The 'E' Type Forum

Dear Forum members,

my name is Sven and on friday I will pick up my first E-Type.
After dreaming so many years I finally found my car.

Because I'm quite tall and love gran tourismo' s my choice is the series 3 FHC.

Everybody warned me to buy a V12 but I ignored it.

I bought a 1971 V12, manual transmission from the 2nd owner.
He bought it in 1981.

Unfortunately the car is in bad condition.
I know that I shouldn't have done this but after sitting in it for the first time I couldn't walk away:

This cat needs help!

First things to fix are fuel pump and electrics.
At the moment cooling fans are operated by a switch under the dashboard.
Fuel pump is connected to the rear light.
Spedometer is not working....and so on.

So looking at the wiring diagrams I'm wondering if there is really no fuse for the fuel pump (I can't believe it).
But in the workshop manual wiring chart I can't find it.

On Friday I will pick up the car with a trailer, first make an oil change, exchange fuel hoses, replace spark plugs and check the carburettors.

After that I'm 100% shure that a lot of questions will rise and I hope to find help in this forum.

Best regards and greetings from Germany.

Sven

Sven, welcome to the forum; you've come to the right place for help with your E. As far as the fuse for the fuel pump, I know nothing about Series III's, but the Series I's and II's don't have one. I couldn't tell you why they didn't, but installing an in line fuse is not a bad idea. I'm sure that if you'll post your questions on the Series III thread, you will find many experts who will steer you in the right direction (Marek, come on). As far as others' advice regarding which car to choose, that's an entirely personal choice and there is no right or wrong answer. You'll probably find that those of us with Series I's will swear that they are the ideal choice (with further arguments over 3.8 vs. 4.2), while the Series II owners will tout the upgrades and improvements made to their model. Series III's are a nearly entirely completely different Cat with pro's and con's compared to the earlier models. Since you're rather tall and wanted a grand tourer, the Series III was a good choice.

Greetings and well done. Early series 1 cars did have the fuel pump fused although later ones did not...a bizarre change. Well worth adding one so an in line is ideal. 5 amps will be sufficient. I am not that familiar with the V12 but I would also drain, flush and then refill the coolant too. While there inspect the water hoses and replace any that look past it. The V12 coolant circuit runs at a higher pressure than the early cars so old hoses are more prone to sudden failure and a cloud of steam!!

Hi, and welcome to the forum. As a similarly tall person, I chose a series 2 2+2, so similar dimensions to the series 3. We all have to choose what suits us.

Hi good evening and welcome . Please post some photos. It's a good feeling when you get your 1st E . I remember picking mine up in 2001 a lovely September until the Saturday I picked mine up, monsoon from hell..
How much work needs doing ? Is mechanical. Or body work that needs rectifying? Will you be doing the work yourself ?
Regards. Darren

Hello Darren,

unfortunately it is not in good condition (4).
The previous owner bought it in 1981 and has just driven it without taking care about it.
He just made necessary repairs and sometimes just "fixed" Problems (fans are operated by a switch).
in the last years he has not driven it and now it will need complete service.

Paint is very bad but I could find no major corrosion Problems (up to now ).

I plant to get it running first (after changing oil, spark plugs, fuel lines...) and the fix electric problems.
As much as possible will be done by myself (mainly mechanical items). Paint and welding will be done by a Workshop which already did my 1989 VW T3 Westfalia.

So it will take some time until it will be on the road again but I still hope that the engine doesn't need complete renovation.

Best regards

Sven

We're all here to help you along. Maybe a new thread in the restoration forum and some pics, pics, pics. We all love eType pics here

Thank you all for the kind welcome.

Yesterday my E has entered the garage.
It is in really bad condition after 36 years without real care.
Best example is how the previous owner fixed the choke cable


Nothing really works and the body repairs are made of fibre glass

But it is a matching numbers car with only 2 owners for a reasonable price.
First action will be to service the carburettors and learn how to tune them
Best regards
Sven

Hello! Lovely photos, too bad the car is in such a bad condition. But man, I envy you very much! I have been dreaming about owning E-type since I was 12 years old...

I was eight took me 40 years....good things come to those who wait....and the wait was worth every minute