Not yet an owner but maybe soon.

[Pex]

Hello, not yet a owner but I introduce myself anyway, as many others I’ve been lurking around here for some time. I recently after many years finally build my dream garage/mancave and now looking for my dream car...
This weekend I visited a car dealer in south of Sweden and checked out 3 different 4.2 OTS, unfortunately they all where big disappointments. US import with old renovations and so poorly assembled that even my wife asked the dealer why they looked like they did. So now I’m looking for a nice 4.2 in northern Europe and have contacted a few dealers about their cars. So if anyone know about a nice 4.2 LHD OTS for sale, I could be interested. Hopefully I will find something soon and be be more active member here...

[andrewh]

welcome to the Forum and hopefully you will be an owner soon. Its always best to wait for the best possible car to come along rather than to rush in. Your car will be waiting for you somewhere.

[Gfhug]

Why not chat to Angus Moss, one of our moderators and who has imported cars into the UK, he might be able to help. Search for e-conic Moss Jaguar

Geoff

[Pex]

Hello again...
I would like to hear your opinion about my choises.
I have found a rust free one owner 4.2 OTS -69 European car which has been renovated including the engine and and looks very nice. I have talked to the dealer and are planning to travel in week 9 to look at it and after carefully examine it, hopefully buy it.
But a classic car dealer nearby hear in south Sweden did contacte me today about a serie 1.5 which I will look at on Saturday. What makes me a little bit concerned is that on the pictures I got today I noticed that the rear lights are all red so it’s a us car but it has 3 sun carburetors which means it isn’t original. See picture...
I want a car to drive but still thinking of the future value of the car, what is the for and agains when it comes to originality, serie 1.5 or 2, one owner etc?
Kind regards
Peter

[Durango2k]

In terms of value get an S1. In terms of driving an S2. You can, with care, update an S1 with better brakes, cooling etc., so it becomes as reliable as an S1.

I would say that a carb upgrade from 2 to 3 may mean less originality thus reducing value, but the triple carbs increase it, so in total its the same. Some upgrades are desirable, triple carbs is one of them, and seen as „good stuff“.

Carsten

[Durango2k]

Oh and do ! buy Pete Crespins book NOW. Have it shipped via amazon to you, read it before making a decision. Very small money very very well spent. It is all in there, your questions above for example are all discussed by him.

Do not spent that amount of money without an expert (who knows E-Types) having checked the car. US cars can be bondo body filler time bombs, and a body restoration is really a big thing. They all look stunning, they are the prettiest car in the world- but what‘s below the glossy paint ?

Carsten

[Pex]

Thanks for the good advice...
my gut feeling says “one owner series2” but still, I haven’t seen any of them irl yet...
I have prepared for this buy as you can see...

[Durango2k]

About the same as I have. But you missed this:

Get it as kindle book now, only about 9 Euro, and read it on your tablet / PC before seeing the cars.

Carsten

[rfs1957]

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the OCD-sufferers' corner, where we're all in pursuit of inattainable perfection within the context of a car that was designed to be indefinitely perfectible .............

Not sure if this is the book missing from Carsten's post, but I bought this early on in my research, pre-purchase : Original Jaguar E-Type by Phillip Porter

and found it a comforting source of things to look for ; others will have opinions about its relevance to cars beyond the Series 1, to which my limited knowledge is limited to, but for the Series 1 I think it's useful.

I also read this from cover to cover before buying : Jaguar E-Type : The Definitive History

which, whilst it's not aimed at helping you buy a car, puts the whole thing into perspective and somehow added some gravitas to what I was about to embark on, probably making me more wary.

These are complicated and fastidious cars to work on, many of us would be ashamed to tell the truth about how long certain operations have taken us to get satisfactory, and I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that sometimes it takes TEN times as long to get something that is apparently simple just right - whilst another might throw it together and remain unaware of just what a mess he'd made.

For me, the most critical thing is therefore to understand is what you are going to do with the car ; it is very easy to buy, enjoy owning, and use occasionally, a car which looks fantastic but which actually doesn't run especially well, handle and brake quite right, and where the detail of the assembly and finish is a series of botches and approximations.

These shortcomings will not be apparent to you unless you are a professional mechanic with considerable experience of restoring cars, and many people never really know just how awful their car is because they've no reference for comparison, and they never use their cars seriously - fast, hard, and over long distances.

But if you just want to pootle around and admire your investment, this probably won't matter - and there'll be another buyer like yourself the day you want to move on.

There are now many cars that have been restored from baskets of junk, which means there may be very little left that is genuine.

The dodgy quality of many of the parts that are now available means that a car that was already complicated when it was made from the right bits has now just become immeasurably more tricky to sort to a high standard.

For these reasons I think it would be a great mistake to buy anything without getting an experienced and horny-handed owner to accompany you ; I didn't, and I now know that I was just plain lucky - but whilst I knew very little about E-Types I did have a fair amount of experience of general engineering, racing, and restoring cars, classic bikes etc

I am sorry if this is a bit of a meandering introduction to E-Types, somewhere amongst the meanders there are some nuggets of well-intentioned wisdom.

Good luck, AND DON'T RUSH

[Pex]

Well after loooked at numerous cars I finally decided to buy this car from Belgium. Can’t say I rushed in to it, after seen so many US cars imported back to Europe with poor renovations and paint job I decided to find an European sold car and found this... totally original with a nice patina repainted in original color. So now my adventure begins.

[politeperson]

Good luck, looks very nice.

I am sure it will all be fine!

[Gfhug]

Peter, good luck with your new acquisition. Will you be driving it back to Sweden? Do tell us how the journey goes with a few more photos. I hope it all goes well, the major problem should be stopping smiling all the time.

Geoff

[Pex]

Would have loved to drive it home but since it’s snowstorm at home they will transport it to my home...

[mark10337]

they are perfectly fine in the snow

[Series1 Stu]

Congratulations Peter.

Here's to many miles of E Type heaven.

Regards