James May and Damon Hill

[Gfhug]

Having watched James May in his People?s Car programme he was understandably enthusiastic about the S1 4.2 OTS he drove (a converted left-hooker?) But he and Damon Hill weren?t so impressed by the S3. Suggesting it had eaten too many pies!
Has this made them Persona Non Grata amongst our S3 owners?

[1954Etype]

Did anyone else spot the chassis number of thar 66 car?

[andrewh]

didn't watch it as it said in the preview it was about Germanic peoples cars! now I will have to watch it on iplayer!

[Gfhug]

1E-13892

[1954Etype]

Well spotted! Comes up on XKE Data as a 68 car. Interesting....

[Gfhug]

XKE Data might be wrong (?), as Clausager dates it to 1966 production.
Been trying to work out the other numbers but not easy to make out.
Engine 7E 101xx-x
Can't make head or tail of the body and gearbox, almost seem to start E/G.
Ah, looks like badly stamped EJ for the gearbox and 4E for the body.

However, all quiet on the S3 owners front, do they agree with J&D :?

[chrisfell]

The big giveaway is included the list of names on the credits at the end of the program. Paul Brace and Henry Pearman. They lent James May a modified Eagle E-Type. Still for sale according to Eagle's website. Yours for ?435,000. If you go the Eagle web site the TV program is also credited.

http://www.eaglegb.com/cars/1966-etype- ... qeQomwrHIU

[Heuer]

?435k and you still get the crap, ill-fitting, misshaped, overweight, wrong font repro spinners

[Gfhug]

Is that a red OTS in the queue for petrol (gas?!) in the fuel scare fronted by George C Scott?

[mgcjag]

Missed tbis thought it was a repeat series....shown again tomorrow 11.15pm bbc2

[richard btype]

?435k and you still get the crap, ill-fitting, misshaped, overweight, wrong font repro spinners

and there I was thinking of fitting a set to my series 1! - have always had a concern that the S1 spinners might damage a cyclists ankles

[Gfhug]

Richard, if your spinners are that close then the cyclist has probably already scratched your bonnet

[vipergts]

I thought it was obvious that the S1 was an Eagle car....Those seats for starters

Anyway, I thought it looked absolutely superb and it's strange that red having been out of fashion for so long (due to over popularity in the 80's) is starting to look sooo good once more

I know the guy that has the 260Z and was there for the filming.. Apparently what they did't show was the V12 once it came back from it's hot lap with Damon absolutely billowing smoke from all the brakes....many woried faces as they thought it would catch a lite

I think this is why they took it a bit easier in the Z

[christopher storey]

Years ago, I sold my Mark 10 to Stuart Holmes who is the foremost expert on such cars . He told me a sobering tale : he was asked to lend his beautiful mark 10 to one of the classic mags for a comparative test with the Bentley S3 . He turned up at somewhere in Wales and handed over the keys for an initial drive . The car was immediately abused by making starts with it by revving it up and then engaging drive with perhaps 3000 rpm on the clock , and other similar antics. He retook possession of the car, told them to go forth and multiply , and that article never appeared ( although IIRC a later one did with Stuart himself driving). The moral is never , ever, part with your car to the media unless you are prepared for it to be trashed

[Simon P]

The moral is never , ever, part with your car to the media unless you are prepared for it to be trashed

I lent my integrale to Top Gear a couple of years ago for it to be driven by Messrs Hammond and Clarkson - which conventional wisdom should have told me would be tantamount to packing the kids off to Neverland for the weekend....

Have to say that other than coming back filthy, with the windows all covered in suction mount marks and the footwells full of random bits of velcro, and the petrol tank completely drained, it was all fine and dandy and naturally I and the car have dined out on it ever since To be fair, even had they cleaned it I doubtless would have given it a proper going over afterwards (and they probably reason that they stand to do more harm than good if some oaf washes it badly), and the car was trailered to and from the filming location (in Wales) in a transporter that wouldn't have looked out of place in the F1 paddock!

On the downside, 'due to the unique way the BBC is funded' it did take six months of chasing for the-world's-most-watched-television-programme to eventually reimburse me for the petrol used....

[PeterCrespin]

Could someone let the diaspora and colonials know when it's on YouTube please?

[Alty Ian]

However, all quiet on the S3 owners front, do they agree with J&D :?

Certainly not Geof

I have a S3 and a S1 and love them both, each has its merits.

There's no right or wrong, its all subjective, to most people an e type is an e type and I often find people think V12 e types are better than 6's.

It's only car buffs with anoraks (like many of us) who get exercised about the evolutionary details of each model etc.

[Gfhug]

Thanks Ian, I'm glad at least one S3 owner has taken up the challenge.
Come on all you other S3 owners. Aren't you pleased/proud of your car

Geoff

[JPW]

To me, the S3 was the only one to have:

I think the extra 9 inches in length gives the car a more 'drawn-out' look, which really suits it (tho well aware I'm in the minority here...)
I love the look of the wider track
I'm getting old, so the softer, less sporty / more GT, feel of the car really suits me

The icing on the cake is that, at 6'2", I find it so much easier to fit in a S3!

I was driven in a series 3 roadster when I was 8 years old, and that, as they say, was that - I needed to have one. It only took 40 years to achieve...

James

[cactusman]

I was at a show last year. Nice chap wanted to sit in my 3.8 FHC as he was looking for an E type. He was well past six feet. Got in it....just. Said no way he could have driven it. Tried a S3 a couple of doors down. Much better!!

The original was designed to fit a Norman Dewis so a series 3 makes eminent sense if you are lucky enough to be six foot tall.

There really is an E type for everyone.