Member Spotlight
Jay Zinser
All About Me
It is appropriate that this new website opens with a member spotlight of Jay Zinser who sadly passed away on December 24, 2023.
Jay was a long-time member of JCOH an for the past several years was vice president. He was a very active member and an experienced judge for the club at our annual concours.
Jay, along with his wife Anneli, played a significant part in getting this new website established.
He will be sorely missed.
As a young boy I was always interested in anything mechanical, especially cars and going fast ! This included the soap box derby, mini-bikes, a 1940’s Cushman Scooter and rebuilding riding lawn movers. As I got older and started driving, rebuilding a Volkswagen and restoring a MGB-GT were my first forays into the car world. My best friend across the street growing up was also into cars and his Dad, an engineer with Sikorsky Aircraft, and British to boot, was into refurbishing Jaguar E-Types. When I laid eyes on these cars and was able to ride in one, I was smitten!
When I graduated from college, I bought my first Jaguar, a 1967 Carmen Red Convertible. I drove it for a short while and then with my career, traveling, and raising a family, the car sat patiently waiting for the day I would bring her back to all her glory. That day finally came in 2012 when I started the disassembly for a full rotisserie restoration. With the help of Jeff’s Resurrections in Taylor Texas who did the bodywork, paint, and engine rebuild, I completed the assembly myself in 2016. I think she turned out great and I have been fortunate enough to be the National Concours champion in my class for 3 consecutive years, 2017-2019. Along the way, in addition to a number of Corvettes, I was lucky enough to own a 1994 Jaguar XJS V 12 convertible that was my daily driver for 10 years.
Always one to be working on a project, I purchased another Jaguar E-Type (1966 Opalescent Silver Blue Coupe) in baskets and am now also restoring her to her original grandeur. The hope is to have her finished for the 2022 Concours year and show it in Champion Class.
Jay is the current VP of the Jaguar Club of Houston and has been a member since 1986. He lives in Cypress with his wife, Anneli, and is a former executive with DHL Supply Chain. When not working on his Jaguars, he enjoys golf, hunting, traveling, and spending time with his 2 daughters, Kristen and Lauren, son in laws, Josh and Alex and the newest edition to the family – a grandson (JW) born June 2021.
