XKE Back from the Dead

[Tobra]

Wood calipers, ha, freakin' Brits, at least it is not a wood frame. Sweet job, good color combo, don't think I ever saw an XKE that color.

My dad had a series 2 XKE for about 5 years, then got a '72 V-12, both roadsters. Went with him to pick up the '72. I asked him why he was getting that over the TR-6 they had, I liked little cars even then. He told me that the Triumph was not even half the car the Jag was. That V-12 made the best sound of any car I have ever driven, get up to about 6000 rpm and it sounded like it was about to take flight.

They were both fairly reliable, but between them, over 25 years they spent maybe a dozen nights parked outside.

[Zeke]

I don't think he means the calipers were made of wood. Come on.

[aigel]

AWESOME. It is on my list of must own cars.

At least you put the work into a car that will always be worth something, if you ever have to part or get tired of it!

Why the color change?

G

[Flieger]

Amazing work! Beautiful car!

[LakeCleElum]

Yorkie - You did a fantastic job. Never sell that thing.

My 1962 was bought as ruff as that for $500. I got it from a friend for $3,000 in the early 80's when he was about 80% finished and getting divorced. My biggest mistake ever was selling that car:

[Joeaksa]

Very, very nice!

Have owned a "flat floor" E-Type and loved it. The 3.8 is a much different engine than the 4.2 and a lot more fun to drive.

Regarding the starting, if you have the AED type choke on it, toss it in the bin and put manual chokes on it and you will never look back. The other mods you have done are exactly what I have done with my S1 XJ below and they work fine.

Keep up the great work!

[Brillo]

Wow! Fantastic!

[Stutzdriver]

Not many things as pretty as an XKE! I have owned 3 nd regret not having any one of them....That car is simply stunning!!!

[Yorkie]

Originally Posted by aigel

AWESOME. It is on my list of must own cars.

At least you put the work into a car that will always be worth something, if you ever have to part or get tired of it!

Why the color change?

The final color is actually what she left the factory with: Opalescent Maroon. Over the course of her life she was red and brown and white. Someone even cut out the flat floor on the drivers side so since I was replacing the floors I welded in correct flat floors from SNG Barratt.
G

[Jim Bremner]

I REALLY want one!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Gorgeous car. One of my best friends growing up had that exact model. Freakin gorgeous car. Absolutely beautiful and sculptural. Awesome work on the restore. These posts are what keep me dedicated on my numerous restoration & improvement projects (911, 944, house, etc.)

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

.............to Santa Barbara to show it to the original owner and it was pure bliss. He was really pleased to see how it looked but strangely declined my offer to drive it.

Strangely?

Surely you jest... most people would be rightfully terrified to drive someone else's recently restored classic.

Beautiful car... keep at working out the bugs, etc. and drive and enjoy it every chance you get... just know she wants to get out there and stretch her legs. Often.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Simply beautiful. Fantastic work on the restoration.

[FLYGEEZER]

Can't put a price tag on that kinda beauty. And a series I to boot! You have my highest admiration. WOW!

[black_falcon]

Beautiful car - those years of hard work definitely paid off!

Here's our 64 3.8 OTS that was recently "brought back to life" with a thorough restoration.

[Racerbvd]

That car gives me Wood...

[RWebb]

Denis Jenkinson liked it too...


The Jaguar XKE
But, Jenks used a 4.2L E-type as his regular car, and the 911 fell short in many ways. He “felt the 911 lacked absolute power for its size” although it “would pull 6,200 rpm very easily” in 5th gear. If “you rowed it along with the shift lever, it could be made to go, but the effortless performance of 4.2 litres of Jaguar E-type had spoilt” him for other cars. At least until he got his hands on a Carrera RS in 1973.

Jenks had been “happily corrupted by the absolute power of the E-type – not only by its horsepower, but by the enormous torque it developed.” Starting from a “leisurely gait for an E-type” – a cruise speed of 100 mph – and then getting on the throttle, the “long nose rose as the tail squatted down under acceleration, and the surge forward to 110, 120, 125 mph was one of the most satisfying things in motoring.” “On the 911 this was missing, for all it did was to make more noise with no noticeable surge forwards.” That “instant surge forwards” from 100 mph was essential to his personal well-being. He used it to avoid trouble up ahead on the road. Instead of braking, which Jenks avoided “unless absolutely necessary,” one could accelerate and overtake something that was going to impede your path.

Such smooth acceleration was impossible in the 911 – “to get that surge of acceleration would have meant snicking down into 4th gear, and by that time it could be too late. Even if it wasn’t, the change down and then back up again would upset the rhythm of the journey.” This was true even though the Porsche gearbox was just about the best ever made.” p. 152-153

The 911 was “the ultimate car” for mountain travel however. If one were living in Switzerland and crossing Calabria to get to the south of Italy he would have preferred it to anything else. Jenks rated the two year old 911 “very highly.”

But he apparently did not fall under the siren song of the motor. “On tick-over the flat-6 rattled and clanked like a bucket full of nails being shaken about, even though “it went smooth and quiet at a touch of the accelerator.” This meant it “was a bit anti-social when maneuvering about in a confined space at night.” Here, “the E-type was elegance personified. You could leave it at 600 rpm on tick-over with not a sound coming from the engine or the exhaust, and shuffle to and fro without touching the accelerator pedal, easing the great car about like a large boat in a harbour. The 911 had to be revved above tick-over before the clutch bit, and the clanking and whirring seemed loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood.”

“But then the 911 was not really intended for that sort of thing: it was built for motoring and motoring hard, and when used as intended it really came into its own. The harder you drove it the happier it seemed, and it always seemed to stay with you no matter how much you provoked it.” p. 153

Jenkinson, Denis. A PASSION FOR PORSCHES, 2001 (reissue of the 1983 PORSCHE PAST & PRESENT). Haynes Publ., Sparkford, UK.

[RWebb]

Rod & Truck rated a 911T higher than the XKE however, tho maybe not rating the Pooschey owners higher:

The “Porsche image” is “serious. The driver will take himself and his car … damned seriously…. [He] will have no more than a limited sense of humor. Especially concerning Porsches. … slightly insecure … likely to be possession-proud. A car for the technician, rather than the engineer, if you get the distinction.” -- Road & Track, June 1969, p. 58

The other makes’ owners were characterized as follows:
Jaguar E-type: Class, Dignity, owner is sophisticated in his tastes, one that swings, but with dignity, probably doesn’t know much about engineering

[Baz]

NICE car and congrats on all your hard work Yorkie....wow!

Threads like this are great because we get to see additional examples by other Pelicanites!

Signed.....(another former British Leyland owner/rebuilder)

[slow&rusty]

Hate Jags...love XKEs..great thread.