There was a time when the two strikes against this E-Type would have doomed it to being sold for a song. It’s a slightly ungainly 2+2 model, and it’s an automatic. But these days any E-Type is valuable, and this project looks better than many. The 1969 2+2 here on Facebook Marketplace is an abandoned father-and-son project, now located at a dealership in Memphis, Tennessee. The asking price is $22,500.
It’s not too pretty, but this white-with-black-interior car appears to have a genuine 54,335 miles from new and is an ex-California black plate car. Dad and junior stripped it down (the hood, at least) and removed parts, but as so often happens they got stalled at that point. The vendor says it will be “an easy cosmetic restoration,” and that appears correct. All the removed parts are with the car.
Nothing is said about the mechanical state of this Jag, though it’s clearly been sitting a long time. The low mileage and apparent inside storage are in the buyer’s favor, but it’s a big gamble. Is that the original engine? Probably, but there’s no confirmation.
The seats need reupholstering, but the interior of the car is perhaps its best feature. It’s all there, complete with that blasphemous automatic shifter. Everything is dirty, but even the carpets look like they could perhaps be cleaned up. The instruments are in place, and is that the original radio?
No terminal rust is visible, though there’s plenty of the surface kind. But who knows, there might be horrors waiting under the car. Buyers should be under no illusion that simply because the car isn’t too bad it will be a cheap restoration. Handing this car over to a shop will mean a flood of bills and a project that will inevitably go over the time allotted. It needs paint, interior, probably an engine and/or transmission rebuild, seals, glass, and more.
This is a Series 2 car, minus the pretty (but light-dimming) headlight covers. U.S. safety requirements also mandated a bigger rear bumper, larger turn signals, relocated taillamps, a bigger (and uglier) grille, and dual electric fans. Some 18,809 Series 2s were built.
Power comes from the 4.2-liter version of the XK engine, with twin two-barrel Strombergs (visible in the engine photo) for the U.S. market. These detuned-for-the-U.S. cars put out 246 horsepower, with 263 pound-feet of torque. Air conditioning and power steering were options. I’d really want to see this car up close before I bought it. But maybe that’s just me. What do you folks think?
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