The 'E' Type Forum

Hello to all ! Having owned my 1962 Series I OTS for 52 years at this point, I'm excited to say that she is presently in shop undergoing a complete refresh and I'll soon be back on the road after a long hiatus for medical reasons. The car is all original and will make a good compliment to myself being that I am all original, too ! The car is a very early model with the desirable [?] features of Flat floors, outside latches and welded louvers. Serial #875071. I've attempted to ascertain its position among the earliest examples extant but there seems to be no registry to which I can refer with certainly. Any info in this regard would be welcomed. In the next few months I hope to share the renewed joy that this car has always brought after a spin behind the wheel. Thanks for the invite !! Cheers !! Bob Kraft

Car number 71... http://www.xkedata.com/cars/detail/?car=875071

Hi Bob and welcome. Looking forward to see the results of the refresh, hope the shop carrying out the work are specialist enough and will keep the car in its entire originality with out replacing original with aftermarket parts....

Danny : Thanks for the encouragement ! The shop I've chosen is :Merriman's Modifications" in Hanover, PA. Jack Merriman has been in business for 45 years and specializes in British iron. We have had LONG conversations about retaining originality as my car has not been apart since new. He is totally amenable to my thoughts on the matter. Not to worry !
I've just had a very confusing exchange about a car with identical numbers being sold in 2008 in the same state as my car, Pennsylvania ! I've owned mine for 52 years and can't imagine what is going on but hope this forum can help clear up the matter. We'll see ! Thanks again for the welcome ! Cheers !! Bob Kraft

Now that is strange

Bob

Just been reading your comments on XKEdata and it is kind of worrying. No two cars will have the same body number, VIN, engine number and gearbox number. We occasionally see one of those numbers with reversed characters but it is very rare.

Suggest you put as much info as you have (photos of car, data plate, engine, interior, Heritage Certificate, early paperwork etc) in this thread. We can then put together a compelling case that your car is the original and the other a recreation of some sort. Either that or XKEdata is wrong (it has been known) but establishing provenance is key and we will help where we can. Once we have that info we will see if we can flush the other car out!

Looking at the photos on XKEdata, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of originality on that car!

That's why I put up the xkedata link...sounded odd that Bob had owned his car for 52 years and her it was on sale in 2008?...Steve

Gentlemen : You could knock me over with a feather ! The responses about my car having duplicate Serial and Engine numbers boggles my mind ! I am away at present from all the documentation that I have for my car but can provide a "build plate" photo and a photo of the engine number from previous work. About a years after I owned the car I corresponded with Paul Borel, a Jag enthusiast who, in trade for postage stamps, offered to secure more detailed info from the Jaguar factory. I still have that letter listing the date of manufacture [July, 1961 - actual day is listed but I can't recall it just now]. The original owner was listed, her place of residence [which comported with my knowledge of where the car came from] all relative numbers and the gray/red LHD info. The recent receipt from the Jaguar foundation issued the same info as I'd received in the letter from Mr. Borel about 50 years earlier. His letter was more like a personal note with a separate form from the factory attached with the researcher's name written in pen. I'm fascinated that you folks have the channels to investigate this further. I've simply run into a brick wall here in the States. More to come when I am back to the documentation site ! Cheers !! Bob Kraft

When I first came across XKE/XK Data I thought it strange that no one objected to the idea of posting a comprehensive list if other peoples car details including chassis numbers/engine number in public for free!

It is probably about the most useful asset a car cloner/thief could ask for!

I am not surprised a similar website has not appeared in the world of Porsche/Bugatti/Aston Martin. I think the car owners would have something to say.

I know it is all done with the best intentions, however?

I have no problem with XKEdata and it is a useful resource as current events have shown. People can clone an E-Type but why bother when there are so many around? Worthwhile creating an OBL I suppose but hardly financially lucrative given the difficulty sourcing original parts. We know a lot of things about the OBL carrs which are not published anywhere so an expert can spot a clone without difficulty.

I believe Bob's car to be the real thing based on the two photos he has published and further info will no doubt confirm it to the OBL community. The fun will be trying to locate the clone and understanding the motivation.

Heuer {David] certainly inspires confidence in reaching a solution to this perplexing situation ! I had no idea that when I registered just this morning that I'd have such a cadre of enthusiasts tracking down a case of "stolen valor" [ a trendy term in heavy use these days in the USA] regarding MY #875071 ! Thanks all ! Cheers !! Bob Kraft

Hi Bob..iv also posted basic info and a link back to here on the US JagLovers forum...Steve https://forums.jag-lovers.com/t/obl-875 ... one/449840

Simplest explanation is the red car was an eBay scam and does not exist. If you look at the photos there is nothing to prove provenance or even that it is has welded louvres and no close up of early features or data plate.

So the question to ask is how did they have access to this chassis number or for that matter engine number if there were no public records of the car in the first place.

Some good info posted over on the JL site I linked to..one of the members traced the registration plate on the red car to another car on xke data and then to a company owned by a couple that have been caught out on ebay fraud...Worth reading...Steve

Looks like case proven and cleared within two days by the community which must be a relief to Bob.

For completeness it seems these two were behind the scam: https://jaguarcentralmikecumminsfraudth ... gspot.com/

What a fine example of the integrity of this forum.

Geoff

I have never had so many interesting items show up in my EMail feed ! The lengths to which this "E Type Forum" community has coalesced its institutional memory to come to the aid of the "New Guy on the Block" has been flattering, illuminating and downright impressive ! The most recent cache of information about the "Cummins" scandal was entirely revelatory to me [Thanks to Paul Spurlock] and to realize that I was on the cusp of such an evil scheme for so many years is still something with which to grapple ! I will do my small part as promised and provide copious amounts of documentation to the xkedata site as to my legitimate ownership of #875071 as soon as I return to my PA home. Many thanks to all ! NOW -- Can anyone tell me where I stashed that extra set of keys for ol' #875071 ? Somebody surely knows --------------.

Great work lads.

For those that didn’t look, worth browsing this -

https://jaguarcentralmikecumminsfraudth ... gspot.com/

- probably even better than a prison sentence, having a website in perpetuity dedicated to broadcasting your félonies !!!

Looks like his next career will require a switch to a different marque, or maybe a name change and a dose of Ozempic.