Finally!! I bring my E-type home!

[Hazy]

Well today it was finally just about dry enough to bring the old girl home.

Driving impressions....not too clever, but in a good way, I didnt stop smiling all the way home!

Steering response of the QE2, lovely ride, wallowy handling, peachy engine, hilariously bad driving position and seat, surprisingly good brakes, horrendous wind noise, lovely positive gearshift, but at the end of the day, its near on 40 years old so I expected some strange little bits, but everything is forgiven when you jump out and look at the thing, its just a stunning piece of design. Best of all was my missus reaction, she hadnt seen it in the flesh until today (I make a point of not including the woman in any car buying processes ) but she was thrilled with it.

Next up, power steering alteration to improve feel, upgraded suspension for the same and new retro looking stereo. Happy days, I love "new" car day..... :D

[Hazy]

When the sun finally comes back out I'll take some pics of the two red ladies side by side...

[Heuer]

There is a fix for the p/s - on here somewhere if you do a search. You could fit the MX5 seats as many of have done and details are in the upgrades forum. Easily reversible for show but you really need decent seats if you are going to do big mileages. Careful with the suspension because it is easy to ruin the ride so check everything is working as designed before making any changes.

[SESH]

Well done Hazy! :D Welcome to E Type ownership. Told you there was a huge difference in handling between the Italian Stallion and the V12 E. Having said that the engine is sublime especially considering it's 40 years old!

Took mine out for a blast yesterday (hood down) on the basis it was 10 Deg C, sunny and heavy rain overnight had washed a lot of the salt away. It never fails to make you smile even on a chilly day.

Enjoy it! 8)

[PeterCrespin]

Yes, it's all about doing the miles but try a few long trips before throwing out the seats and fitting Japanese. They are about as sympathetic a mod as you can do, if correctly upholstered, but if you are 6'+ then even with new standard E-type cushions you risk having a bow-shaped groove chiselled across your skull from ear to ear, depending on spine and arm length and how upright you like your recliners.

MX5 seats could easily make entry/exit near impossible without leaving large DNA and hair samples on the cant rail every time. I know, you could scoop the foam out and weld the seat pan direct to the exhaust pipes and radius arms, but just give the car a bit of time to grow on you and marvel at how good the overall factory compromise was. Although we said you have not bought the most sporting model, it is still a superb and quick GT car. Try your hand a bit more and stash some ear plugs in the ashtray. It's still way more comfy than any of your bikes, so even the wind noise is familiar territory. :)

My current two E-types have objectively the worst-condition seats of any that I've driven for long distances, with significantly squashed seat foams and probably a bad diaphragm or two if I look. Yet they are subjectively very comfy on a long run for me because I have headroom at last and don't need to stoop at the wheel or crouch my head down when shuffling to change position every so often. I couldn't even fit inside Zoli Kovac's perfect 3.8 FHC without jamming up against the headliner but have room to spare in the S2 FHC.

The wind noise should be largely fixable by adjustment and seals and for the steering I'd start by fitting a nice Moto Lita S1-style repro in 14". That will make the car more responsive and sporty, plus improve the aesthetics for most people. I'd only start revalving the rack if that wasn't enough but I bet it would be.

Rant switch to 'On'

Even with polybushes and firmer dampers, the high aspect-ratio tyres are always going to feel a bit wallowy under a heavy V12. I've felt the same in every version of the XJ12 owned and also XJ-S V12. So then you get into oversize wheels and low profile tyres and next thing all your cars start to feel similar and the E is struggling to do what it was never meant to do whilst losing some of the qualities it excelled in.

These cars are perfectly capable of huge mileages in reasonable comfort but it seems we want to do everything to conform the cars to modern norms because we've all gone wimpy in our old age! So what if you creak a bit stepping out at the motorway services? You'll get plenty of exercise because you'll need to stop every couple of hundred like on a bike to refill the tank. It will fit like a warm glove as you settle back in after emptying your wallet.

To each their own but I celebrate difference and period characteristics. I don't want to jump on a girder fork bike and have it handle like a Ducati, and I don't want to go touring on my Norton racer when the Sprint is much better. I love each of them for what they do instead of trying to make each of them conform to some mish-mash compromise. See if you can blag a drive in a totally stock and factory-fresh S3 to see what they are like when everything is right.

Rant switch to 'Off'

Don't mind me, enjoy the car, do whatever you want with it, but just give the stylish old courtesan a chance to charm you slowly and subtly, before you put her under the knife and turn her into the Bride of Wildenstein.

[vipergts]

Well done Hazy Box.

Now don't forget to look after the old girl

Good to see it went down well on PGT.

[Hazy]

Peter, I do appreciate different cars differences and idiosyncrasies, but remember that we now have suspension technology and development that simply wasnt available 40 years ago, so subtle improvement will simply improve the experience IMO. Im a fairly enthusiastic driver, and as such I consider the lack of body control and steering precision a little dangerous rather that just a charming period feature. The daft seats and seating position just add to the im pression of driving something from an era where little thought was given to ergonomics :)

Dont worry, the old girl already has me totally captivated, I open my garage on the way past to work every morning to stare at the car!!

[Heuer]

Actually suspension technology has changed very little in the last 40 years - what has changed is the ability to use electronics to mask driver inexperience. My Lotus Elan is quicker across country than a 911 or modern Ferrari because it is small and light so I can take it to limits I would be scared to do in anything bigger. If you are going to track day your car then such things may be of import but quite honestly, on today's roads, the E-Type is beyond the abilities of most drivers - unless they drive on the electronics of course Are you sure your E-Type is set up properly, because mine is equal in almost all respects to our 993 - we have made many comparisons

I know you drive high performance cars a lot hence my concern that you E-Type is setup properly. An S3 is never going to be the the sporting equivalent of the S1 but it is still pretty competent.

[ChrisC]

I think I need someone to give me a 911 or Ferrari to compare against :)

I need to see if my grin can get any wider than driving my beloved Etype.

[SESH]

Chris, you can't try to compare an E Type with a modern Ferrari. The road holding is unbelievable, I had an F355 Spider and it went around corners like it was on rails! Huge wide low profile spec tyres, electronic suspension and 375 bhp!

The 355 was bred for the track. I know Hazy has got a 360 Stradale which is the race version (almost) of the 360 and that was definitely made for the track. The sound of the engine at full chat is to be heard to be believed, it's a bit like lstening to a Formula One car although the resulting decibels will be a little lower unless you are running a full sports Capristo exhaust!

However we are not comparing like for like, the E type is 40-52 years old depending on your series, and you can't expect proper fair comparisons.

The E Type will go around corners but not like a modern Ferrari, you have got to have driving skills to be safe doing it. The Ferrari takes the driving skills away to a certain extent. Not that it spoils the fun though.

The E Type has a Classic Nostalgia that the modern Ferrari lacks and that more than makes up for the difference in handling. Both cause you to grin from ear to ear, but owning a modern Ferrari is an expensive past time with values depreciating year on year as well as very expensive maintenance and servicing costs. At least with our E Types the values are still moving up. Although I would stress that the value is not the be all and end all!

Cheers
Mike

[PeterCrespin]

Peter, I do appreciate different cars differences and idiosyncrasies, but remember that we now have suspension technology and development that simply wasnt available 40 years ago, so subtle improvement will simply improve the experience IMO. Im a fairly enthusiastic driver, and as such I consider the lack of body control and steering precision a little dangerous rather that just a charming period feature.

I'm sure you do, and you're probably a quicker driver than I am. I might fancy my chances on a bike, on road or off, but I digress.

If improvements change the experience to your liking then fine, it's your car and it is common knowledge the LWB twelve is not the nimblest E-type and was never meant to be. Hence the earlier comments about your choice of model. But I would not agree the car was 'a little dangerous', unless you define dangerous as being operated outside its design envelope by someone without the skill to cope.

I assume you don't mean that, you mean the car itself has characteristics you wish to alter. That's very different from calling the car itself into question. Any car is dangerous if badly driven, be it a Reliant Regal on a sharp bend at 20 mph or an F40 at 70 mph on the M6 in fog. Any car can be driven dangerously but few cars are dangerous.

Danger is a product of the car's capability and the driver's skill at operating it. I would think that Martin Brundle could leave us both for dead in a standard S3 OTS even if we were driving Rob Beere versions. He wouldn't describe the standard version as dangerous, just less track focused.

Pete

[christopher storey]

If your E really is suffering from lack of body control, and even more so lack of steering precision, then there is something seriously amiss with the suspension and with the power rack . The dampers on a properly maintained car are entirely up to the job - conversely, however, weak rear dampers will cause it to wallow unpleasantly over long pitch undulations . Similarly a porperly maintained E can be steered with pinpoint accuracy with one finger . Nonetheless, the car is a fundamental understeerer ( which is safe rather than dangerous ) . I would suggest that you let Dave Marks in Nottingham, Colin Ford in Kent , or CMC in Bridgnorth drive it and give you an opinion

[Hazy]

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated! I dont think they is anything up with my car, its just not quite as I like it, it may be just setup, I dont know yet, but I'll sort it. It took many weeks of tweaking my M3's KW suspension on my race car before I got that to where I needed it to be...I like a challenge!!