It’s amazing how many special cars are popping up on Facebook Marketplace these days, one of the few good things I can say about this social media platform. This time we have a 1970 Jaguar E-Type coupe, listed for sale in Pasadena, Maryland, with no information other than the seller noting it’s been parked for 22 years. In that time, it looks like the ceiling tiles have begun to fall and that the E-Type has generally been ignored. The asking price is $30,000 and you can find it here on Facebook Marketplace. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Dave F. for the find.
The seller doesn’t include any other details, and other than noting it’s sporting the preferred manual transmission, Mileage is a tick over 75,000, and while it’s impossible to tell anything based on these photos, the body looks relatively straight. The chrome bumpers still present well enough, and the factory badges and lenses appear to have survived. Wire wheels remain affixed, and there’s no obvious body damage to report. The asking price seems high for a non-Series 1 and the lack of information offered, but most sellers figure a car this beautiful wills simply sell itself. No word on rust issues, if any.
Of course, E-Type enthusiasts know by now they shouldn’t jump at the first car they see, especially when it’s not a Series 1. The market has corrected a bit, with lesser cars not going for crazy money after genuine Series 1 cars became too expensive for most casual collectors. A manual gearbox is a sure-fire way to keep interest high, even in Series 2 and later form, as the drivetrain will always be highly entertaining with three pedals. The seller doesn’t offer any details on the health of the drivetrain or why it was parked, but we can only guess that it was some relatively simple maintenance issue that led to its long-term storage once it became just another used car.
The interior looks to be in better shape than the exterior might suggest, with the factory steering wheel, instrumentation, switchgear, and shift knob all remaining in place. The carpets look respectable as well, and the center console doesn’t show any signs of damage. The conditions this Jaguar is stored in is a cause for some concern, along with the seller’s inability to clean the crumbled ceiling tile off the hood of the car. Doesn’t that suggest some level of apathy about selling this big cat quickly – and especially for the asking price listed? The collector world will always love manual transmission E-Types, but this one is going to need to be re-marketed to sell for the current asking price.
OOOH – a cheap Jag!
Ain’t no such thing as a cheap jag. What you pay to buy it is “Entry Fees” to pay gobs of money to fix it then maintain.
My advice, don’t go there!!
What’s that saying…. “there’s nothing quite as expensive as a cheap E-type”
I’d agree with the write-up, while early Series 1 cars are the collectors favorites, I think any of the 6-cylinder cars – with exception of the 2+2 and automatics – are pretty desirable. This one is going to need a lot of work, but does look pretty complete at least…. and as we keep saying over and over, seller will have a much better chance if they clean the darn thing and pull it out into the sunlight !
I’m with Enzo Ferrari, this is arguably the “most beautiful car ever made”. I have a friend who owns a 1970 roadster and when you park that thing, you always find yourself looking back over your shoulder as you walk away from it., thinking “wow, that car looks good”.
I always think that the closed coupe like this is the style which shows off the beauty of this model to best advantage, though I think if I were in the market to buy one I’d prefer a convertible because they are just fun to drive. One of my favorite cars, don’t suppose I’ll ever own one now unless I can persuade the wife that we should raid the 401k as it’s a great “investment” – which, long term it probably is. we do experience bubbles in prices of certain cars but I can’t see prices of good e-types ever collapsing.
OK this is a pet peeve of mine.
It is highly unlikely that Enzo ever said that about the Jag. Both the quote from the Jag people and the quote from Jeep people attributed to Enzo sound like they are trying to compensate for short comings.
Let the E-type stand on its own merits, using the quote for a guy that is out of character for him just diminishes the car.
Also Enzo was really not a nice guy, pretty much of a jerk in fact, but his being a jerk drove people to do extraordinary things, see Ferruccio Lamborghini, Henry Ford 2 and Carroll Shelby as examples.
A more telling quote that Enzo repeated often and more telling of his personality
“Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.”
Enzo was a racer, and really didn’t give a crap about street cars and only built them to fund his racing addiction. The Jag quote attributed to him is a joke, and just diminishes the car.
Enzo said the Jeep was the best American sports car as a put down to all the other American sports cars not a complement to Jeeps. DUH!
Sorry Jokacz
It is pure myth. Hagarty even did a write up on the Jeep myth to the point of offering a reward for proof. No one who worked for Ferrari, Jeep or even Corvette could come up with anything that tied Enzo to the quote.
If Enzo didn’t say it, he should have. Jeeps are junk. The ultimate irony is Fiat building Jeeps; a junk manufacturer making junk vehicles. Like P.T. Barnum said “there’s a sucker born every minute”. But wait, he never said that either. LMFAO
W.C. Fields said ‘Never give a sucker an even break’.
Bob
Huuummmm, worked on a 69.
Rot, rust everywhere.
Was afraid to jack it up.
Sat in Boston 35 years.
Absolutely the most beautiful car ever.
Having in recent years restored several XLE Jaguars I can say tha there is NO such thing as short term investment potential for ’70 XKE needing full restoration. So, with THAT out of the way we can just restore it, enjoy it and own it. Flippers beware?
Just one very minor correction: that shift knob is not factory. Though very common, this shift knob is aftermarket. The original knob was black plastic with an engraved white shift pattern.
I have to echo how beautiful these E-Types are. I’ve owned a black Ser. 1 FHC (coupe) and currently own a red Ser. 3 OTS (conv). But their beauty isn’t just skin deep. They are fast, fun, and are somehow both comfortable and handle very well – even by today’s standards (okay, maybe not the fast part … 270hp is nothing now days!).
If anyone is serious about this car, I live within about a 10 minute drive, and can check it out, just ask me. [And that gives me a chance to see it without having to claim I’m checking it out for someone else! – but that said – NO, I’m not interested in buying it for myself!]