New Purchase of E-Type

[healey147]

I am thinking of buying an E-Type and wish to post pictures to be given pointers on what to look for and questions to ask, however, I cannot appear to upload the pictures. Is it appropriate to post a link of the website where the E-Type is for sale?

Generally, what should I do looking for and what questions should I be asking?

Thanks

 

[Healeysince59]

Posting a link should be OK. Like any LBC, the first thing to look for is rust. It's even more important with an E-Type since there are places serious rust can hide. I don't think I would buy an E-Type based on pictures. Much safer to have someone knowledgeable check it out.

Sent you a PM

Marv J

 

[healey147]

Thank you for the response.

I have looked at the car - it appears to be rust free.

Here is the link: https://www.carsauto.com/1969-jaguar-xk-e--c-574.htm
Thanks.

 

[MikeP]

I agree, you need to ahev someone with no skin in the game inspect it as much of what you want to check isn't visible from the pictures. You want to hav eot checked around the rear suspension and radius arm mounts to the body. Rockers, inner and out for covered rust or poor repairs. Same for the rear wheel arches that are double skinned on a coupe and the boot floor where the gas tank and spare are. Moving foreward, footwells, the mounts to the body for the subframes. The subrames themselves for bent tubes and cracked brazing. Bonnet hinge points and bonnet belly pan.

There's also mechanical condition, oil pressure hot, running temperature, do things seem to have fresh oil on the outside indicating possible seal or gasket leaks, condition of wheel and hub splines and spokes. Do all the gauges work, does the steering feel tight, transmission feel precise when shifting and doesn't pop out of gear.

This not a complete list of things to check, but it's a good start.

 

[HEALEYJAG]

PAY THE MONEY AND HAVE IT INSPECTED BY A PRO.



It will save you thousands.

Pete

 

[Brinkerhoff]

I am restoring my 67 e type body at the present. I can tell you its highly unlikely to find an e type with zero rust . My car came from Arizona and is very nice but not wasn't rust free. You want to look for the common areas that they all will rust in eventually to get a feel for where this one is at. I would pull everything out of the trunk except for the gas tank. There are three ribs that strengthen the boot floor. Rust will start inside these three ribs first at their bases where water will collect. Examine the base of the rh rib as this is will be the worse. Crawl underneath and locate the spot between the spot welds where this point is and examine it closely ( try and stick a screwdriver into it )for bondo or welding . A small hole is common but what you are looking for is an indication of what the rest of the car is really like. You also will need a borescope to inspect the insides of the sills ( if you're serious) for scaling etc. My rh sill was completely dry and rust free, the lh had about 2" of rust scale in the bottom but wasn't perforated. Of course I've changed the Lh sill ,( big job ), ( can't have any rust in the e type after all! The floors are flat , but a boxed area is created where the front of the seats mount on a raised channel. You want to check directly underneath that area with a pick hammer toward the outside , near where the outer sill attaches. The only thing attached to the floor in this area is the jacking point anything else you see was added to fix rust. According to the Jaguar concours experts , the floors were not undercoated from the factory when new, so its viewed as suspect when present. Check the foot wells for rust inside and out and any filler spooned in. The difference between truly rust free on an e type and one that just needs a little rust repair is about $15000 to fix properly. And then you need to inject the insides of the boxed areas with oil or rustproofing for the protection never given when new. These are a few of the areas of course, but you can at least use them as a telltale for the rest of the car. I have a question , if your going to spend that kind of money why not buy a series one coupe? My theory is that you are better off to pay too much for the most desirable model than the least. The series two is an ok car but no where near the car the series one is. The money is the same to restore either though. After you buy it and the novelty wears off at least you have the most desirable model sitting in your garage waiting for the next buyer. Just my full of crap opinion however... good luck. Kevin

 

[PhilW]

Too bad you're on the west coast. A local guy in his 90's has decided to sell his '69 XKE. He either bought it new or within a few months of new and used it until a 2 years ago. You can even talk to the same mechanic over all those years. Always well kept still looks great. It's about that same price - $35K. The only glaring difference to the one you're looking at is this one's a conv.

Phil.