Seeing cars that have been with the same owner since new is a rare occurrence when the car’s birth date is from the 1960s, but it does still happen. This 1968 Jaguar E-Type is apparently being offered for the first time since its current caretaker acquired it in 1969. There are a variety of parts included with it that suggest a restoration was planned but never started. The E-Type is potentially a rare “Series 1.5” which incorporated design cues from both the earlier Series 1 and the later Series 2 cars, which incorporated a variety of changes to accommodate U.S. safety regulations. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $30,000.
When Jaguar introduced the E-Type, it quite literally shocked the world. It was achingly beautiful, it was fast, and it looked like nothing else on the road. The E-Type was the pride of Britain, and it was a sensation worldwide. Even today, it is easily one of the most striking cars you will see at any car show or auction event. The E-Type originally came with gorgeous glass-ensconced headlights which were sadly done away with due to U.S. regulations, and when the transition occurred, a few cars snuck out with the original Series 1 taillamps and open headlamps – as this car has, which likely makes it an unusual “Series 1.5.”
These were cars that were assembled in late 1967 into early 1968. While I doubt it adds much value here, it does make the car more intriguing. The seller notes that the sale will include “….OEM parts, including floor pans, center console, and original seats.” This says to me that the long-term owner intended to replace the floor pans but never got around to it, especially if he has NOS OEM parts from Jaguar. It’d be nice to see what the seats look like, as the seller claims the car remained inside for its many years in storage. Hopefully, the planned floor pan replacement was simply to replace some weather pans as opposed to long-festering rust issues.
The 4.2L engine was almost as compelling as the styling when introduced, The straight six was powerful, producing 265 horsepower when new. Four wheel disc brakes provided stopping power, and if you bought an E-Type with the four-speed manual gearbox, you’d experience the joy of a fully-synchronized box. The seller’s car features the automatic which is hardly a surprise; the E-Type’s grand touring capabilities made the automatic a logical choice for many buyers when new. This E-Type does have the potential to be worth quite a bit more when finished, but you’ll have to assess the health of the included components to determine how much it will cost to get it to road-going form. Thanks to Barn Finds reader MisterLou for the tip.
Oy very, this one is worse. I realize, it’s “Barn Finds”, and this shouldn’t shock us, but somehow a rusty Pinto looks a lot better in this shape than the most beautiful car in the world. But,,,these cars can’t talk, and we can only speculate what happened here, I wouldn’t know where to begin. The automatic wasn’t as rare as you’d think, with an estimated 40-50% were automatics. Sounds good to me, except, one would miss the thrill of a stick in these. Some things are still sacred or should be.
Hagerty shows a #4 car (runs and drives) at 48K. So, the eye-watering price of the subject car might not be out of line.
Hefty price for a rusty car full of tree pieces that “remained inside”.
See FB pictures for third interior shot.
Sad.
You know… you can take an E type and put it in a crusher and scrunch it down to a 4×4 cube…. it’s still an E type! You can do the same with a rusty Pinto…. Which one is worth more at that point? Once again.. the seller thinks he has gold and mostly likely it has the value of tin!! I would stay away as a project…….Who lets a car like this deteriorate to this level? It’s been abandoned for some time!!