This is a GREAT story!
About 3 weeks ago, another E-Type friend of mine swung by the shop on a Friday afternoon to deliver some leftover original E-Type body panels – mainly several roof panels strapped to an old mattress – which I was happy to take off his hands in exchange for some new MM panels.
He stopped at the shop first, but then we headed over to the storage place about 5 miles away, and since it was a nice Friday afternoon, I drove over in the green ’67 2+2 and he followed me. I wasn’t even a mile down the road and the little orange jewel in the speedo that indicates low fuel came on. Well, we had to go right past a gas station and I didn’t feel like running out of gas, so I reluctantly swung in even though I had someone following me. He of course didn’t mind, and came over and talked to me and looked into the passenger window of the Jag while I pumped the gas.
As I was pumping, a lady on the other side of the pump asked me, “What year is that?” I replied, “It’s a ’67 Jag.” in my usual friendly way. Her next question blew my mind – and my friend’s!
“Would you be interested in buying another one just like it that’s all apart?” I thought my friend was going to faint – he almost crushed his own skull on the inside roof of the Jag he stood up so fast!
“Actually – as a matter of fact, Yes!”
“Well, my husband has a car like this at home in our garage that is all apart here is his name and number – we just need to get rid of it.”
Well, naturally, I called later that evening and made arrangements to go over and see it. I’ll have to admit that I was skeptical – I figured it would be a Karmann Ghia or something… But he said that it was in fact a ’67 E-Type 2+2, and that, “My wife exaggerates – it’s not all apart, I just took the brake master cylinder off and the front wheels are off – it runs and has a rebuilt engine.”
Too good to be true? – Well, the way E-Types were delivered to the states and titled, a “67” could have been three different things – a full Series 1.5 with open headlights, 2 carbs and rocker switches, etc… – a Series 1.25 like the green car – which is a Series 1 with triple carbs and all the Series 1 stuff except it does have open headlights – OR… A full Series 1 car with triple carbs, closed headlights, and all the trimmings!
Let’s see what we ended up with…
NOTE: This car has been SOLD! After I purchased the car, but before I even had a chance to go and pick it up, a gentleman from North Carolian called looking for a Series 1 E-Type project. He had already restored an XK-140, XK-120, and a V-12 E-Type. He seems to have some impressive metalworking skills for a hobbyist, and what made this the PERFECT car for him – he is 6′-5″ – no short-wheelbase E-Types for him!
He called at just the right time, and POUNCED on this car – and just picked her up earlier today. It’s great to see this one get a good home – and I’m looking forward to seeing the progress!
Currently, we have a complete, rolling, basket-case 1966 Series 1 Fixed-head Coupe (short-wheelbase 2-seater) available, and are working on piecing together a few other projects – details coming soon! – Chuck
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- Here was my first look at the owner’s property – a quaint horse farm in Chester County, PA.
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- And it didn’t take long to find the E-Type!
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- There she is – LITERALLY in somewhat of a “barn” – although it was more of an outbuilding I guess…
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- At first glance it’s looking pretty good, and at the very least, it’s a Series 1.5 – but there’s always hope…
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- Jackpot, Baby! From this angle I could already tell that this was a true Series 1 car – triple carbs!
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- And the owner’s story checks out too – this was a perfect scene that I could not have staged better myself – the knock-off hammer, brake reservoirs, new brake fluid – all clues from a hot afternoon a few years ago when the owner finally threw up his hands and just walked away for the last time…
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- Things are really loking good – the car is very complete. Although it’s starting to look like it has been sitting here for a LONG time…
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- The interior is tired – but again, all Series 1 with toggle switches and the early door handles and windo mechanisms.
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- As usual, the back seat is beautiful. these boxes were filled with “EJAG” magazines from the mid-1980s. These have been added to the MM library – which is getting semi-impressive!
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- The steering wheel looks decent, and all of the gauges are in great shape.
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- Looks like 108,000 original miles – although the engine has been rebuilt in the past. Removal of the oil filler cap revealed an engine that was SPOTLESS inside!
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- The final piece of the puzzle – covered headlights. This car turned out to be a true Series 1 – built in June of 1966 – one full year before the green 2+2 downstairs with open headlights. Aside from AC and the color scheme the cars are nearly identical.
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- The bonnet has been “restored” in the past, and some of the work looks a little suspect, I can see small patches near the main center to wing seams under a heavy layer of undercoating. It’s nice to see the original lever spring assemblies!
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- Unlike our 2+2 downstairs, this car does have the Series 1 cooling system with header tank, etc.
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- It’s also nice to see the complete air cleaner assembly still intact – I’m telling you – this was a real time capsule!
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- As I mentioned before, the condition of the aluminum externally is deceiving – it was glowing like a mirror inside the cam cover!
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- The driver’s door has been “repaired” by riveting on a sheet of galvanized steel and then smearing filler over it. Well, you can see quite clearly how well that holds up over time…
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- The car did have some of the usual rust problems, but I would not call the rust “catastrophic” yet. I do often see this section in the rear of the 2+2’s rusted out like this – due to the fact that the factory stuffed some type of insulating material in here that traps misture.
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- The RH underside of the boot floor looks good…
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- …but alas, the LH side has the typical rust in all the usual places and this will need to be repaired – almost undoubtedly a new boot floor is in order.
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- Overall, the car is straight and we don’t see any signs of past accidents – it is straight and solid in the upper areas, and the roof is PERFECT!
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- The date on the wiper motor is 2 years earlier than the build – more than we usually see, but not really all that unusual – it’s the original for sure.
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- The original coil is still present, and a closer match at 12-65.
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- Under the ratty brown sheepskin covers lies the original leather – nice patina for a barn find, but alas, too far gone for a simple clean up…
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- The passenger seat – who rode here? Young girls?… Grown women?… No-one?… What stories does this E-Type have in its past?…
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- A couple weeks later, Brent and I returned to bring the old girl back to the shop – which hopefully is a short pit-stop to her next loving home. This is the first time this car has seen the sunlight in a LONG time!
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- We managed to wrestle her on the trailer with the same chain-drive come-a-long that I use on the tracks of my antique bulldozer (that’s another story – it’s currently dead in the back yard of the Summer house – again…)
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- Now here’s a GREAT shot! Three decades of farm dust and dirt!
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- You can see that we have already mounted one of our racks onto it and are ready to lift it into the back of the truck.
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- This was GREAT and I was having a BALL! A true barn find E-Type!
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- All loaded up and ready to head home. Goodbye Horses!
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- Back in the driveay of the shop, I still could not get over how cool this looked and I just wanted to take one more photo before washing the dirt off.
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- …like we have already done to the monocoque in the background.
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- Wow! It’s no show car, and the bonnet is just sitting there, but she’s starting to look like something already!
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- I have really changed my tune on the early 2+2’s – I love them now, and there is no doubt that they are the bargain of the E-Type market!
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- Without a 2-seat coupe around to show her up, she is sleek in her own right!
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- The paint has really seperated from the steel of the bonnet – bad prep for sure, but it tells a great tale – this bonnet has almost NO filler in it! That is REALLY nice for a change!
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- And this was a REALLY nice surprise – both front wings turned out to be new replacements put on in 1985 – they are dead-straight, rust-free, and again – NO filler!
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- This made me VERY happy. Now, I could do without this heavy pitting from surface rust, but that’s a small price to pay for a center section that is otherwise virgin and filler free.
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- Nothing here but steel and paint! The center section is original, and does have cancerous rust in the long side flanges to the wings that was poorly repaired in the past – but again, that’s small compared to the mess that we usually find under the paint.
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- The interior is tired, but complete – the new owner will not have to scour the earth for every little screw and escutcheon…
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- And look – it even has the original jack and bag! Sorry – no tool kit…
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- Well, that’s it! I had intended to post this blog and offer the car for sale, but cars don’t last long around here, and this one was no exception – a gentleman seeking a Series 1 restoration project – who is 6′-5″ (so PERFECT for this car), called earlier this week and agreed to purchase the car the morning that we went to go get her. Sorry guys – if you want to grab one of our project cars – you have to call NOW so you’ll be on the list when the next one reveals herself!
