Car of the Week: 1951 Jowett Jupiter

Our story started in 1980 when my wife Judie was expecting our daughter, Dana. She suggested a new hobby since our many travels would temporarily end. Our first idea was to own a special English sports car and we were fortunate to purchase a 1962  Morgan +4. Owning this car introduced us to other car enthusiasts and we attended many car events. 

Early in 1982 we were approached at a show by another Morgan owner wanting to sell a 1957 Morgan 4/4 needing restoration. It was a perfect project while our young daughter grew and we could eventually take her on family travels. The new vehicle received a ground-up restoration and was completed and ready to be shown at local car shows by 1983. 

Several years later while competing at a distant car show with our 1957 Morgan, we were approached by a gentleman indicating that he had an unusual British car that had been in storage for many years. He indicated it was a Jowett Jupiter. While I thought I knew about British cars, the name Jowett Jupiter was something new and piqued my interest. We were invited to see the car outside of Pittsburgh and found it buried under a tarp in a shed where it had sat for almost 20 years. The car was immediately purchased and a new garage project was started. 

The Jupiter was in need of a complete restoration. It had a cracked water jacket when the original owner, who bought the car in California in 1951 and was transferred to Pittsburgh, did not realize you need to put antifreeze in the car. Fixing that issue was part of a complete restoration with everything on the Jupiter being replaced or restored. This included dipping all body panels, restoring the chassis with Imron coating, rebuilding the engine and restoring every part possible —  including chrome parts, the interior and the bonnet material. 

The family resumed travel and in 1987 returned to England where we found a historic 1951 Morgan four- seat model at Laurie Weeks Light Car and Cycle Company in Hartlebury. It was in bare metal and waiting our choice of exterior color and upholstery. It was originally owned by a Dr William Steel and driven for the Morgan factory team to the 1951 RAC team championship. By 1990, the Jupiter was complete and ready to compete in its first major show, the 1990 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix All British Car Show of almost 400 registered vehicles. 

The British cars competed by class such as Jaguar, Austin Healey and MG. The Jupiter was placed in a mixed class where often only one example or unusual make competed. We were excited that our Jupiter took a 1st place award in the large mixed class. We then found out that, out of 400 cars, our Jupiter was named Best of Show. This would be the start of a show car career for our Jupiter that never disappointed. 

Over the next three decades the Jupiter competed for bragging rights at shows along with our 1951 and 1957 Morgans. Over the years both Morgans have collected over 90 awards each, while the Jupiter collected over 110 awards, including many Best in Shows. One such Best in Show award was when we drove the car out of state to Moundsville, W.V., with little hope of winning an award against a field of mostly pre-1940 American vehicles with over 300 competing cars. At the conclusion of the show we were shocked when the 1951 Jowett Jupiter again was chosen Best in Show. The car was invited to several major Concours d’Elegances, including the Burn Prevention Foundation Show in Reading, Pa., where it won another award. In 1995 both our Jupiter and 1951 Morgan were invited to the Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance in central Michigan where both won awards and got lots of attention.

In Edmund Nankivell’s definitive book titled “The Jowett Jupiter - The Car that Leaped to Fame” aptly describes our Jupiter E1 SAL 125 that over the years it was featured in at least five major United States and international magazines. This was in addition to many By Jupiter! and Jowetteer articles. 

In 2018, the Burrows family received a postal note from England inquiring about Dr. Steel’s famous Morgan from his grandson wanting information on the car’s status. At that point we decided that the car should return home and belong to the Steel family. Tim Steel was excited to see the car that was part of the family history upon its return to Great Britain. 

In the following year, the Steel family hosted family outside of London. Tim picked us and brought us home in the Morgan four-seater. 

In the summer of 2025, our family was contacted by Jeff Lane, owner of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tenn. Our long-time friend and mechanic, Jim Biery, would often undertake major restorations for Jeff back in Pittsburgh. Lane learned of the rarity and quality of the Jowett Jupiter from Jim, and made an offer to buy the car that we could not refuse. The Lane Motor Museum is the home of the largest European car collection in the United States with over 500 unique and unusual cars and 60-plus motorcycles. The museum continually rotates 150 different cars among its show room displays. While it was bittersweet seeing the Jowett leave for Nashville, we will forever treasure the memories of the many car and the and Jowett owners they met in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia over the last four decades. 

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