The leaping cat of faith...

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CON4069
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Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:08 pm
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#1 The leaping cat of faith...

Post by CON4069 » Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:42 pm

Buying unseen is a nerve-racking experience. Apparently, the secret is to have faith.

Faith’s been the undoing of countless fools throughout history, but every time I’ve had faith in a faceless seller over the internet it's seemed to work out ok. This, coupled with some sick, deep-rooted desire for financial punishment, was the reason why my dad and I decided to up the stakes a bit.

After a bit of searching, we found a car that met the criteria. It was sitting at a dealer in Los Angeles, at a price that seemed either too good to miss or too good to be true. The obvious first hurdle was how we’d get in back to South Yorkshire. After a bit of background checking and a few telephone conversations the wheels were in motion, although not literally unless you wanted to push.

Three months later, we had this in our garage.

Image

It’s a 1971 V12 Auto, the bottom rung of the ladder it seems, and it needs an engine rebuild. As far as we can work out, the 30k mileage is genuine, but it’s overheated at some point and has sat for over 20 years in need of some remedial work.

The body and interior, though, are bang on. Apart from a bonnet and door in primer, the Turquoise paint has come up like new and there’s no rust. The hot, dry climate has (faithfully) preserved it in a way that would make Lancia’s seventies sales department physically sick.

So, where’s faith left us? Well, with some work to do.

We need an oil cooler (missing on arrival) so if anyone knows where to find one that fits, we’d appreciate it. Any recommendations for a decent engine builder would also be appreciated. We’ve noted Rob Beere Racing, but that’s about it so far.

We're new to E Type ownership, as well as this forum. It'll be fun to see how it works out.

Cheers for reading

Jack


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politeperson
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:26 pm
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#2 Re: The leaping cat of faith...

Post by politeperson » Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:08 pm

It looks great. Tall people can use it too.

If it has no rust you can start to build, fixing the mechanical bits else is relatively quick.

My friend has an almost identical red one in his workshops, rhd auto.

It ran hot, the radiator was re-cored, the block jetted to remove silt, new fans, thermostat replaced. Still ran hot.

Further investigation revealed the exhaust was getting very hot indeed and was partially blocked. The stuffing was coming out of the silencers. The engine could not expel heat quick enough. This was fixed.

Looks ok now, awaiting a road test.

and, he has replaced just about everything else in the effort to make it reliable. Relays. wiring, carb rebuild, brakes , hydraulic cylinders, wheels tyres, everything rubber, the usual stuff on cars that have been sat, but all it one hit.

Ken Jenkins seems to be the man for V12s, hope yours hasn't roasted itself!, never mind if it has, you can stick an XJS motor in!
Its true, but Enzo never said it
Too many E types
XK120 SUs

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malcolm
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#3 Re: The leaping cat of faith...

Post by malcolm » Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:30 am

Hi and welcome to the forum! Without wishing to put a dampener on things, the suspension looks low at the back and correspondingly high at the front - although I'm far from an expert as others on the forum will tell you! But enjoy your time with your E
Malcolm
I only fit in a 2+2, so got one!
1969 Series 2 2+2
2009 Jaguar XF-S
2015 F Type V6 S

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71 V12
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#4 Re: The leaping cat of faith...

Post by 71 V12 » Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:57 pm

Hi Look like a good buy. What is wrong with the engine?

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