Wanting a XKE coupe/dhc

[Johnny]

Having the opportunity to drive a friends 68 coupe over the past weekend really has me wanting to own one. My wife would prefer a drop head, I'm undecided. Anyone know where I should search? I'm not afraid, and indeed would prefer, to purchase one needing repairs, even restoring. Please click on "attachment" above to view the car lent. Thanks so much.

 

[hottvr]

Hi Johnny,
I know of a '69 coupe sitting in a garage that needs a lot of work. It looked pretty complete but the rust and condition of it turned me off. The owner paid $5000 for it, shipped it to Orlando from Va. , and never did anything with it. I think the owner might take a reasonable offer over 5 grand for it.I did snap a couple of pictures of it. If you want I can e-mail the pictures.
Rick Hansen

 

[John S Farrington]

You and your wife have very good taste to desire an E Type and particularly a convertible. ( The E tyoe OTS is referred to as a roadster or convertible, Drop heads were built in the XK years of the 50s. I am in the busiess of restoring that type of car and have done quite a few E Types. The roadster is the most sought after body style but is also the most expensive. The coupe is also a great body style but the two plus two coupe (having unusable back seats and a clumsy top shape because of it) is the least desireable and most affordable. The best advice I can give you is get the best condition E Type that you can afford. Rust bucket restorations are not the way to save money in the long run. Mechanical or electrical problems are not expensive to fix but body cosmetics including rust, unusable panels, paint and leather renewal can be show stoppers. Avoid rust on an E Type regardless of a cheap asking price. Good luck in your quest.

 

[Bugeye58]

I firmly agree with everything John said.
I turned down a fantastic deal on a '62 flat floor roadster a couple of years ago, for all those reasons. The body and bonnet were pretty straight, but there was just too much rust to make it a viable restoration within my means. The major regret was that it came with a spare engine, tranny, and rear end, including the suspension. I wavered over buying it for a week or so for that reason, but finally let it go.
I could have had it for $3500.00, but could have easily have put another 35 or 40 grand in it to make it pristeen again.

Jeff

 

[Johnny]

Thanks to all who took the time to post a reply. I also had to turn down the recent chance to own a 2+2 coupe. (He wanted top dollar for a rust bucket.) I know the cost's involved are prohibitive, but if you do most of the work yourself they (the costs) can be reduced. The one condition I don't have any control over are the price, and availability, of needed parts. So it's imperative to have a complete car. This is where extensive research is important. I have to know what parts the original car came with. Are there books available listing XKE parts, and assemblies? Having restored a Austin Healey I found the work shop assembly manual essential. Also, are there restoration books available?
Thanks to all.

 

[John S Farrington]

A workshop manual is a necesity. There are also parts catalogs published by Jaguar on the E Types but the Jag parts numbers are so old (and have been supersceded) that they are of limited usefulness except for diagrams. Because of the great popularity of the E types, there are a large number of suppliers of parts and most of these outfits have knowledgable order contacts. A few that come to mind are Coventry West in Atlanta, Terrys Jaguar in Illinois, Special Interest Car Parts, Welsh Jaguar in Stubenville Ohio, British Car Parts in New Hampshire?? recently acquired by Barrat, Pauls Discount Auto parts in Florida and a lot more. You should have no trouble with parts sources for E type Jaguars. The parts availability of Jaguar is an entirely different deal that Austin Healy, I say this because one of my current projects is a BN1. The parts may be pricey but they are available and out there. There is a significant interchange of parts with the very prevelant series 3 XJ6.

 

[Johnny]

Many thanks to all who posted. I'm still in search of a Jaguar and will let all know if, or when, I succeed in my quest. There's a Jaguar show coming up 10/2 here in St Louis, also another all British show this coming Sunday 9/19 also here in St Louis. Plan on doing a lot of looking.