The 'E' Type Forum

Hi All , now my E type is ready for the road I am keen to have some days out in it , this is the first classic
I have owned so has any one got any recommendations on a good car or owners club to join locally.
I live near Stourbridge in the West Midlands UK.

Many Thanks Brian

The Midland Auto Club ( possibly also known as the Hagley and District Motor Club ) operate Shelsley Walsh . One of the oldest clubs in the country, and although catering for rather older cars than ours, perhaps worth an enquiry . Also, why not try going along to a local branch meeting of the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club ? I will try and find out when these are near to you

There is also the JDC , but they always seem rather sniffy to me - closed stands at Classic shows etc

Thanks for your prompt reply Christopher.

I definitely do not want to be in a club that is not down to earth & friendly.
I just want to have a destination to drive to and have a chat and a laugh

Many Thanks Brian

Having had many classic cars and joined many clubs the best by far for our cars is the E Type Club. No stifling committees, no concours, none of the "that's not original mate" brigade - it's purely about driving and enjoying. A great bunch of fellow drivers too. Join and enjoy and make sure you attend the XK 70 weekend at Shelsley and you'll see what I mean
Nick J Series1 Ludlow

For the first time ever, and with trepidation!, I will disagree with Christopher. I'm in area 1 of the JDC, a thoroughly friendly and down to earth group. next week, I'll be going with them to Rheims and Brittany, along with 20 other members from the area. A nice drive in the E. Then in September, I'm touring North West Spain through the national park and mountains, with the national JDC. I aalso go to lots of shows with the JDC. I've enjoyed my time with them. Probably Christopher has had a bad experience - as with all clubs, it depends on the people you meet I guess

Out of the two Jaguar clubs, from experience I would recommend the JDC. However, having been a member of several Car clubs over the last 40 years, just beware of what I call the Numpty mentality! There is a tendency for them to be run by little know-all’s! I only lasted one year on the committee of a well known reasonably large club! For an E-type owner, there is one club which is a must; the E-type Club. However, it is run as a business for profit by its founder, Philip Porter. Nothing necessarily wrong in that, but things tend to be more expensive to cover that principle. Surprisingly, that also includes the Round Britain event run primarily for Prostate Cancer. Putting that to one side, the events are good and the magazine excellent.

I agree with Malcolm - it is very dependent on the regional setup I.e. the people involved. Have had good and bad experiences at both JEC and JDC. E Type Club is always great.

Join all three - if nothing else you get an interesting magazine each month.

Go along to a local meeting - you’ll very quickly get a sense of whether it’s for you.

Enjoy your car and see you at XK70 hopefully.

Cheers
Ash

Thanks Christopher , Nick , Malcolm , Barry and Ash for all your replies.

My pal is a member of JDC so I think I will join the E type club so we can compare memberships and also
enjoy any meets together in our E types.

Unfortunately I cannot make the Shelsley Walsh XK70 meet as I am away on holiday.
I hope to meet up with some members of the forum soon at a meet.

If anyone interested I have posted some photos of my recently imported car in the restoration section.
Its a 1971 2 plus 2 auto USA Import in regency red with black leather trim LHD now with fresh MOT &
documents at DVLA for registration.

Many Thanks Brian

Brian, if you're ready for a run out, how about joining some of us for this?
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=10138
To avoid confusion, the first 8 pages are all about last years outing; you need to go to half way down page 9 then read on.
Remember to register with our "club" number, and hopefully we'll all be given a slot together.

I too would side with Malcolm . My local JDC is area 16 and a less closed and more welcoming bunch you won't find anywhere. We have an annual show...no barriers...and attend several shows around and about. Anyone and everyone is welcome, whether or not they actually own n a jaguar is irrelevant. I would also recommended the e type club as others have too. A great magazine for a start...have fun driving the E and take it to the odd show....always great fun...

Worth a subscription to the JDC just for the 3 E-Type related events which they hold. In early April, they run a very interesting E-Type Workshop, mainly presented by John Burton, who is well worth listening to. In May, they have an E-Type Track Day at Goodwood which is very relaxed and well-run. In June, the E-Type Day at Prescott Hill Climb is great fun.

Also do not forget the get together's we sometimes arrange for Forum members. Bicester was a big success last year and we hope to repeat it this year: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=10138

You just missed an equally great event down at Moss Jaguar over the weekend, something we hope Angus will be repeating. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11094

There is also the High Peak Run that Simon Johnson arranges each July and also lots of other events announced here: viewforum.php?f=12

Hi Brian

I second the E-type Club as being a great club for drivers and enthusiasts - even for the young ones among us! I have always enjoyed E-type Club days out, organising my own run for them along with my friend has been great fun (5th year running this year,, updates soon!) and the people are generally very friendly. The attitude seems to be "oh great, another one saved and on the road, with another bunch of people joining the fun".

The magazine usually has some interesting stories in, and coupled with this forum (which is, as you may well know, not directly linked) this usually gets me my fix when I'm not able to pop and see my friend for a ride in the FHC (or the weather is c**p, which has been the case for a while!)

Cheers

Simon

If you do only one thing this year it has to be visiting the E-Type Register’s day at Prescott Hill on June 10. Not a huge drive for you. Unfortunately, I won’t be there this year, due to other commitments.

Looks like I'm the only one that thinks the E-Type Club Magazine is a piece of irrelevant puffery then, a commercial entreprise masquerading as a club.

I would judge about 20% of it to be interesting reading, the rest is either irrelevant nonsense (viz the smug and patronising series of "restoration" articles by one Etienne Chatel, mercifully absent this month) or superficial advertising-linked polly-filla (viz Driven-Man gearbox fitting article next to a big advert for .....) or un-critical ruffle-no-feathers garage visits where everyone is the ultimate perfectionist and On Our Side.

I only joined because of the massive discount on insurance, but consign the magazine to my dentists' waiting room within 24h of its recipt and wouldn't renew.

I'm sure I would have a less jaundiced view if I lived somewhere that enabled me to share local activities, but IMHO the magazine is a waste of paper.

The best value and the most interesting, relevant, stuff is to be found RIGHT HERE and I would happily pay to help keep it up to speed.

Come on Rory, don't be shy, tell us how you really feel

Yes, IMHO but long on "O" for Opinion and short on "H" for Humble !

Must drop the H.

I know the editor is trying to address these issues but he's not there yet.

I enjoy contributing to the magazine and since I am not directly involved in restoring my own car I don't provide the marketing ploys .

They're always on the look-out for stories about trips out, tours, whatever we all get up to. I bet if everyone has one interesting story to put into words then the magazine would be full of new content. Part of the reason I contribute to the magazine is because I can't contribute in many ways at the moment without a car!

Louise at Club HQ has told me time and time again that they would welcome more input from forum members. Perhaps you guys ought to give me a hand!

Hi Guys ,
Many Thanks for all your posts , I think I now have enough info to make my own mind up.
I will keep you updated on how I get on with your suggestions and what my own experiences are.
I do believe like anything else I will only get out what I put in so I need to get the new car out ! :).

I look forward to catching up with you all at some stage this year ,
I will definitely be at the Chateau Impney Hill Climb on Sat 7 & Sun 8 July @ Droitwich Spa as I am
very local and I will try and attend all your other events wife permitting !

Many Thanks Brian

Hi Brian..worth thinking about is the Shelsley SNG Hillclimb day...not open to the general public and a good day out https://www.sngbarratt.com/uk/#!/Englis ... 53248e5637 Steve