Bruce Carnachan’s friends know him as Mr. Jaguar.
The 86-year-old Glendale resident began his love affair with cars in the 1930s, watching the kids down the block work on sporty models. He bought his first car, a 1930 Model A, in 1940 for $40.
“My friends helped fix it up,” he said. “We overhauled the engine.”
The first sports car he owned was a 1951 MG TD and he showed it off at car rallies and events as a member of the Glendale Four Cylinder Club of America.
Carnachan is most proud of his real baby — a 1954 Jaguar XK120 he bought in 1957 from a friend who was the original owner, he said.
“I still own this classic car, and it is my pride and joy,” he said. “In fact, my neighbors in the Chevy Oaks town-home community where I now live call me ‘Mr. Jaguar.’”
His Jag 120 has been featured in Motor Trend and Road & Track magazines and has won numerous trophies.
“I have raced it at the Monterey Historic Races twice and used it as a course control car at Riverside International Raceway,” he added.
Carnachan said it’s never been restored, just maintained.
Chuck Woods of La Cañada Flintridge is also a huge Jaguar fan. He bought a book on Jaguars and saw a picture of Carnachan’s XK120 in it and saw in the caption he lived in Glendale. Then he looked him up in the phone book and called him. They are still friends.
“I forget how many years ago that was,” Woods said. “My first Jag was a 1954 XK120 Dropped Head Coupe, and his was a 1954 XK120 Open Two Seater. We both bought them used and they were about three years old as well when we bought them.”
Woods often picks Carnachan’s brain about Jaguars, he said.
“If you have a question about Jaguar, he has the answer and 99% of the time he’s correct,” Woods said.
Fellow Jag owner Creighton Turner of Pasadena met Carnachan after Turner started a Car Night for sports car owners years ago, he said.
“He’s quite a character and loves to drive fast,” Turner said. “He has kept his 1954 Jag perfect for all these years. He’s a cool guy that’s still got the same go get ’em attitude at 86 as he had when I met him in the late 1970s.”
Carnachan and his wife, Charlene, have lived in Glendale since 1976. They’ve been married since 1949 and graduated in 1942 from John Marshall High School in Silver Lake.
