Fishing for Haddock?

[mark10337]

Or $125 direct from the publisher with free shipping to the US and UK

https://www.daltonwatson.com/Jaguar-E-T ... g-orig.htm

[Bfastr]

I got a copy of the new book a couple days ago, Having never seen the original I cannot compare it to that.

If you own the Definitive History of the E-type by Porter you will notice this book is just as big and nice. Its an inch and a half thick and weighs a few pounds.
Inside the pages are heavy glossy stock with beautiful print and a million color pictures. The book is laid out just like Haddock’s restoration book except all the pictures are now color and there are seriously a lot of them. It follows the same sort of serial number/model progression as it shows close up details of original cars and parts down to the rivet detail. This isn’t a book filled with shiny restored cars and all new parts, these are original and sometimes very rusty parts in original condition.
I can't speak for accuracy or wether or not it includes European delivery cars, etc.

You have to be the kind of person that finds history and research of the way things were originally done interesting or you could have little use for the book.

I will never be a concours guy but I find this information very interesting. The book has a lot of detail beyond just pictures and descriptions of the parts being mentioned.

Thats just my 2 cents worth as an end user.

[Monkeyfinger]

Good review and much appreciated. I think I may give it a try and potentially sell on my earlier Haddock restoration book if the information is (presumably) duplicated

[64etype]

I haven't looked at my copy of Haddock's original work since I discovered the Factory Fit section of this web site. This new version would be no different.

[bopperd]

I'm with you, Eric. I think I have looked at the second edition of Haddock's book a grand total of twice - once to find a photograph, and again to settle a dispute. It turned out Haddock was wrong. I will probably buy the third edition some day, but I am in no hurry.

[mark10337]

I disagree Eric. There are a number of items that are discussed in the new book that were not in the old one or in the factory thread. A recent example of this was when the dash vents were discussed on this forum. The book sheds new light on some differences that were not previously recognised.

It depends what you are looking for and to what level of detail. That always changes at any point in time depending on where any one indivudal's focus currently is.

[Heuer]

Been away for a few days to Seville (fantastic city and food by the way) so today was my chance to read the new book. First thing to realise is that it is two people's observations of many cars and whilst they do reference official documentation it is similar to Porter's with no research on the various suppliers to Jaguar. These observations are, in the main, confined to US market cars. That being the case, care and more research will be needed if anyone is going to use the book as a basis for a concours restoration. There is some interesting new information (I have only got as far as the 3.8 cars) but suffice to say you will need to read it in conjunction with the Forum Factory Fit thread for greater accuracy. 'Factory Fit' attempts to put changes in the context of the suppliers, the cultural/socio-economic conditions that prevailed in Britain at the time, observation and Jaguar documentation. Lots of stuff we have found has been left out of the book despite the information being freely available here - or it may be there but scattered elsewhere amongst the pages. So all in all perhaps an opportunity missed; perhaps Philip Porter's promised 'originality' chapter in his next edition of 'Definitive History' will do better.

Overall an interesting book with impressive detail which will no doubt stimulate more research from enquiring minds. The problem for publishers of works like this is that they cannot compete with a crowds sourced digital list which can be updated as often as new information becomes available with additional comments by multiple people.

[richard btype]

The factory fit is an amazing source of factual and precise information - my first port of call and don't bother with Haddocks.

You probably have a great book in the making David!

[Heuer]

Indeed it is and we are indebted to Angus for kicking it off.

Having spent a week with this book I am hugely disappointed as it is nowhere as good as the Haddock original for brevity. There have been times where I have actually shouted at it for being so complicated - one look at the index will confirm that. It feels as though they took the original apart and inserted new bits as they thought necessary - two authors who clearly did not talk to each other. And how many different fonts do you actually need in a book? What remains is a jumbled mess with no lucid progression through the development of the car.

So many things wrong, so many wasted opportunities hiding behind 'observation'. I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone and it is IMHO not worth the £95 it costs. Bear in mind that Porter's definitive work is only about £45.

I really wanted this to be a seminal work but it is a fail IMHO. It will be interesting to read the reviews of others.
Maybe someone else will do a better job (not me I have no interest) and do the car some justice.

Two out of five stars.