Thoughts please on this low milage car

[356boy]

Hi all, i'm looking at buying a series 1 jaguar but at the minute do not know to much about them, i've seen one at etypeuk which is unrestored with 27k on the clock but they are asking a whopping ?120k, i will be viewing it at some point but has anyone else seen this car up close and is the asking price to high.
this one http://www.etypeuk.com/carsales/showroo ... FHC-9.html
is there a post and discussion about this car on the forum, cant find anything.
it has everything i'd need as i'm about 6'1" and it has the dished floor and the cutout behind the bucket seats(sorry if these are not the turms used)
and the perfect colour scheme but my own opinion is a set of wide whitewalls to go with the US car theme to glam it up.
Also reading the forum E types seem to be quite problematic, is this the norm, what are the common running problems, i'm trying to find as much info as possible before i take the plunge.

thaughts would be very much appreciated as i would be selling a special car to try and get this.

thanks
matt

[Heuer]

It has been discussed because several of us want to go and see it, photograph it in detail and put pictures in our 'Factory Fit' thread which is dedicated to the most original unrestored cars. The value lies in that originality so not a car to muck about with and start adding 'sensible upgrades'. The idea of whitewalls is laudable but unfortunately only viable if you want to show the car because any you buy will not have the correct speed rating or load index. However we have been discussing a company in the UK who can take Michelin or Pirelli 185 tyres and add whitewalls. May be worth checking them out if you are serious: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... wall+tyres

So the car is a fantastic time warp example of an E-Type and will be as near as you can now get to picking one up at the Factory. On the other hand if you want a car to use regularly in summer or tour through Europe then you would better off buying something that has been restored and does have those 'sensible upgrades'. Let us know how you get on and if you do buy it please take lots of pictures and let us have them!

[356boy]

thanks for the reply, could you please send me the link to the discussion about the car as i cannot find it

thanks

[Heuer]

http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3968

[PeterCrespin]

I wonder if they've fixed the non-original tailgate trim screws and the 4.2 silencers? I wouldn't if that's how it was left by the owner as they're part of its history but obviously they aren't 'survivor' spec items in the sense that the car didn't leave Coventry looking like that.

I think it said 62 somewhere too, although that's purely a date of manufacture. Often UK and US title year differences reflect model versus registration year but in this case it was made late 62 so by both UK and US criteria it's a 63 car. Interesting to see some differences with my own earlier 62. The development was pretty rapid early on as they strove to develop and production engineer the cars.

Pete

[356boy]

your right he bought the car in 63,i think it actualy says on the purchase order 2/23/63, i spoke to Mr Lynn's son about it early this morning, they sold it in 1983 with about 10k miles on the car, sadly Mr Lynn passed away in 2002, amazing what can be found through the net.

[Heuer]

Matt

Just a thought. Have you tried driving an S1 FHC because given your height it may prove to be a challenge! The car was designed around Norman Dewis, Jaguars chief test driver, who is a diminutive 5' 6". The S1 4.2 cars had reclining seats of sorts (two position) and the later S2 cars had fully adjustable recliners. No height restriction in the OTS of course, at least with the hood down, but you may find your head is above the windscreen. The reclining seats obviously help but the early buckets can be a problem for anyone over 5' 10". No doubt some of our taller members will add their experience.

Oddly, and you would not think it to look at, but our '69 Lotus Elan has more room for both passengers and luggage than our OTS E-Type but then the Elan was designed around the 6' 6" Colin Chapman.

[356boy]

I havent tried driving an S1, ive sat it one and it was fairly tight but it was a flat floor one with now room for moving the seat, i looked at this one http://www.nickwhalesportscarsdirect.co ... -floor-301 but the doors didnt close properly and some ugly looking welding in the door shuts, nice car from 20 feet,they had painted the car and it did look patchy to me, back to the doors the saleman told me the doors never did close properly on the early cars anyway!!!!
my knees were very high around the steering wheel but i was assuming the low milage car i'm interested in will accommodate me with it having the lower floor and cut outs behind the seat. fancy making a car around a midget!

[Heuer]

Careful about calling Norman that because, despite his age, he will give you a really good thump when he meets you! The later floors just give you a bit more room for your feet and make entry/exit easier. Seat height is the same because they did nothing to the rear cabin floors. The bulkhead scoops allow a bit more leg room but not that much. I am 5' 8" and I have the seats back as far as they will go. The 4.2 seats help with their 2 position recline and you can modify the clutch, brake and throttle pedals to let you stretch out a bit. The trick for tall drivers is to recline as much as possible or consider a 2+2 or S3. Suggest you go down to E Type UK and have a look at the car you are interested in and some of the other models they will have available. They are a great and friendly crowd and Harry will put you under no pressure whatsoever. He is one of the few people in the E-Type world in whom you can put a lot of trust. We do because the Forum is hosted on his servers and he asks for nothing in return, not even self promotion.

Incidentally I assume from your username you have a Porsche 356? Had one a long time ago and kept meaning to buy myself a Speedster until prices got stupid. We have done the Rally des Alpes with a few but the E-Type is in a different league in terms of performance. Ours is about the same as our 993 C2.

[356boy]

firstly no offence to little Norman.
thanks for the info on the models, i am only interested in the early cars though, didnt realise they had so much power.
i do like the rounded flowing lines of the 50's 60's cars, i've also looked at the morgan aeromax with classic styling but modern running gear thinking they may be a good investment as only 100 were made and only 19 RHD
i am selling my 356preA to hopefully get an e type, not sure if i'm doing the right thing, heres a link to my car ad

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/41 ... ID=1871691

[Simon P]

That Philip Porter gets around a bit!

[Heuer]

Beautiful car that. The E-Type is still a very quick car compared to most modern machinery although mine has been goose'd a bit, hence the 993 comparison. It has been built to allow my wife and I to criss-cross Europe in the summer with ease whilst staying on the back roads. If I had to choose between a 356 (Speedster included) or an E-Type it would be the latter because it has the looks of a classic and the performance of a modern. But you need to go and drive one, or several, before making your mind up. For example E Type UK can supply you with a substantially uprated and upgraded E-Type that would put the Aeromax to shame on any journey.

[PeterCrespin]

Oddly, and you would not think it to look at, but our '69 Lotus Elan has more room for both passengers and luggage than our OTS E-Type but then the Elan was designed around the 6' 6" Colin Chapman.

Cough! Splutter!

6'6"? ACB Chapman? Surely you jest David - Lotus connoisseur though you are.

He was around the same height as Jimmy Stewart, maybe an inch or so taller. He was average height in the paddock and shorter than Fittipaldi. I've stood next to Fittipaldi and he's not 6 foot.

If you're serious about 6 foot, let alone 6'6" then you can surely offer a source for that and a photo of him towering above, err, anyone?

Pete

[vipergts]

I love a 356 but an Etype is so much more of a car, well ahead of it's time and it still amazes me how well they drive.

I'm 6.2" and this car fits me just fine. Most of the time the problem arises when they've had retrims and the new foam throws everything out.

[Heuer]

If you're serious about 6 foot, let alone 6'6" then you can surely offer a source for that and a photo of him towering above, err, anyone?

Proof, as if proof was needed:

[PeterCrespin]

I'll see your scale-free pose with an ultra-low F1 car and raise you half a dozen next to people of known stature - mostly diminutive racing types, with one topical exception.











Finally (and topically)...


Stills are stills of course and perspective can mislead, but I see no evidence Chapman was even 6 ft never mind 6'6". He was way shorter than Hill and Hill wasn't close to six-six

The video link in my prior post is very interesting in its own right and video footage doesn't lie. He's just normal height, sorry, standing next to women, drivers, journos etc. Yes, slim people look taller, as I know to my cost, but honestly, does that look like a 6'6" giant to you? An engineering and innovative colossus, but as a physical specimen? Not so much. :-)

[Heuer]

Sneaky. You have cleverly chosen your subjects, many of whom are at least 8' tall, making Colin seem small in stature. The remaining ones were standing on boxes which is why you have not shown their feet. I have the weighty Chapman biography in my library so I will trawl it for a definite answer.

[christopher storey]

David : are you sure you are not thinking of Lofty England , who was 6 feet 6 or thereabouts, and still fitted in an E . Incidentally , on the real subject of this thread, I am 6 feet but with rather short legs ( 31 inch inside leg ) and a very long body, but I still fit comfortably in any E as long as it does not have a webasto roof or similar . I do, however, have to pick flies out of my teeth in my OTS !

[Heuer]

Christopher: Very possibly! Anyway enough hijacking of this thread and back on topic. I have heard conflicting views on whether tall people find the E-Type comfortable and I have certainly noticed a tall passenger in my OTS ended up with his head on one side to avoid the slipstream. A mate has removed a lot of the padding in the seat base of his 4.2 OTS so he can see out of the windscreen rather than over it. I was suggesting to Matt he gets a few test drives before selling his 356A to avoid disappointment.

[PeterCrespin]

I tried to get into Zoli Kovac's immaculate 3.8 FHC at Prescott a couple of years ago and could only do so with my head jammed against the roof liner. It was a shock, to say the least. Nowadays in my runaround S2 FHC with collapsed seat foams. I have room to spare.

I am the same sort of build and proportions as Chris and he probably has annoying head/roof bow interaction like I did in my S2 OTS, if the seats are well upholstered like your old Suffolk & Turley seats I used in mine. Yet the S2 OTS going to Angus on Monday has been very comfortable for the last 9 months thanks once more to collapsed seat foam.

In my D I will be using a very light seat foam, just enough to plump up the seat covers but designed to drop me as far as possible below the screen when actually driving. People with long bodies (with/without legs to match) benefit from thinned out seat cushions, or the roomy 2+2 cars.

So yes, your point is very valid and 'try before you buy' is advisable if planning serious time behind the wheel.

Pete