Blacktop Studios

Posted by newhillgarage ⋅ August 2, 2019

Recently I attend the 2019 Carolina Jaguar Club concours at Little Switzerland, NC. This has always been a favorite event of mine and is chock full of cool Jaguars. One car that caught my eye was a XK140 convertible, black over tan. Due to it’s late entry, it was not judged but I and a couple of XK enthusiasts dropped by after the formal judging for a closer look. In a word, the car was fabulous.

I came to find that the car had been recently restored after a long hiatus in boxes. Bringing the car back to life was assigned to the crew at Blacktop Studios in Valdese, NC. I apply the paint to my own restorations and know the time, expertise, and expense behind a great paint job. This black paint job was absolutely flawless. In the pictures below, you can see that I was able to literally use the side of the car as a mirror. Inside the car, the upholstery was just as nice. The car was very well put together, inside and out.

The owner of the XK is David Cowart. The car was finished just hours before the show and I expect this was the first time he had seen the finished product. I think he was very pleased. Also present at the event were Blacktop Studios owner Ken Coffey and lead restorer Josh McNabb. Here is what Ken said about this effort:

“We here at Blacktopstudios are providing service to the classic car industry by offering concourse quality restorations and service. We can recommission your classic to road service or complete a show worthy car. We have awards from Amelia Island and Hilton Head. The XK has been in the ownership of Mr Cowart for 50 years. We were so happy to bring this beauty back to the road. Other projects include a Lotus Elite Super 95, which was first shown at Amelia this year and came home with an award. Mr Mitchell (the owner) purchased the car from the showroom floor in England and has had ownership for 57 years. This is the latest in our story board. We love the art of the automobile.”