E-type: Could someone please explain...?

[dr_gn]

This extract from an EBay ad for an E-Type Jag:

"...the XKE Jaguar went to the "Far More Maintenance Friendly" "Much Bigger & FAR Less Complex" Dual single barrel carburetors instead of the earlier much harder to deal with and near impossible to keep in syncronized triple double barrel ultra complex (SIX carb throats) triple double barrel carb systems as seen on earlier 1961 to about 1967 XKE Jaguars..."

http://tinyurl.com/y8g4bpy

What a total cock end.

[perdu]

Maybe...


he's trying to say he knows a bloke that can keep a pair of Stroms tuned but completely loses it when there are a bunch of Webers around...

yes he's some kind of "@#~€|¬`" isnt he

but it is a nice motor

and he is trying hard to sell it

[perdu]

not sure I'd like "new squirter nozels" though

[mybrainhurts]

Strange person said:

Super Straight

Ehwot...?

[mph]

I see what he means. Tuning the synchro of the threemost triple manifold is highly complicate compared to the two sets of stromberg trumpets twin size.

Whats the problem ?

Professor Stanley

[lowdrag]

This is sales speak for the following:-

This car is one of the strangled emission control E types shipped to the USA and as such has twin Strombergs and not triple SUs. As such you won't worry about keeping the carbs in tune since it will take you a week to reach 60mph anyway.

In reality, the car lost a barrow load of bhp and wasn't fun to drive. Webers were never fitted as standard to any E-type.

Edit: Hmm, sometimes they do go over the top don't they! I've just just read it through and see the aircon pump so bang goes another barrow load of bhp.No rear screen chrome; no bucket chromes on the headlights, Series 2 wheels (not the curly hubs) no front screen chrome, Series 2 exhaust system,needs complete retrim. A car to avoid since who knows what's under the new paint? My favourite bit though is in the text. Did he mean SEXIST or SEXIEST - lol.

Edited by lowdrag on Saturday 12th December 08:32

[mph]

Don't these american spec cars have lower diff ratios to compensate for the loss of power ?

That would be another item to budget for changing.

[Freddie von Rost]

Californian Nutter said:

The Overall Shape of this Wonderful Car reminds me a lot of a 1966 SHELBY "COBRA DAYTONA COUPE" Race Car.... Which is Considered One of the Most Valuable SHELBY Race car Body styles of all time !

I am not sure what he has been smoking, but he should stop. The whole of that fleabay ad is quite hilarious.

[dr_gn]

mph said:

I see what he means. Tuning the synchro of the threemost triple manifold is highly complicate compared to the two sets of stromberg trumpets twin size.

Whats the problem ?

Professor Stanley

The problem is that no E-Type ever left the factory with a "triple double barrel carb system". The bloke clearly knows nothing about the history or specification of E-Types.

[dr_gn]

lowdrag said:

This is sales speak for the following:-

This car is one of the strangled emission control E types shipped to the USA and as such has twin Strombergs and not triple SUs. As such you won't worry about keeping the carbs in tune since it will take you a week to reach 60mph anyway.

In reality, the car lost a barrow load of bhp and wasn't fun to drive. Webers were never fitted as standard to any E-type.

Edit: Hmm, sometimes they do go over the top don't they! I've just just read it through and see the aircon pump so bang goes another barrow load of bhp.No rear screen chrome; no bucket chromes on the headlights, Series 2 wheels (not the curly hubs) no front screen chrome, Series 2 exhaust system,needs complete retrim. A car to avoid since who knows what's under the new paint? My favourite bit though is in the text. Did he mean SEXIST or SEXIEST - lol.

Edited by lowdrag on Saturday 12th December 08:32

I've never read a more desperate advert for the least desirable model of E-Type in my life! And someone will no doubt buy it anyway.

[dr_gn]

"I put in All Brand New fluid in the Brake fluid reservor tanks but, & the Braking system will need to be bleed, at a minimum..... as at this time the only braking is with the hand brake."


"Very Relatively Mechanically Straight Forward"

Jeez. Why did they have to export them

[bigblock]

Actualy if I was looking for an E type project I would buy this car. He appears willing to sell for $12,ooo which is only £ 7,500 plus shipping and a cheap flight to the states for a look. Considering he is also supplying a spare engine and box this looks like pretty good value to me.

If you assume the body is as described and bypass all the BS in his advert the sum of the parts alone would exceed the purchase price not including the labour that has already gone into the car. In my very humble opinion I think this car might be a little gem which should not be discounted because the advertiser appears unable to write an advert in a cohesive manner, he is American after all.

[dr_gn]

bigblock said:

Actualy if I was looking for an E type project I would buy this car. He appears willing to sell for $12,ooo which is only £ 7,500 plus shipping and a cheap flight to the states for a look. Considering he is also supplying a spare engine and box this looks like pretty good value to me.

If you assume the body is as described and bypass all the BS in his advert the sum of the parts alone would exceed the purchase price not including the labour that has already gone into the car. In my very humble opinion I think this car might be a little gem which should not be discounted because the advertiser appears unable to write an advert in a cohesive manner, he is American after all.

I agree, it wasn't necessarily the car itself that's bad (although it is am S2 2+2 auto with aircon), it was more the advert I was commenting on.

I would however be very wary of the following disjointed statements:

"Very Rel. Rust Free"

"Body of this Wonderful is very straight and very relatively rust free as are all of the underside of floor pans, etc. & are very solid and very relatively rust free as well "

This, combined with

a) The lack of chrome bonnet strips and headlamp surrounds, overspray and "still wet" masking tape suggests a quick, cheap respray, which as we all know is never a good thing on any E-Type.

and

b) The fact that the vendor appears to be both stupid and desperate

Means that personally, I wouldn't touch it with yours.

[bigblock]

Excuse my lack of knowledge on E types but would it be possible to buy a similar spec of car in this condition for the same money in the UK.
It seems to me that if the car was inspected and was as described re the bodywork then it is quite cheap. Surely it would be worth the cost of a flight to check it out if you were looking for a reasonable priced way into E type ownership.

Obviously if a similar car could be purchased in the UK for similar money then there would not be much point in going to the States.
I realise that this is not the most desireable of models but surely this is reflected in the price and modifications could be made.

It has been my experiance that sometimes the best bargains are found in the most unlikely places and this car just has that sort of feel about it. I just felt it was worth a bit more investigation.

[dr_gn]

bigblock said:

Excuse my lack of knowledge on E types but would it be possible to buy a similar spec of car in this condition for the same money in the UK.
It seems to me that if the car was inspected and was as described re the bodywork then it is quite cheap. Surely it would be worth the cost of a flight to check it out if you were looking for a reasonable priced way into E type ownership.

Obviously if a similar car could be purchased in the UK for similar money then there would not be much point in going to the States.
I realise that this is not the most desireable of models but surely this is reflected in the price and modifications could be made.

It has been my experiance that sometimes the best bargains are found in the most unlikely places and this car just has that sort of feel about it. I just felt it was worth a bit more investigation.

I honestly wouldn't know how much an equivalent car would be over here. I would *guess* a 'driving' condition S2 2+2 would be well under £10k. All I know is that, once you've bought it, imported it, converted it to rhd and paid for all the remedial work it sounds like it needs, you'd probably have spent as much as a decent, owner-restored UK car. That's assuming you pay for things to be done of course.

If you were unlucky enough to get the thing home, and discover *any* significant bodywork/rust issues, it would almost certainly cost you more than you could ever hope to sell it for. With a LHD, Series 2, 2+2 auto, virtually any significant work required (either mechanical or bodywork) will push the total cost of the car well in excess of its value. Such is the lure of the E-Type, many people will buy with their heart rather than their head, and soon be counting the cost!

[lowdrag]

Well, all I'll say in favour of the car is that it is a series 1.5 which is easily changed to look like a series 1 with headlamp covers. I think that is all I can say in its favour though. You have to take out the aircon (including inside vents and trunking) for a RHD conversion, plus the dashboard has to be changed. Shipping will cost a minimum of £1,200 plus import duty. Now you set to work, trying hard first of all to find a Jaguar box which aren't easy to find and are expensive when you do. I've heard talk of around £2,000 for a good one but all I can say is I bought the unoved Moss box for my C-type and that wasn't that cheap either even though such boxes are nowadays unloved because modern retiree reliving his dreams has forgotten what double declutching is. The rear axle will not be the right one, most of them being 3.54 and too low for UK roads - you'll need to change the pinions either to 3.31 or better 3.07. Now you need three HD8 SUs plus manifold from Burlen to make it go - another £2,300. Now we haven't even thought about how good the shell is, about retrimming, rewiring if necessary, and all the manifold other parts that one needs and which cost dear - like perhaps an engine rebuild at VSE for £3,000. Soon mounts up doesn't it? The world is full of people who would die to own an E-type but don't have the means and so buy a "half restored project" thinking they can finish it off and end up with a lovely car at not a great expense. My advice; just keep on dreaming and keep your hands firmly in your pocket. Jaguars are not cheap beasts to own, and that is advice which has cost me howmuch I dread to think over 30 years or thereabouts.

Personally, if you want an E-type which is usable and one can give a quick going over I'd prefer to look here:-

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-pa...

I am sure that at around £10,000 he'd do a deal, especially in winter.

[dr_gn]

lowdrag said:

Well, all I'll say in favour of the car is that it is a series 1.5 which is easily changed to look like a series 1 with headlamp covers. I think that is all I can say in its favour though. You have to take out the aircon (including inside vents and trunking) for a RHD conversion, plus the dashboard has to be changed. Shipping will cost a minimum of £1,200 plus import duty. Now you set to work, trying hard first of all to find a Jaguar box which aren't easy to find and are expensive when you do. I've heard talk of around £2,000 for a good one but all I can say is I bought the unoved Moss box for my C-type and that wasn't that cheap either even though such boxes are nowadays unloved because modern retiree reliving his dreams has forgotten what double declutching is. The rear axle will not be the right one, most of them being 3.54 and too low for UK roads - you'll need to change the pinions either to 3.31 or better 3.07. Now you need three HD8 SUs plus manifold from Burlen to make it go - another £2,300. Now we haven't even thought about how good the shell is, about retrimming, rewiring if necessary, and all the manifold other parts that one needs and which cost dear - like perhaps an engine rebuild at VSE for £3,000. Soon mounts up doesn't it? The world is full of people who would die to own an E-type but don't have the means and so buy a "half restored project" thinking they can finish it off and end up with a lovely car at not a great expense. My advice; just keep on dreaming and keep your hands firmly in your pocket. Jaguars are not cheap beasts to own, and that is advice which has cost me howmuch I dread to think over 30 years or thereabouts.

Personally, if you want an E-type which is usable and one can give a quick going over I'd prefer to look here:-

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-pa...

I am sure that at around £10,000 he'd do a deal, especially in winter.

Agreed on all counts.

I bought my '64 Coupe as a box of bits, but with the monocoque rebuilt and rust free. No bonnet and unpainted. Cost me £5500 back in '94. I thought "I'll just shove it back together and drive it - can't be that hard, after all I've done an MGB".

Fast forward EIGHT long years, two resprays, an exchange engine, upgrades etc, etc, and ANOTHER £20,000 + (who knows what the "+" is - I don't!), and it was finished. Turned into a full refurbshment of every component to almost concours standard. Many, many times I'd had enough and wanted to sell, but my Dad encouraged me to finish it (and therefore at least have a chance of getting the money back). I've still got it, but since completion in about 2002, I have only driven it 1300 miles! Was it worth it? No. Would I sell it? Probably not!

So, I spent a minimum of £25,500 and hundreds of hours on it, and the previous owner spent £10,500 on professional bodywork restoration. If it were a 2+2, it would cost more in bodywork, and more in interior restoration, but have a much lower intrinsic value.

"You do the math" as the Americans say.

I've told this to many people who are looking for an E-Type, nobody seems to like the truth though

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 12th December 16:23

[bigblock]

dr_gn said:

lowdrag said:

Well, all I'll say in favour of the car is that it is a series 1.5 which is easily changed to look like a series 1 with headlamp covers. I think that is all I can say in its favour though. You have to take out the aircon (including inside vents and trunking) for a RHD conversion, plus the dashboard has to be changed. Shipping will cost a minimum of £1,200 plus import duty. Now you set to work, trying hard first of all to find a Jaguar box which aren't easy to find and are expensive when you do. I've heard talk of around £2,000 for a good one but all I can say is I bought the unoved Moss box for my C-type and that wasn't that cheap either even though such boxes are nowadays unloved because modern retiree reliving his dreams has forgotten what double declutching is. The rear axle will not be the right one, most of them being 3.54 and too low for UK roads - you'll need to change the pinions either to 3.31 or better 3.07. Now you need three HD8 SUs plus manifold from Burlen to make it go - another £2,300. Now we haven't even thought about how good the shell is, about retrimming, rewiring if necessary, and all the manifold other parts that one needs and which cost dear - like perhaps an engine rebuild at VSE for £3,000. Soon mounts up doesn't it? The world is full of people who would die to own an E-type but don't have the means and so buy a "half restored project" thinking they can finish it off and end up with a lovely car at not a great expense. My advice; just keep on dreaming and keep your hands firmly in your pocket. Jaguars are not cheap beasts to own, and that is advice which has cost me howmuch I dread to think over 30 years or thereabouts.

Personally, if you want an E-type which is usable and one can give a quick going over I'd prefer to look here:-

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-pa...

I am sure that at around £10,000 he'd do a deal, especially in winter.

Agreed on all counts.

I bought my '64 Coupe as a box of bits, but with the monocoque rebuilt and rust free. No bonnet and unpainted. Cost me £5500 back in '94. I thought "I'll just shove it back together and drive it - can't be that hard, after all I've done an MGB".

Fast forward EIGHT long years, two resprays, an exchange engine, upgrades etc, etc, and ANOTHER £20,000 + (who knows what the "+" is - I don't!), and it was finished. Turned into a full refurbshment of every component to almost concours standard. Many, many times I'd had enough and wanted to sell, but my Dad encouraged me to finish it (and therefore at least have a chance of getting the money back). I've still got it, but since completion in about 2002, I have only driven it 1300 miles! Was it worth it? No. Would I sell it? Probably not!

So, I spent a minimum of £25,500 and hundreds of hours on it, and the previous owner spent £10,500 on professional bodywork restoration. If it were a 2+2, it would cost more in bodywork, and more in interior restoration, but have a much lower intrinsic value.

"You do the math" as the Americans say.

I've told this to many people who are looking for an E-Type, nobody seems to like the truth though

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 12th December 16:23

It would appear that what you are both saying is that there is no relatively low cost entry into E type ownership and that it is certainly not worth the time and cost if it is a US spec 2+2.

I was quite suprised to see how little the UK car in the Classic Cars advert was for sale at. I would now agree that the US car is not very good value. Please feel free to continue with your p*sstake of our slightly illiterate colonial friends advert.

[restoman]

* * * PLEASE DO NOT BID ON THIS CAR BEFORE YOU HAVE READ THIS ENTIRE AUCTION THOROUGHLY * * *


Jeeez , damn auction will be over by then . . . !

[The Nur]

restoman said:

* * * PLEASE DO NOT BID ON THIS CAR BEFORE YOU HAVE READ THIS ENTIRE AUCTION THOROUGHLY * * *


Jeeez , damn auction will be over by then . . . !

And no-one will have bid!