayay There was just a single speed fan (on or off) and two flaps on the heater unit itself to direct the heat, such as it was, to your feet or the screen. Also a valve in the engine compartment to isolate the heater from the cooling system in the summer.
From memory the flat-four engine in the Jowett Javelin was designed in the early 1920's and had seen few major upgrades when Jowett ceased production in the 50's.
Fantastic color! Contrasts so nicely with the red cloisonné bonnet badge! Love the fastback stying.
Another superior video Steph!
Beautiful colour..great upload
If I didn't know better Id think it was a Subaru from the sound of the engine, I'm sure others will pick up on that too, A great review Stephanie and a lovely Yorkshire motor car, They seemed like old cars to me when I was a kid in the 60s, and here is it is looking so lovely, a quality car for sure.
Great car to present Steph.
... Yesss I'll be Staying In 'Idle Bradford' This Weekend At My Mam 'n' Dad's.. We Even Have a Club called " The Idle Working-Man's Club "... Liked the Narration Too... Informative Indeed... Cheers Alot 🥂🖖🏴 6:17
As you did your walk around I was amazed at the quality of the panels and shut lines. It was advanced for its times. I saw one about ten years ago and was surprised at how neat and compact it looked. It’s quite American in its styling. Lovely review.
Guess my wish came early this year seeing a Jowett being featured. I went to the NEC Birmingham Classics show in 2019 and remember the Jowett club. There was an old lady who wishes for her car to go to a better home. We had a talk and it seems that the car had been with her for some time and she's selling it for a relatively small price. I was eager to buy it from her but I left the show empty-handed. As Thailand doesn't allow classic car imports even tho we had a long history with cars since the early days and had some very interesting cars back then. So classics become extremely rare as they are bought overseas on one-way tickets and many times overpriced if you do find one. It's a long story. If only we allow legal imports of classics, oh what inspirations these time machines will offer for future generations.
It took me 10 years to find a car and that's an adventure I'm writing for a British car club I'm a part of.
Happy childhood memories. Thank you
Love a Jowett, it looks good, you are looking good as well, a lot more confident.
Looked unmistakably like the Standard Vanguard that you test drove last weekend, although it has a smaller engine. There was a total of 22,799 Javelins produced between 1947 and 1953.
I’m quite keen to own one of these before I pass on!
Mate of mine in the Army, 1963...had a belter of a Javelin!
Excellent review, thanks a lot. Those cars are just so special.
Hi steph, enjoyed the video, I remember as a kid seeing Bradford vans. I guess this was the commercial arm of jowett, always thought the engines had a strange sound
I learned to drive in a Bradford van in NZ in 1955! Horizontally opposed twin, thermosyphon cooling, 3-speed crash gearbox, talk about basic. But I can still double-declutch up and down. Later had the pleasure of driving both Javelins and the sports version, the Jupiter.
Steph didn't mention the Javelin has a worm drive diff to give a lower floor line. That car was really innovative -- and I guess paid the price. Deserved better.
Mark I learnt to also drive in a CC Bradford. One of 4 cars I learnt to drive in early 2000s
I’ve driven a few Javelins. My fathers one was converted to Toyota gear box with floor change. Nice car I just found the the wheel well by the fire wall would make my new hurt after driving it for a while. I had to have my leg off to one side that caused the issue.
I’m restoring a Bradford truck at the moment
@@subz555 Hi! A popular mid for the Javelin in the 60s was a Standard Vanguard box with overdrive on second and third gears.
A very interesting Jowett history. The Javelin was an advanced quality car when introduced. Of course you can add to this the Jupiter sports car and even the Jowett Bradford van.
My youth was full of Humber/Vauxhall column changes, so I thought i was ofey until I was faced with a HGV with 13speed on the column. Took some forward thinking to remember where you were.
I love British motorcycles and cars. I have fellowed you channel for some time now . thanks for the videos .
Our next door neighbour had one of those when I was a kid. It was black, and I remember it looked quite menacing from behind (I *was* only a couple of feet tall!). I remember my dad telling me 'That's a Javelin', in hushed, reverential tones.
Fun fact: the comedian Kenneth Horne was Sales Director of Triplex from 1945 to 1954, a company he'd worked for (barring wartime service) since 1927.
Another cracking vid Steph.
My mum was a enthusiast driver and had a javelin, she said it was a brilliant drivers car
They look like the Fords,Chevies of the era.I love Stephys presentations !
what a gorgeous car it is and has been at the time
Great video.
NO MAN would ever admit to having difficulty with the gear-change.
I first came across Jowett Javelins at a small show in a field in Melrose Scotland when I had my Escort 1.3L mk2 1980V.
The British certainly made some magnificent vehicles back in the day.
They certainly did!
Alas, the big boys didn't like tiddlers like Jowett and they caused Pressed Steel to be born. A jolly good idea as it had the effect of putting the little squirts out of action.