Description
1. The twelve-cylinder engine most built in the world was born in this coffin…
If in your marble garage there isn’t an oil stain under your Jaguar, it’s because there isn’t any inside.
Not imperial, right-hand drive, bolt-locking with wire, SU carburettor… All this bric-a-brac makes an Englishwoman, always endearing, sometimes performing.
The last E-Type, Series III, 2+2, out of Blackpool, does not escape the rule.
You have to be a real nut to even think and build this machine.
Take it for a quick spin through the Verdon Gorge and you’ll soon have joined its creator.
No brakes, no cooling, almost flat-stuck between a V12 flirting with half a tonne and 80 litres of petrol in a cardboard-paste tank, you have to have guts to open it.
2. This vehicle:
Rare historic, European origin (Belgium), left-hand drive, manual gearbox, second-hand, 44, 000 kilometres from new, not a speck of corrosion, never damaged… we are in the upper end of the spectrum, it’s not a repatriated sausage from the back end of Texas.
I’m not looking to make it shine like a mirror of ******, even less to make it perfect to the point you wouldn’t dare take it out of the museum.
The work undertaken consisted, on a perfect, yet forty-something-year-old base, of making the machine reliable and credible for daily use.
Even on a perfect base, this requires 350 hours of labour and at least €25, 000 in parts.
The main modifications are:
– Ventilated brake discs (front–rear).
– 4-piston brake calipers.
– New tyres, obviously (Pirelli)
– New exhaust manifolds, complete stainless line.
– Aluminium radiator, high-performance electric fans.
– All hoses new.
And dozens of other operations downloadable in the history, details of works and the beast’s expertise.
3. Behind the wheel…
Stainless steel exhaust… nice melody.
Moss gearbox, perfect.
Braking, at last something that works.
Handling… A Jaguar…
This model does not have wire wheels, which will obviously disappoint those who find this indispensable for retro look.
The wire wheel adds nothing to comfort and even less to performance.
Nevertheless, for a manageable budget it is possible to modify this.
Personally I don’t see the use; all Lightweight Type E were equipped with steel wheels without exception (cqfd).
