Even though 46-years have passed since production ended, the Jaguar E-Type Roadster has the ability to send me weak at the knees. This is a car that received many accolades during its lifetime and many more in subsequent years. It has received various awards for its style and grace, and even executives from competing manufacturers are on public record extolling the vehicle’s beauty. This 1969 roadster is a stalled project that has been sitting for many years. It shows a lot of promise, and it needs someone willing and able to return it to its former glory. If that sounds like a challenge you could rise to, you will find the Roadster located in Astoria, New York, and listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $39,500, which sounds like it could be highly competitive.
The seller only supplies two exterior photos of the E-Type, so it is hard to assess its overall condition accurately. The coat of gray primer suggests that a previous owner commenced restoration on this classic, but this stalled for some unknown reason. There is evidence in a couple of spots to indicate that the car rolled off the production line in Coventry, England, wearing stunning Dark Blue paint. Examining the photos carefully, they generally paint a reasonably positive picture. These vehicles were renowned for developing significant rust problems in their lower body extremities, but these look sound on this car. We don’t get a look at the rear valance or the underside, but what can be seen of the floors in the single interior photo seems to indicate that things might be okay on that front. There’s also very little surface corrosion visible in the engine bay, which suggests that the Jag has spent an extended period in dry storage. The buyer will still be digging into their wallet because some parts appear to be missing. Most of these are confined to the trim and chrome, although a new soft-top and a trunk lid look like they might need to be added to the shopping list.
The shopping list will continue to expand when the buyer turns their attention to the interior. This will require nothing less than a complete retrim because the upholstery has deteriorated markedly. The work is not going to be a cheap proposition. Still, when you consider the potential value locked away in this classic, spending between $4,000 and $6,000 on a kit that will return the interior to a factory-fresh state could be money well spent. The latter figure would include repairing the flaws with the dash and wheel and replacing the missing tachometer. I’m not going to deny that it is an eye-watering figure for an interior restoration, but as I’ve said in previous articles, it should represent a one-off expense for the owner. Treated with care and respect, interior trim, especially leather, can easily last a half-century or longer with no significant deterioration.
When this E-Type rolled off the line, the V12 engine was still a couple of years away. That means that the engine bay of this car is occupied by the 4.2-liter DOHC six-cylinder unit that was capable of producing 266hp in its prime. Those horses find their way to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission, while Jaguar endeavored to make the E-Type a “total package” sports car by making 4-wheel independent suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes standard equipment. The E-Type was typical of many European offerings of the era. That means that while power outputs didn’t appear that high, the cars could generally utilize it pretty effectively. That means that the 15.1-second ¼-mile ET looks impressive, while a potential top speed of 144mph is equally so. It isn’t clear how long it has been since this Jag last fired a shot in anger, but I tend to think that it might be quite a few years. The owner says that the motor turns freely but that he has made no attempt to coax it into life. That should be seen as a relief because I would want to thoroughly inspect it to determine that there were no underlying problems before I hit the key for the first time.
I admit that returning this 1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster to its former glory will represent a significant undertaking. Still, these are also cars that continue to increase significantly in value with each passing year. It isn’t unusual to see spotless examples dive into six-figure territory, while the market regularly sees sale prices of $150,000 for pristine examples. That’s a lot of money, and it makes this one worthy of a closer look.
How about an Austin Powers tribute Shaguar…yeah baby!
$150K for a Series 2 would be daunting to achieve. More likely $100 – $110K. Very nice drivers can be had for $70 – 80K. The challenge with this one is that it is no cheaper to restore a Series 2 than a Series 1, and that’s likely to be $70K or more in order to get top dollar. And that’s assuming the frame on this one is good.
highest sale for an S2 I’m aware of was just over $100k in pristine / restored condition. Your going to be hard pressed to restore this for less than $60k and stay under market. That said, the market is still moving on the S2 and 3 since the S1’s are getting into the “collector” price range. So, maybe by the time this is restored, the market may just come to it
All most Impossible even at $60k unless you find a shop with cheapo labor rates. Parts are getting harder to find unless your in the UK.
No vehicle is reasonably priced when it comes to a full restoration. You learn this when you work in one. The only driving factors for jumping into the deep side is: its been in the family, seller wants it gone, a very low number of production cars, you own the shop, or you have more money than brains and careless.
Frank – parts are actually easier to find. Just a lot more expensive. I’ve got just under a grand (parts alone) in building my track engine for my 69 E. If I were to be buying the same parts today, that cost would be over $1,600. One of the reasons I decided to go race car with it is the $20k price tag for a complete (correct) interior. That and for a track car I’ll gave $500 in materials for the paint job (it will look nice). A concour job would be close to $20k because someone else would be doin it. So thats $40k I won’t have in the car right off the bat. Yeah I’ve got a couple of grand more in suspension/drive-train upgrades that a street car wouldn’t have, but those costs are minimal to the big picture.
With restorations costing into 6 figures, this is a loser for that route. Get it running and drive the poo out of it, then pass it on to the next guy
Located in Astoria, NY. Does Gullwing Motors ring a bell????
Yes, and the name of the eBay seller is suspiciously identical to that. So, double bell ring for me.
;-)
Someone would be crazy to pay that asking price or anywhere close. Nice starter car though.
A resto would be a minium of a 150,000, probably closer to 200,000 to be done right. That’s if the corrosion hasn’t eaten up the undercarriage. Bieng a Northeast car I would expect the worst.
$40k, but he only takes 2 pictures. Either lazy or is hiding something. No thanks.
Agree with the comments on the price. I think the seller put the decimal point in the wrong place. Should be $3,900. (Plus $70K to restore the car brings it to the current market value.)
Have to agree with almost all of the comments above. Peter Kumar puts a pretty price on every car that needs total restoration (as does this car). He’ll probably take $25-30K for it. The only Es going for 6 figures are early S1s, particularly the flat floor earliest. Here and there one might find a S1.5 for 6 figures. I have yet to see an S2 going that high. 3 or 4 years ago, Wayne Carini told someone with an E-type in parts that it would take at least $50K to restore. Check out the prices in the Moss Motors or other vendors. A concours paint job could be $25K by itself. Everything on this car needs to be refreshed or replaced. There’s probably several hundred hours of labor needed to do this one, perhaps more. An engine rebuild is $10K. If he gave the owner $15K I’d be surprised. If it could be had for $18-20K, and you do your own work AND there’s NO rust to remediate, you might stay above water.
In 2015 a flawlessly-restored ’69 Series II in opalescent grey went for a six figure sum starting with a two. Some people who comment on this web site seem to expect valuable classics to be priced at the cost of a couple of cases on beer. Don’t get me wrong, though. This classic should only be tackled by someone who is extremely knowledgeable about E Types, and he or she should have deep pockets. This car is worth restoring, including financially, but it should only be undertaken by an experts. An amateur with big dreams and a beer budget will wind up re-selling a massive project.
Glad they took the time to clean it up. Could have gone in the water???
Cheers
GPC