The 'E' Type Forum

Im pretty new to this forum, but I have gleaned so much info so quickly by pouring over the threads!! Its made my mind up and today I have put a deposit down on this lovely old girl, subject to a thorough independant inspection on the 3rd Jan (bloody xmas holidays!!! :()

The car isnt concourse as I wanted something I wouldnt be scared of using, but it is in very very good condition indeed.

I would be glad to know what you guys think, the only mods to be done ASAP is to lose the modern stereo and lose the vulgar red piping.

Looks very nice Hazy, same spec as mine (without the red piping). Mine is a '73 OTS in Signal Red/Black Interior.
Get the independant inspection done, engine looks pretty mint on the outside, just need to make sure that all the internals are ok. Hopefully it will have a fair bit of history and previous bills with it to make you a little more relaxed. You will enjoy the turbine smoothness of the Jag V12.
The great thing is that you intend to use it, I assure you, you will enjoy it!
Cheers
Mike

Thanks Mike :)

Do you still have your 355 mate?

No the 355 went about 3 years ago. A guy I do a lot of business with kept going on about buying it, I fobbed him off saying I didn't want to sell it but he said name your price, I did and he accepted. The rest is history. Was a really nice car too, part of me regretted selling it but I suppose the devaluation would have started to bite, it was a '99 F1 Spider with 16,000 on the clock! Although I see good 355's are holding their value at the moment. I have had the E type for nearly 3 years now and prices have really started going north, so no current devaluation probs with the Jag I am pleased to say.

I see you still have the Scud, they seem to be going up in value again. The best Ferrari to own next to an F40 in my opinion.

I know you will enjoy the V12 E Type, nowhere near the Ferrari to drive, but a real classic feel and the power is awesome for its age!

Enjoy.
Mike

Looks nice, well done! Not sure about that positive battery lead though :x . I'd get that looked at to make sure the routing is correct (don't want any chafing etc there!).

Strad not Scud, and yes prices are going healthily north, mine is pretty much a garage queen now, it will look mint parked next to the V12 :)

Ive got no pension so Ive decided to collect cars that are great to look at and drive and are also appreciating, Strad and Jag fit the bill as does my M3 CSL racecar. 996 GT3 RS is next in the crosshair of my car buying targets!!

Sorry, meant to say Strad, it's late!!

Angus has picked up a good point on the battery, I just checked mine and I think they have the battery in the wrong way round. The negative pole should be on the right. Plus it doesn't seem to have a battery clamp over the top of the battery, currently an MOT fail. Get it checked out and as Angus says the positive wiring looks a bit dodgy, probably because it has been lengthened and re-routed as I think it has been fitted the wrong way round.

P.S. That looks as though it has had an SU Carb conversion.
Mike

Is an SU carb conversion good news or not? Am I correct in thinking E-types were originally positive earthed? Are you saying "mine" has been changed to convential wiring?

Yes the SU conversion is reported to be a positive one. They were originally fitted with Stromberg 175-CD2's to satisfy US Federal emmissions requirements, the SU's are considered by many to be more fuel efficient and better performance. I can't comment personally as mine has the Strombergs,

Only the early series one E types were positive earth. All later models were negative earth. Yours looks to be correct as negative earth but the battery is in the wrong way around and to compensate a long positive cable has been stretched across the battery and engine frame. Plus it doesn't look like it is secured to the car, they have a frame that goes over the top of the battery that is anchored in place with two rods and two wing nuts.

Mike

Ah, thanks for clarifying that Mike :)

Just hoping the inspection doesnt throw up any hidden horror stories in January, but I cant see that it will, the car seems to have undergone a fairly extensive resto not too many years ago. :)

I think the red piping works well on the S3 and changing it is going to be very expensive. Basically you will need new seat covers along with any leather on the centre console to get a match of grain and colour (there are different shades of black). If you get it done professionally figure ?2k. Contrast colour piping was a factory option so it is not considered 'bling'.

Changing the Strombergs for SU's will be wasting your money. The Stromberg's are very good carbs so a conversion to SU's is going to have little impact on performance or economy and you have lost the originality. If you want a reasonable step up in performance fitting an EFI system is the way to go. Top of the list is to fit a 6.0 engine from a later XJS - it will be stunningly quick but they are prone to break traction even on a dry road, and spin!

As a Porsche 911 fan I suggest avoid anything with '996' in its name. A 993tt, 993RS or any of the 997 specials are worth considering though.

Ah, thats where you are missing a trick, the "unloved" tag of the 996 means the GT3 RS can be brought for reasonable money, is fantastic to drive, and is a solid investment. Earlier RS's have already gone too far north to bew "investable" and 997's are a bit too digital, a bit too ordinary if that makes sense? My last 911 was a 997 cab that I used, and whilst I loved it, it didnt feel special enough to justify the price tag. Early 997's represent great value now though.

This was my old cab

Dear David,

It looks like SU carbrettors are already fitted and so the car, as pictured, is NOT fitted with the original carburettors. Converting back to Strombergs would set it BACK to original but be a waste of time and money.

kind regards
Marek

Thanks Marek - missed that! But as you say switching either way is pretty pointless.

Hazy wrote:My last 911 was a 997 cab that I used, and whilst I loved it, it didnt feel special enough to justify the price tag. Early 997's represent great value now though.

I had a 996 cab to replace a 993 cab when they first came out and did not take to it - like being in a BMW which was great for business but I found the car lacked soul. Got rid of it and bought one of the last 993 C2's made, a car we still have and love. Last 'true' 911 (and probably the best of them all) with all the foibles and gems that created the legend. Got to admit 996's are very inexpensive to buy nowadays and command less than the earlier 993.


The Alpina B5 Touring has since gone

Those SUs are 1.75" so no real performance advantage over the same size Strangleberg. They have a concentric float chamber so are cleaner than an HD or HS 2" SU.

Car looks very nice. I don't even mind the piping. You could easily paint over it with dye and then seal it, but being high-rub in some places the black will need re-touching from time to time. I'd leave it - plain black is the worst interior in my opinion as there is no contrast anywhere and it all looks cheap like an MG if it's just black, black, black.

This is especially true for the S3 OTS which is the model with not only a moulded plastic radio console (S2) and a moulded plastic centre console (S3) but moulded plastic B-post panels etc. as well. Leyland penny-pinching.

Still a nice car though and I doubt you'll find much amiss. Enjoy collecting the Shell Points or whatever fuel rewards programme you subscribe to as you'll be getting the top-tier rewards very soon. An S3 is to petrol stations as a dog is to lamp posts - incapable of passing one without sniffing appreciatively...

Not long to go now...............from a fellow S3 OTS owner its a great
feeling............dont listen to the negative press on S3s 'Too Long...Too wide' they are a fantastic bit of kit.

I just dont care about petrol. You have to put it in something so it
might as well be a V12 S3!!

Roll on 2013

DC

yep, counting the days, but given the dimensions of my current daily, a BMW 640, I dont thik it will feel either long or wide, the BeeEm is huge!

Well "my" car finally got inspected on Saturday, seems ages since I first did the deal TBH!!

The reports revealed........nothing. One little blister and the modern stereo were the only negative points, he considered the SU conversion to be a big plus point.

I asked him if there were any subtle improvements he would suggest and he said in his opinion to make it a more rewarding drive poly bushes and coil overs would improve the car greatly. Anyone else done this?

It's an S3 and it cruises wonderfully. If you wanted sporty you should have bought a 3.8 IMO. But that's all anyone can give you - an opinion. You may as well ask about colours - everyone has their own views and you should ignore all subjective opinion except that of the person paying for your car.

The only way you can switch from subjective to objective assessment is to try the same type of car with the polybushes fitted and see how it drives. Until then I would leave well alone. You seemingly haven't even driven your first E-type yet but you are already asking about modifications. Get a grip man! :-)

Enjoy your fab car and do some serious mileage in all conditions. It will soon become clear to you which areas, if any, you feel could be tweaked to suit your personal preference, which may be totally different from your inspector's view. My bet is the car will massively out-perform you like it would me and 99% of us here, so driver rather than car upgrades are the route to performance. Put it this way, Damon Hill in a bog standard S3 would leave all of us for dead in a Group 44 replica, so polybushes or any other aspect of the car are really not the issue in road driving. It will still be the longest heaviest OTS so play to its strengths instead of trying to change its nature.

Pete