Where to buy a daily driver S1 4.2 FHC?

[Laicey]

I'm looking for a daily driver condition S1 4.2 FHC for my 50th birthday but I'm having trouble finding one. Most of my cars are rust free and very good mechanically but none of them are very shiny. I would ruin a concours car by driving it everywhere and I can't afford one anyway. I'm not keen on the 2+2 or S2.

I'm looking under the £50K mark at the moment. I've seen a couple S1 FHC from dealers that tend to have had a cosmetic restoration done very badly at some point. If they are US cars it's probably just floors and sills that will need doing again plus lots of mechanical recommissioning and the repaint and it ends up expensive. I can do the work DIY to a good standard but also have a house to restore so have time conflicts.

The cars I have seen so far are from dealers. Are there any good UK owners clubs with classifieds where enthusiasts might offer this sort of car to one another in my sort of price range?

[DWW]

Had a look around for you, nothing even close for less than 80K and even in this price selection is limited.

[tinworm]

Hello Laicey - for your price range you will find an ex- US car running and probably mot'd needing work (probably extensive) . Auctions are a place to find bargains - you should follow them all to get a feel for actual prices sold (and not dealers asking prices)

good luck Barrie

you may find the S2 and S1.5 will grow on you as they are the bargains of the model

[rswaffie]

Auctions seem the best bet in that budget range, if you are willing to take a risk.

[mgcjag]

Hi.....there are no clubs/owners groups where you could find a good daily driver quality S1 for the price your looking at as far as im aware.....you could post in our wanted section...but i think your budget is too low.....Steve

[dlgis]

I thought this looks interesting but an s2 I’m afraid:

https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/lot ... 8&pn=1&g=1

As others have said classic car auctions or the online only auctions are probably your best bet, if you’re comfortable buying that way. Quite a few have sold around 50-60k lately.

[tinworm]

Just had a scat around the internet and found a LHD S1 4.2 on car and classic website - in Scotland for £39K - needs recommissioning but not a bad car in metallic blue.

Barrie
bound to have the E-type rot in it - though its not visible in the photos -

[Laicey]

30 years ago post '80s classic car boom I visited a barn full of cars in Scotland that had been imported from the USA. They had S1 E-type projects for under £10K. Couldn't afford them so I bought an abused MGA roadster rolling shell for £2K and made it into a car. I still have it. It's quite scruffy 30 years after restoration. For other projects since then I've gone for a straight original car in preference to putting other peoples work right.

I'm new to E-types and haven't looked at one yet. I've not even been in one apart from a ride in a S3 at an Austin 7 meeting. I guess this might end up being a 51st birthday present an I have some research to do.

I spotted the car in Perth. Really bad sill replacement full of filler and bad welding that needs doing again and that's probably messed up the floor too. i need to visit family up there and will take a look..

[Gfhug]

Must it be an S1, as others have said you’ll get a better S2 for your money? Beware of rust, rust and rust in that order. You’ve worked on cars before so have some idea of the work involved but be aware you’re going up another level to an E Type. Complex shape and sills that can hide a lot of bad work underneath.
Try to see as many as you can and even look at cars at restorers to appreciate what they’ve done to sort out the cars, even if they’re out of your price range.

Good luck

Geoff

[nefematic]

OK this is not a 4.2. If you get to picky you might end up looking for way too long. This just as an example of a RHD S1 3.8 FHC sold locally (southern Germany) last weekend for the equivalent of 51k£. No affiliation. I went to have a look w/o intention to buy. A US car, old restoration and lhd-rhd conversion. Running and complete, though missing many details a fine or good decent car should be able to boast with. I didn’t check rust in detail. Non matching engine, head- and gearbox numbers. As a daily driver maybe, or for complete resto with a lot of fixing up details. Dealer owned, as a project for complete resto. Turned out he owns / owned two 2+2’s, the fhc turned out to be to cumbersome to get in and out for the large guy.

Just an example. I thought it was a bit expensive.

I agree with Geoff - look at any available cars local to you, regardless of price range. That will give you confidence in evaluating the the right car once it shows up.

Good luck!

Martin

I hope the number of pics doesn’t offend anyone. Better posting the pics than having an expired interweb link in a few weeks:

[tinworm]

That one (red coupe) has some history Martin ! Just looked at XKE data and it was snatched by the US authorities at a drug dealers property a while ago.
The non -original (but still an E-type engine) is coupled to an all synchro gearbox which is in its favour in my book.


Barrie

[nefematic]

Well why didn‘t I think of xkedata! Good call. I wonder if the seller was aware of this. Why was the bellhousing opened up on top?

Martin

[tinworm]

Thats the hole in 3.8 bell housings to view the timing mark on the flywheel. Looks like he has a modified original 3.8E bellhousing (to fit the 4.2 gearbox) or it is an 'S' type 3.8 one which needs no modification for that application. Anyway we are risking a telling off from Steve for hijacking this thread Martin ! - so I will leave it there.

Barrie