I have covered Jaguar E-Types before but this 1967 example really caught my attention. Why? It’s mint green of course. Actually, the color did standout probably because I don’t recall seeing one like this before, and of course, there is a story behind this car too. This XK-E is located in Dallas, Texas and is available, here on eBay for a classified ad price of $26,000.
The story around this Jag is that it was partially disassembled years ago for painting but then never completed. That seems so odd, dismantle a car for refinishing and then just forget about it? Apparently that’s what happened. This Series 1 (’61 to ’68) XK-E is a 2+2 version, albeit with a minuscule back seat, and is somewhat unique in that it has an automatic transmission, ’67 being the second year that option was available. Total Series 1 production was about 38K total copies with approximately 5,600 being the 2+2 variety.
The body of this Jaguar appears to be basically in good condition, there is surface rust present but none of the panels look to be suffering from rust-through. Panel alignment seems to be about right too. While much of the trim is unattached the seller claims to have all of it, he further adds, “This unit is numbers matching and will make a very straightforward restoration project”. The seller also mentions that this is a California car, which helps explain the non-corroded state of its body; there are some muted images of the underside but they require closer inspection to verify overall integrity.
There is no reference made regarding this Jaguar’s operating capability or engine description which makes one think it is a non-runner, and it looks like it hasn’t run in a long time. The boot badge appears to proclaim “4.2” so this XK-E would be powered by a 4.2 liter, in-line, six-cylinder engine, good for 266 gross HP, the only engine available in this model. As previously noted, an automatic transmission is in place. It would be helpful to know if the engine, at the least, turns over.
The interior appears to be in usable condition though the images aren’t that revealing – why in the world sellers don’t clear the trash and odds and ends from the passenger compartment before taking pictures, I’ll never know. The upholstery looks off-white leather and in non torn or ripped condition. The instrument panel is barely visible but all of the required occupants are making a showing. There is a loose upholstery panel, a door card perhaps, riding shotgun, no idea what it is for. The console lid also looks like its missing.
Seems like a suspicious story that surrounds this Jaguar, as in perhaps something of a more serious nature stopped this project. Whatever the case, this car does not present itself very well and the minimalist listing isn’t too helpful either. And then there is the automatic transmission, that seems incongruous in a road car like an XK-E. There could be a good base here for a full restoration but it’s hard to know with the dire lack of details and description. What do you think, is it worth taking on a project like this?
Remember when the 2+2 XKE was treated like a red-headed step child?
yup
Things can’t be “…somewhat unique..”.
Sure they can, it depends on your perspective.
JO
The grammatical point probably wasn’t worth mentioning, but now that it’s out there…. A thing can be somewhat rare, but not somewhat “one of a kind”, no matter what the perspective. :)
James:
I was using the descriptor the same way as employed by J.D. Salinger in his short story, “For Esme’ – With Love and Squalor” (April 1950): “We were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn’t one good mixer in the bunch.”
And according to The Nation, in an article entitled “Fairly Unique?”, penned by Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto, August 15, 2013, “The Merriam-Webster lexicographers explain that it is perfectly correct to qualify ‘unique,’ as we did in the title to this post when the word is being used in the sense of ‘unusual’.”
I get your point but definitions morph over time and that XK-E is “unusual” with its sea-green finish and automatic transmission.
JO
I can’t recall the last time I saw one of these cars with an automatic transmission!! I really don’t think I like it having one!! Would be a much more fun car with a manual!!
Why is a dealer only using 11 of the 24 pictures available in an eBay ad? They are either sloppy or lazy, neither of which are attractive traits when asking top dollar, especially when you factor in that the 2+2 with an automatic are probably the least desirable XK-E’s in existence.
Steve R
I think the Series 2 would be even less desirable, although the unattractive uncovered headlights work better and the unattractive larger grill opening cools better.
I had an opportunity to get one of these in driver condition for about a third of this price a decade ago. I don’t regret passing on it one bit. The best thing about an E-type is the way it looks, but the 2+2 doesn’t have the proportions that make an E-type turn heads. Throw in the automatic transmission and it doesn’t seem like the sort of car that should command $26K as a rough project in unknown mechanical condition.
Had a lady working for me in the early ’80s who had a standard coupe painted this color. It really is an odd color but XKEs have a tendency to make any color look good.
$26k for a 2+2 with an automatic? Seems very optimistic. I’m in the middle of a restomod project on almost the same car. Converting it to a 5-speed among many other mods the purists would hate. My car was originally in much better condition than this, so I can tell, even from the poor pictures provided, this car needs a ton of work and money thrown at it. And don’t kid yourself, that isn’t just surface rust in those pics.
Short answer to your concluding question: No.
First offered for sale on e-bay May 2019, same price, same description, same photos
Good Lord! – a rolling nightmare.
A rolling nightmare? But the seller’s description says it’s a straightforward restoration, so it can’t be that bad. :)
looks like willow green
Greetings All,
NO!
I’m a SS/Jaguar guy with a few.
If the engine even turned they’d say so.
No!
Nasty color, they made a blue of a similar shade as well, equally ugly. No spinners on the rear wheels, splines are probably rust welded. 2+2’s are hideous, let it die. Save usable parts for a real E-type.
Its not worth more than $15k max… its a massive job to get it back to show … then whats it worth then ?….. Not even what you sunk into it ….
Just saw an episode of chasing classic cars where they restored one of these in the same colour. The only difference was theres’ was a manual.