Jagos - at Triggers suggestion

[Tonka]

Educational thread for those who don't know much about Jagos.....

 

Jago Developments (formerly Jago Automotive) celebrated 50 years in business earlier this year, Geoff Jago is still involved with the company who still supply body parts for the Geep/Sandero kit which is now marketed by Geoff's cousin Andy Belfield, they also do R&D work for major manufacturers as well as being the official Bedford body panel supplier to the MOD and also manufacture enhanced protection panels for the US military (Humvee) along with many architecural products designed to hide phone masts etc along with ATM surrounds, security doors etc.

 

Vehicle wise Geoff started out selling basic Model T rod kits that were moulded from a body he created in steel using bits of an old Hillman bodyshell to dimensions he scaled up from pictures in American Hot Rod mags from the 50's.

 

He was given a rotten Willys tub in '70 which he moulded the orginal Jeep/Geep/Sandero kit from, based on the 105E Anglia when launched in '71 the kit was modified to suit a Morris Minor donor but having dabled with his Model B Kit and Ford Pop chassis and panels in '78 his MK 1 Escort based version took off followed shortly afterwards by a MK 2 one which sold steadily until the SVA test loomed in '98, over 2000 Geeps have been sold so far, some were factory built on which Ford honoured a mechanical warranty, previously Jago had worked with them on the suspension mods needed for the altered set-up on the Geep.

 

Jago designed/made the chassis for Bob Jankel's Panther J72 and DeVille.

 

He was the first person in the UK to use Metalflake paint on his very first Jago Rod.

 

The psedo beach buggy Samuri was not Geoff's idea, he hated it, and was never a commercial success, the moulds are still kept by them and last year they did a small run of panels for the owners club, it is probably the rarest of all Jagos and to date I have resisted all desires to add one to my fleet.

 

Think that's enough waffle for now...............

[CreepingJesus]

Happy belated birthday, Jago. There's plenty of Jeeps knocking about, but I wonder how many of the old hot rod bodies are still around? I wouldn't mind one, then I could build the definitive Autoshite hot rod!

[whitevanman]

I remember Geoffs first rod, the one in 'flake....ugly looking thing it was, once helped a guy build oe of his Model B's

[autofive]

[Tonka]

Geoff cutting one of the cakes we did for him back in May this year showing his first Rod and first Model T.

 

[dollywobbler]

There must be something wrong with me, because I've always wanted a Samurai.

[Formula Autos]

Are the various Jeeps any good off-road?

 

I know they're 2WD but, with seemingly a decent amount of ground clearance, can they cope with rough tracks and such? I suspect they may actually be handier than some modern 4WD kiddie-carriers if you live up a farm lonning.

 

I've never driven one, but seen plenty at car shows and thought they might be better over rough ground than their fairly ordinary mechanical bits would suggest.

[Tonka]

There are currently 4 Sammis for sale on the club website, 2 projects and 2 T&T.

 

Quite a few of our members are into green laning, chunky tyres and a decent diff ratio makes the Geep quite capable although Stoneleigh still won't let us on their off-road course!

 

There are a number of 4wd ones about, Andy Belfield's new Sandero kit is 200Tdi Disco based, and there is at least one other privately built Disco based one,I have recently got rid of one on a shortened Landie 2A chassis, we have ones with Suzuki running gear fitted onto the Jago chassis and Jago bodies dropped onto the SJ chassis.

 

Up until last year we also had a Geep in the Club running a blown big block lump (850bhp) which was doing high 9's at 140+ down York Dragway, that has now donated it's running gear to an old Jago T drag car.

[Station]

That Samurai has a really nice look to it. It's a pity the lights look like an after-thought, they could've moulded something into the body there.

[Tayne]

.

[dollywobbler]

And is it Jay-go or Jar-go?

[ChinaTom]

Yargor in German presumably.

[Tonka]

Jay-Go and Jeep though they weren't allowed to call it that by the 80's so changed it to Geep until Chrysler really got the strop on and it became Sandero in the early 90's, The Sandero name is theirs so it should be interesting if/when the Dacias arrive on these shores in numbers. For that reason the factory prefer us to refer to them as Sanderos in the mag and all new build manuals are labelled as such.

[trigger]

I quite like that Samurai myself, I've never seen or even heard off it before.

[CreepingJesus]

Quite a few of our members are into green laning, chunky tyres and a decent diff ratio makes the Geep quite capable although Stoneleigh still won't let us on their off-road course!

 

I'll second that. Bag the alternator and make it a slipper diff, and I'd greenlane one before most 'soft-roader' type cars.

Where's the club website? I quite fancy a look at that.

[Tonka]

http://www.jagoownersclub.co.uk

 

Enjoy