Jaguar Services of Tulsa was founded in 1973 by Kenneth Norman Sykes, an Englishman who had been working for British Leyland until our local dealer, at that time Metro Motors, imported him to head up their Jaguar service department. That was while British Leyland still manufactured almost all British cars including Jaguar. A short time later, he quit working for the dealer and founded what now is one of the oldest independent Jaguar shops in the United States.

It was 1976 when I, John McKeel, got involved with Jaguars. I purchased a 1966 Jaguar MK 10 Saloon Sedan right hand drive. At the time I was working in a warehouse for a company that sold hydraulic and pneumatic components. The car ran and drove but looked like it was bleeding because the paint was pealing off the doors exposing bare metal beneath. It had been painted so many times the paint was an eighth of an inch thick! There was a hole rusted in the side of the right front fender big enough to throw a basketball through and the rest of the car had similar rust in a variety of places. I meticulously cut all the rust out and welded in new pieces that I hand fabricated. The jack points would have held up a Mack truck! When the welding was done I took it to a paint shop and all I could afford was to get the rest of the filling done and get it primed. I drove it that way for what seemed like a long time while I got the interior done by some locals who had just started doing auto trim so I got the bargain basement deal. Later I got the finish paint job done in midnight blue. It was beautiful.

By that time I had been laid off my job at the hydraulics place and found one in the Interdivisional Manufacturing department of a huge oil exploration company. The Interdivisional Manufacturing Department coordinated activities of the whole corporation and the flow of materials from all their various sources to all their various destinations in the field or for intermediate processing. I was called the Expeditor. In other words, every item that was needed anywhere in the corporation was monitored by yours truly and I had to ensure that everything made it to wherever it needed to be whenever it needed to be there. This was an international company and I had to deal with people everywhere from Alaska to the Persian Gulf, South America and the UK. Shortly after going to work there, I got the yearn for an E Type, or so it was phrased by Ken, and bought a 1970 XKE 2+2 Grand Touring model. To complete the job experience, from this position, I moved to Purchasing and then went to work for an aircraft simulator company buying electronic components. I did that for about 2 years. Since the simulator business is directly tied to government activity, some politician decided we didn't need so many simulators and I was again laid off. 

The job market in Tulsa for purchasing agents was flat. I looked for a while and then decided to go back to Oklahoma State University and finish my degree. I had gone about 3 years straight out of high school and was the typical teen---PARTY!!!---. When I went back, after a few years of practical experience, I was a serious student and it seemed so easy. Those years of on the job corporate experience really made a difference. I took all my electives in other core classes and completed the equivalent of a major in Management, Marketing, and Economics. This was besides the associate that I had gotten while I was still in high school in Electro-Mechanical Technology from Vocational Technical school.

So, I got my degree, and you know what I did? For one thing, I went to Real Estate School just for something to do and to try and meet babes, and just before that school was out, I went to work for Ken at Jaguar Services cutting roses and cleaning his pool. That was 1983. I don't think I'll ever own a pool. But lo and behold, Ken needed help in the shop, so he put me to working on Jags. I think he was kind of stunned when I brought in my tools in a little green carry around tool box. He said "Those are your tools?" " You can use this box and my tools." as he pointed to a box as big as some condos. The first job he had me do was an overhaul on a Primrose 71 XKE V-12 engine. He was also a little stunned when I did the job in less than factory time too!  At that time we had 3 technicians and within 4 years I had single handedly replaced them all, had become a certified master technician from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, and Ken could only keep me busy about half the time. By June of 1989 Ken had been in the business for 45 years and was ready to retire to the Florida Keys. He had given me a most comprehensive education in service and repair of Jags, and I assumed the position. It was incredible! Business took off like Funny Cide. For those of you who don't follow Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Funny Cide is the Gelding that has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 2003. It's too bad he didn't win the third leg of the triple crown too. We were rootin' for him. That is an amazing horse. And to think, those guys only paid $22,000.00 for him. Anyway, when we took over we were so busy that I had to start hiring people and training them. We had the only qualified Jaguar only service facility in Oklahoma with a well established parts department.

Since that time we haven't looked back. We continued to grow, especially in parts, to include new and used parts and later to start a rebuild department for items that no one else seemed to do right the first time. We keep updated with all the latest reference materials and equipment. In January of 2001 we purchased Lister North America and renamed it Lister Components and Cars and continued building ground effects and wings for the XJS models. We have also come to letting that be the heading for our parts department. Lister is also the official name of our used car sales department. We don't have a lot full of cars for sale, at least not now. We mainly sell Jaguars built to the customers specification.

No matter what it is, if it is for a Jaguar, we most likely have a line on it. We sell factory and aftermarket parts and strive to give our customers the best blend of price and performance on the face of the Earth.

If you are shopping for anything for a Jag, and we don't give you the best price, let us know what your best deal is, and we'll do everything in our power to meet it or beat it.

Any time you need technical advice or information, just call or e-mail us. I'll be right there to help you with questions and be glad to fax or e-mail any reference materials you might need. One thing that I have a problem with about this information superhighway is that the information is only there for a price making it an information toll road. Well, I think that there should be a source or sources where you can go to get information for free on whatever subject you want it on. And, you need to be able to rely on that information as being accurate. That's why I am taking my life's work and experience and putting it here on my site for you to view and download free of charge. Over time I intend to put my entire library of information under the "Reference" section of this site. It's a time consuming job so be patient and if what you need isn't there yet, call or e-mail me. The only thing I ask in return for this, as it does cost money for web space and time, is that you buy parts from us. We'll give you all the support we can!

Oh by the way, I never did finish the MK 10, everything was re-painted, re-upholstered, or re-chromed and it sat in our warehouse while I fixed everyone else's car. A mechanics car is like a cobbler's kids, always needing new shoes. I eventually sold both the MK 10 and the E Type on eBay. That kind of left a hole in my heart but after all these years, I have accumulated quite a collection of Jags and you can't drive them all. I'll be posting pictures of all of them on this site, after the meat and potatoes stuff is done.

If you have any suggestions, e-mail them, I read all my e-mail as soon as it comes in and I'd love to have your input!

Thanks

John R. McKeel
(Captain Jaguar)

P.S.

In case you are wondering where the Captain Jaguar thing came from, my good friend Ray Ayres, one of the owners of Coventry West, started calling me that a couple of years ago when I went out and bought a 21 foot Cobalt. Man that was a cool boat, we bought it late in the summer and were only able to take it out 3 times before the season was over. The next season, we were too busy with work to use it and we had just bought our 1.5 acre facility on Sheridan Rd. The Thursday before we made the main move, we moved  the boat over and parked it under a street light backed up to one of the busiest streets in the center of Tulsa and some jerk jumped the fence and ripped off the out drive unit. So much for the boat. It was an 86 model with only 400 hours on it and well kept, but at the time, it wasn't at the top of my priority list of things to fix and we were kind of strapped because of the move and remodeling expenses so I sold it to my brother in law. The boat is gone but the nickname stuck. It's OK though, now I have a Harley and I ride it almost every day. Now it's 2006 and we've moved again. No more major losses to thieves but more moving and remodeling expenses. Here we go again!