There are many opinions and popular stories about the Jaguar E-Type. Did Enzo Ferrari really call it the “most beautiful car ever built,” and is it really that difficult to maintain? Well, there’s no evidence that Enzo ever made a statement about the E-Type, at least not publicly. What we do know is that they can be costly to keep running. Well, this 1964 E-Type Roadster might be a bit cheaper to keep running than most, since it’s no longer powered by the Jaguar inline-6. Instead, a Ford 289 V8 sits under its extra bulbous hood. As far as value is concerned, it’s sure to hurt it, but if you actually plan to drive it, the V8 might be a big plus. You can find this Jag here on eBay in West Jefferson, North Carolina, with a current bid of $10,000 and a BIN of $40,000.
I’m actually a huge fan of the XK series of inline-6 engines. They are super smooth and offer impressive power for an engine designed in the 1940s. Depending on when in 1964 this one was built, it would have either had the 3.8- or the 4.2-liter version. Both engines produced about 265 horsepower, but the 4.2 produced more torque. Of course, the design comes with trade-offs, namely a far more complicated valvetrain than, say, a pushrod V8. Due to their high-strung nature, they tend to require more maintenance and are more expensive to fix if something goes wrong. A Mustang sourced 289 (4.7-liter) V8, on the other hand, is simple and doesn’t require much to keep running.
We’ve experienced a few E-Types over the years, including a V8-powered coupe. That car was terrifying for several reasons. For one, it had too much power and a sticky throttle. Secondly, someone had cut up the firewall and engine bay to fit it. The throttle issue could have been resolved, but you couldn’t easily fix the cut-up structure. Thankfully, this one was converted using a Logan Engineering kit, so no cutting was involved in fitting the V8. Other than the hood scoop, converting this back to a Jaguar engine would only require finding a drivetrain. If you plan on driving it, leaving the V8 and Ford automatic transmission would probably make the most sense. There’s no word on the 289’s tune, so power could be anywhere from 200 to 300 horsepower. It probably doesn’t make the car any faster, but it probably makes nice sounds and is a lot cheaper to service.
The interior looks fairly stock. Most of these cars left the factory with a manual transmission, but automatics were offered. While they look a bit pieced together, this one’s shifter is definitely not a Jaguar part. Also, the seats aren’t correct for this year. There’s no word on what they came from, but they look a bit like later Jaguar seats. The seller notes that the carpets are in good shape, the top was replaced a few years ago, and the fuel gauge isn’t working. Overall, the interior looks to be usable as is.
While the original drivetrain would be more appealing to purists, I can see why someone would want a V8 in their E-Type. You get similar power, the V8 weighs about the same, and it’s much cheaper to replace if it breaks. Honestly, my only complaint here is the hood scoop. The hood is already hard to see across in stock form, so it has to be interesting trying to navigate parking lots and tight turns with that scoop sitting so high. I’m not sure you could fix that easily, and of course, looks are subjective. At the end of the day, what matters is that you can drive this Jag hard without worrying about destroying the engine. Thoughts?
I do think the E-type is the most beautiful car ever built, but not in this color.
The person who built this should be ashamed.
No working link to the ebay listing?
This has a lot of cues of a 1990’s engine build, people may not like the engine swap, but it made a lot more sense back then. These are beautiful cars, like mentioned above, this color does it no favors. It seems like the seller knows the value will be diminished and factored it into their asking price. It will be interesting to see how the bidding goes.
Steve R
Boy that ugly hood scoop threw me off in the first two pictures. The first one taken on the drivers side, made the scoop look as if it was on the passenger side. Then the one taken on the passenger side, it looks as if it’s on the drivers side. Then when I saw the photo from the rear I could see it is in the center of the hood. It’s like an optical illusion. It must be the ugly yellow that does it.