We would all love to have an E-Type in the garage. They are beautiful to look at and aren’t too bad to drive either. The Series 1 cars are the ones to get with their flush headlights and toggle switches. The only problem is that the values just keep going up! That’s great news if you already own one, but for those of us still hunting, it can make the possibility of owning one a pipe dream. You should always buy the very best you can afford, but sometimes projects like this 1963 XK-E are tempting because the cost of entry is lower. This one can be had for $22,500 here on eBay and although that may sound insane, with values currently skyrocketing, it may not be far off the mark. This car is claimed to have been stored in a shed for 20 years, but there is still plenty of rust and somehow the engine and transmission have gone missing. Personally, I would keep looking, but I have no doubt that someone will scoop this one up.
Looks like they removed the BIN.
I wouldn’t walk away from this one — I’d RUN!
Judging from the amount of visible corrosion, the tub is almost certainly in a bad way. I don’t recognize the engine, but am fairly sure it took some hacking and hewing to stuff it in there.
This is for a fanatic with far too much money and time on their hands. A pity; the early E-Types were sensational.
Whats with the transmission tunnel and the automatic shifter that looks like it came out of a pinto? Was an auto even an option on these cars back then ???
Nice Car! Back in the 70’s a friend of mine who buys & sells cars got hold of a 64 XKE Convert cheap because it needed a clutch. We took it out for a joy ride & what a ride it was. We were on the Sourthen State parkway on Long Island, NY we were flying down the road, I looked at the speed-o we were doing 135 mph, felt like maybe we were doing 70-75 the way the car hugged the road. that’s one ride I’ll never forget. : )
Yes a Borgwarner not a Fordomatic,Needs ETC., thats a big ETC.some of the parts are taped on,Run,Run,Run!
A John’s cars conversion kit cost about $600 in the 70’s when this one would have been converted. No hacking frame rails necessary if done right. For some transmission there was a little cittubng to do to the top to make the shifter fit through. Otherwise, the combination is very good. The 289 is lighter and has a more flexible powerband. Twisting the torsion bars up a bit makes this thing hold the road very well. I liked the lumps better than the originals – and I owned a Jaguar shop! The owners were always nicer -less pretentious. Having said that a 1963 FHC is a nice car, this one needs a new tub and rear suspension points, plus I suspect work on the torsion bar plat and it’s locating hardware. Is it worth $15-20K? No. Have these cars just become investments? Yes. Pity. I’d leave this one the way it is, restore the tub and replace the wiring. The best conversions I’d seen used the Pontiac single OHC engine and Stewart Warner gauges. 2 MPH slower than the original but no tuning between oil changes.
Ugh. This makes my eyes hurt. Looks like ‘netdragger1’ has brought up something from the muddy bottom.
Seller can’t even get the engine right. That ‘Hi Po’ 289 has a 2-barrel, not the correct 4-barrel, and is likely not a Hi Po. And Ford never referred to that engine as “gold top high performance”. It looks that way because it’s rusty.
The engine looks like a 1965 289 2 barrel, they were gold valve covers and black block. and had 200 hp. it would be a real fun car with a modern replica Boss 302 in it. Say about 400 hp. Added, if the engine has a 5 bolt bell housing, it’s probably a 260.
*cringe*
When the rust is removed from the tub, there won’t be much left of it!
I know that headers were often shot after a little while back in the day, but these holed out due to time/moisture. Sure, that little Ford is locked up, it has been wet for a long time.
It really is interesting what people are dragging out of the barns and sheds these days…
well, I don’t know squat about these, but I like the soap box derby racer that was on top of it in the garage, that I could probably get going!
Ya I saw that and forgot to comment about it, glad you did. I wonder how old the Derby car is?
The derby car is 70s it was actually made for a little girl.
First thanks to barnfind for posting this there was an extra 1000 views today alone, over 4500 views. Second HEY!!! as far as the tub I have seen a lot worse (look at the one that sold a few days ago) there is just rust in the rockers it most certain does not need a new tub as far as taping the parts on I had removed them all off the bonnet because I was going to use it on a roadster I had (long gone) and I was getting ready to put them back on when a nasty storm was coming through the new owner probably would want them boxed anyway as the glass alone is 500.00 I know nothing about mustang engines just what was told to me. Once there is a bid on a no reserve car the BIN goes away. Just looking at it in the yard I kinda want to drop a 289 in it and drive it like it is..
Greetings All,
A new tub for this car runs about $7K, if it had a engine it’s be worth it.
John’s Cars makes one of the best conversions for Jags, but it’s GM never been Ford.
Borg Warner supplied Jaguar with transmissions since the 50’s, usually with units being one model behind the current transmission, Jag never seemed to have the newest generation.
What worries me more is the d. side front frame outrigger looks to have a twist and the front picture frame looks like it’s been in a shunt though possibly minor. The bonnet has some serious filler judging by number of holes drilled in the bonnet bulge.
Restored a Series 1.5 Roadster, while I loved the covered lights the car benefitted from aircraft beams under those covers and an a Delco alternator replaced the French built Motorola.
The covered lights are all but useless in stock form, but they look great.
Netdragger, I gotta hand it to you, I would’ve never thought that car would get bid as high as it is. Good news for Series I E coupe owners. They used to be one of the less expensive ways to get into a nice vintage GT car. Gotta finish it up to sell.
yea and to think my wife is always nagging me because I’m such a hoarder—wait a minute am I sure I want to sell this??
A long time ago a client brought me a series 2 FHC 4.2 liter with shot rigns, crank etc…. Back in 1990 the repair bill was around $ 5,000 for the engine, plus other things which brought the total to around $8,000. Of course I already had the engine and other compoenets dismantled by the time I gave him the bill and his wife laid a square egg threatening divorce fire and brimstone if he spent a dime on that “British piece of crap…”
To save his marriage and his ass, I told her I would box the whole thing up and store the car for 3 years until it had appreciated enough to where the repair would pay for itself. She was taken aback: she never considered that the car would be worth more money in time. This is in response to your query “Do I want to sell this?” Answer: no. Unless you really need the dough, push it back into the barn and forget about it for another 5 years. Pull it out when the market’s right and you could make $20K more on it – even lumped. In the meantime you can source a rebuildable 3.8.
P. Havas I like your advice but this is no reserve so it is as good as sold. Also it was in a rental property that I have and they had no idea it was there, lets just say it wasn’t in the best area.(near Ferguson) I have another xke thats a show winner gonna keep it.
P. Havas I like your advice but this is in a no reserve auction so it is as good as sold, anyway it was in a rental house detached garage and they had no idea it was there so it can’t go back probably be stolen or burned (its near Ferguson ha ha). I have a show winning xke gonna hold on to that one. Sold an xke roadster a few years ago to a german guy with a pile of money worth twice as much now but thats life.