Until recently this Jaguar had been owned by someone who purchased it in 1971. The current owner has decided to sell this project car. It is listed for sale here on eBay. The car is located in Los Angeles, California, and is offered with a clear title. The seller has listed it with a BIN price of $26,500.
It must be my time to write about Jaguar restoration projects, because this is my third one in close succession. This XKE is probably in better condition than the last couple, but that doesn’t mean that it is going to be an easy job. This Jaguar has resided long-term in Northern California. It does have some rust issues to be dealt with. The seller is not particularly expansive about these issues, but I can certainly see substantial rust in the bottoms of both doors, and it also appears that there are rust issues around the trunk frame…and that’s what we can see. I would really like to get a look under the car to see just how good or bad things might be. The majority of the external trim and chrome is present. Some will need restoration while I would suggest that the next stop for the front and rear bumpers may well be a garbage skip.
They say that time marches on, and it appears that it has marched right through the interior. While the dash itself may be able to be salvaged, I think that it fair to say that the remainder of the interior will probably take up residence in the rubbish skip next to the aforementioned bumpers. The seat frames appear to be okay, but will require new padding and covers. Thankfully replacement interior components can be sourced, but these items certainly aren’t cheap.
Under that magnificent hood is the original, numbers matching 4.2 liter straight six engine. This is then hooked to the original manual transmission. Once again this area of the car is an unknown quantity. The seller gives no indication of whether the engine turns freely, or when the last time was that the car ran or moved under its own power. This Jaguar looks like a prime candidate for a complete rebuild of the existing drive-train if originality is to be maintained.
This Jaguar E-Type Roadster represents a major restoration project, and just how expensive that project becomes will depend heavily on the extent to which rust has gotten hold of the car. Sadly the later cars do not command the sort of price that the earlier 3.8 liter cars now fetch. It is currently possible to purchase a number of really nice cars similarly specified to this one for between $100,000-$120,000. If this Jaguar is structurally sound then it may be a viable project, but it would take a thorough inspection to verify this.
Thanks Adam for the find. Really too bad it was not cared for (not sure how anyone can let a car like this get in this condition)–a big project, but at least the value is may there in the end.
From the restoration shop: “Please leave your checkbook on the work bench and we’ll call you for another one each time we go through these twenty five checks. For the next say, three years, if that’s OK?”
I had a classmate that got an Xke for his 16th birthday. He wrecked it within 6 months, and got another. He just left the car at his parents when he went to college, but never finished. Like he treated the car, he treated his life, starting and stopping things, but never finishing anything. The car sat for years as he wandered around the country on his bike, his Jeep, and his thumb…..lost touch with him in the late 70s.
Pat, that’s quite a story about your classmate. Though, it’s not hard to predict what will happen to a boy who gets an XKE for his 16th birthday. I suspect he never finished anything because he never had to.
26,000. dollars would buy you a nice old car to enjoy not a rusted out car like this. With muscle cars costing 100,000. to restore I can just imagine the cost to restore this car correctly. I imagine the underneath to be pitiful as well. Pass
Wow, you sure this car isn’t from New England with all that rust?
you know what they say….. “nothing quite as expensive as a cheap E-Type Jaguar.”
my understanding is that the uni-body on these cars is particularly complicated and with all those curves, very time-consuming and expensive to repair.
Sucha beautiful, iconic car. It would be a shame to let a single one die.
I think the seller needs a stronger strap to hold down the trunk lid.
Thips is a series II, not a series I. If it were an S1 it would be woth it, but a very nice S2 can still be had for under $100K. No way to get this one there at the asking price.
I love the comment on there is nothing as expensive as a cheap E type Jag!!
Boy there is a lot of rust on this vehicle, that part would turn me off immediately. In the pic it appears the car is sitting on the trailer, did anybody notice where the tie downs are attached to the car? WOW!
I noticed that too.Maybe it’s because the underside
is so rusty that there’s nothing to tie down.
You are right. I know a guy that ended up replacing both rocker panels and the floor. Drill a hole in the rockers and stick a camera in there. None of those rocker panels had any rustproofing of any kind. First tear the carpets out, and look thoroughly at every floor and structural panel. Never mind the trunk lid etc. Then look at the rockers with some kind of sewer camera to get inside. Once you’ve seen those you probably will back away from that car as quickly as you can. This guy is in to his $70,000.00 and the thing is still not finished.
The E-Type is a lovely car to drive – but an absolute money pit to restore. The compound curves aren’t suited to the home panel beater, in fact the average panel shop these days would struggle. You’d need to find someone with a lot of years in the trade to get it looking right. Then on top of that spares prices are eye watering (well – in the UK they are…) For the price of a serious rebuild of the engine you could, almost, restore a complete Ford or Mopar in the US.
The person who has this car on the trailer needs to look before attaching a tie down, never in a million years would a flimsy bag carrier stop a car weighing over a ton , stop the car from falling off the trailer , dumb
Ya gotta love the fact that the car is strapped to the trailer with ratchet straps hooked on the luggage rack. Clearly a knowledgeable owner!