Jag E type experts?

[notfarnow]

I have a friend/client who has a line on a '64 e-type coupe. He's seen the car, but isn't particularly knowledgeable about them. He said it's rust free but needs paint and interior. I told him where to poke around for rust, and to make sure it has a series 1 bonnet etc.

The seller is telling him it has a dealer installed, but factory lightweight kit. Sounds like BS myth that has been passed down from owner to owner over the years. I've done some googling and checked the books I have, and none of them mention this as an option or a kit.

[JJ 911SC]

Put a magnet on the block and see if it stick.

4.2 of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_E-Type#Lightweight_E-Type_.281963.E2.80.9364.2C_2014.E2.80.93present.29

Lightweight E-Type (1963–64, 2014–present)[edit]
Twelve cars plus two spare bodies were made by Jaguar.

In some ways, this was an evolution of the low drag coupé. It made extensive use of aluminium alloy metal, in the body panels and other components. However, with at least one exception, it remained an open-top car in the spirit of the D-Type to which this car is a more direct successor than the production E-Type which is more of a GT than a sports car. The cars used an aluminium block tuned version of the production 3.8-litre Jaguar engine with 300 bhp (224 kW) output rather than the 265 bhp (198 kW) produced by the "ordinary" version. Factory-built lightweights were homologated by Jaguar with three 45DCO3 Weber carburettors in addition to a Lucas mechanical fuel injection system. Early cars were fitted with a close-ratio version of the four speed E-type gearbox, with some later cars being fitted with a ZF five speed gearbox.[55]

The cars were entered in various races but, unlike the C-Type and D-Type racing cars, they did not win at Le Mans or Sebring but were reasonably successful in private hands and in smaller races.

One lightweight was modified into a low drag coupé (the Lindner/Nöcker car), by Malcolm Sayer.


The Klat designed 1963 Jaguar E-type Lightweight Low Drag Coupe
Another lightweight was modified into a unique low drag design (the Lumsden/Sargent car), by Dr Samir Klat of Imperial College. Along with the factory LDC, this lightweight is now believed to reside in the private collection of the current Viscount Cowdray.

Many were fitted with more powerful engines as developments occurred.

On 14 May 2014, Jaguar's Heritage Business announced it would be building the six 'remaining' lightweights. The original run of lightweights was meant to be 18 vehicles; however only 12 were built. The new cars, using the unused chassis codes, will be hand built to exactly the same specification as the originals. Availability was prioritised for established collectors of Jaguars, with a focus on those who have an interest in historic race cars.[56][57]

[JJ 911SC]

In my Navy days in Halifax in the late 70's, I pass on 2 of them (one for spare parts) for $5,000.

[Yorkie]

I restored and owned a '61 roadster for 17 years. I've read a lot of books on them but Never heard of a factory lightweight "kit" so I imagine that's BS. I believe that the factory lightweights were all roadsters and were made entirely of aluminum. The market is hot for cakes these days so it still might be a deal.

[black_falcon]

Yeah aside from the factory lightweights there was no kit or other race options.

Verify the bonnet is the original factory part and not a modern reproduction. That affects value.

Verify #'s match, it was pretty common to find a replacement motor or transmission versus repairing the original -OR- many 'upgraded' the 3.8 cars with the newer motor or fully-syncro gearbox. The data plate is next to the air cleaner.

Check for rust at the floor pans, wheel arches, battery box, door bottoms, and rear suspension where the arms bolt into the body.

Check electronics carefully, even small idiosyncrasies can be a hassle to fix.

Motors are robust and fairly inexpensive to rebuild. They are not as unreliable as many would believe. Overheating is probably the biggest downfall, but plenty of options to rectify the cooling system. Swapping out the two bladed fan goes a long way just by itself.

Brakes on the early S1 cars have about half the stopping power of a modern vehicle, which you have to be conscious of 100% of the time while driving in traffic. Likewise because they are not slow either. You can be tolling down the highway in 4th gear, roll the throttle on, and pass the car next to you like it's standing still.

Good luck- post pics if he buys it.

[notfarnow]

I may go check it out with him this weekend... it's a fire sale type deal. He only told me about because he knows I don't have the money or the space

[zelrik911]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

The seller is telling him it has a dealer installed, but factory lightweight kit. Sounds like BS myth that has been passed down from owner to owner over the years. I've done some googling and checked the books I have, and none of them mention this as an option or a kit.

I had an E Type that was going to be converted to a "lightweight" look.
Back in the day this usually meant taking off the front & rear bumper bars, removing the horizontal panel seam that was exposed under the rear bumper and adding small leather bonnet safety straps and a white outline painted around the nose intake.
Mechanically you would add Webers & maybe a magneto.
Then put numbers on the doors.

Luckily for my car - I bought it before the 'improvements' went too far.
This is a real one, to show what the copycats tried to duplicate.



I never heard that the factory offered a Kit - but in the 1960s there were plenty of shops that would do a Magnus Walker job on your E Type.

In the old days. the first place you would look for rust in an E Type was, after you took out the spare wheel, inspect the reinforcing braces on the spare wheel well floor. If there were no rust spots there (Very Rare!! ) it was good bet that the car was rust-free.

[unclebilly]

E-TYPE enthusiast's Forum from Jag-lovers - the world's No 1

Lots of info here.

[1990C4S]

Friends don't let friends buy Jags.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Friends don't let friends buy Jags.

I dunno about that. A good friend of mine who has 4 jags (and nothing else) pointed me in the direction of a VDP V12. I bought it, fixed it up, and traded it back to the guy I bought it from for my first Porsche (this was the best part of Jag ownership for me).

E-Types are nice (same friend had one - it was his first car) but I would take a 911 over an E-Type any day.

[1990C4S]

My friend had one. Nice to look at, rattle-filled and crappy to drive IMO. Maybe some are better, his was not a nice car to drive. But he did flip it and double his money in 6 months. Not surprisingly it went to a foreign buyer who bought it based on pictures.

His Jag was nowhere close to my 911's as a 'driver's car'.

[intakexhaust]

Maybe a stretch to ask, but by chance does the seller mean, so called 'dealer' installed lightweight kit consist of a fiberglass D type bonnet?

I've seen a few with them.

[Jeff Higgins]

My all-time second favorite car, right behind early 911's. Alas, however, I'm not sure I will ever own one. I've driven plenty, and they all disappoint. Several close friends have owned them over the years (hence my opportunities to drive them), and each and every one of them continuously broke down. We were constantly working on them, but not in the way we constantly work on the 911's - this was out of necessity, just to keep them roadworthy.

The oldest axiom about E Types is that they are the "brain dead super models of the sportswear world - drop dead gorgeous, everyone is envious as hell to see you with one, but they have no idea what your life is like at home"...

[SCadaddle]

The fellow whose mug appears on the cover of Bruce Anderson' Porsche 911 Performance Handbook once told me his opinion of the E type Jaguar: "It's a tractor with a sexy body."

[manbridge 74]

Meanwhile a Jag waits patiently, growing roots in Fort Collins CO. Guy was a British car mechanic and is old enough to likely to never get this one going again. I've casually asked about it for years.

[sc_rufctr]

I'm no expert by a long stretch but if your friend can get it for a good price then I'd advise him to go for it.
Have you seen what a good E Type is worth?

The factory light weight kit? I've never heard of it but it wouldn't affect values anyway. Just make sure he pays the right money for it.

BTW, You can get power steering kits for them which if you've ever driven one is almost a necessity.

About 25 years ago I passed on a "rough" Aston Martin DB4... Asking $12,000 at the time because it needed a LOT of work!

...............That's my one and only regret in life. (no joke)

[LakeCleElum]

Sold my '62 Roadster in about 1980 for $8,500.......Regretted it ever since. Agree with Jeff about driving it, but my Fav body style since I was in Jr. High school........

[tcar]

Malcom Sayer was a hell of an auto designer:

C-type
D-type
E-type
XJ-13
XJS

Beautiful cars.