What to look for in E Type?

Jon,

E-Types form a rather big family, incorporating many, many changes over the long production-span.

The first 2 things to check are rust and frame-damage, both of which are expensive and laborous to remedy..

A S2 would probably make the easiest-to-live-with daily driver: lots of torque from the 4.2, reasonable brakes (easy upgradeable).

There are upgrades for suspension and wheels (up to 7" wide), as well as anything else you'd want to upgrade, a good guide is to see what Eagle does to their E's.

The V-12 is a fantastic car if you can live with the maintenance and fuel-thirst, but there is a world between that and the first 3.8. A V-12 with manual box and some slight engine mods is a seriously fast machine.

Best is to go drive some different variants, and have a closer look at aesthetics to see what pleases you most. Find a balance in what you conclude, then go look at the best example you can afford to buy; it'll be the cheapest in the long run.

Happy hunting!

 

Look for rust. All the usual places of course and I've seen it in the front tubular subframes particularly down low.

 

Upgrades are many and not expensive.
depends on what you had in mind,once you purchase a car let us know,many here know what to put into them and were to buy.
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Be careful relying on pictures as they can be deceptive. I'd recommend you get an independent inspection. I'm a founder of the JEC so can give you some contacts if you need them. Also I've had a few S2s over the years. If the red one is near London I'd be happy to have a look at it. I need to give my V12E a run.

From the chassis number you need to check if a car is a LHD conversion as some were not done well and are worth less.

I don't know of anybody making the hardtop. There is a company making light covers for S3 so they may make them for S2s as well.

I know of a green with tan roadster that will be for sale soon if you're OK with that colour.

 

I'd be very cautious going to look at an E, the previous owner of which turned it into a Testa Rossa. The red cylinder-head could be a telltale. Of course, it's easilly corrected, together with the finish of the exhaust manifolds and the incorrect steering wheel. Spending a lot of money is no guarantee for quality.

Mark's offer to go check a car out is very kind, and the JEC is a vast club; wherever you find a car in the UK, there should be someone who knows these near.

Green/tan is just about the best combo on these (save gunmetal/tan or gunmetal/red), but that's my opinion...

 

make sure its a RHD and not a lhd conversion,the roofs are still made and are not expensive.

 

best way to check an e-type for rust,photos of the tyre well area and underneath the car.
That looks a rough car IMO.

 

Hi Jon,

Shame I didn't know earlier as I was about 10 miles from that dealer on Monday. I'll be near there but not until the end of the month. Anyway a friend who is a JEC member and E type specialist is not far from there. I'll pm you his details.

The red car is a rhd original. From the photo it looks as though the chassis number is 1R1368 and S2s start at 1R1001. LHD start at 1R7001.

The green car I mentioned is the darker British racing green.

That pale (willow) green is fairly rare. Changing the colour would probably make it more desirable but to do it properly is a lot of work. Engine frames, bulkhead, door shuts, inside the boot all need painting.

 

Look for rust in the unibody under passenger and driver compartments. Test drive the car - any sort of or nervousness could be indication of front subframe issues. If there IS a problem or rust in there, the whole thing really needs to be replaced (although some weld them - it's not recommended).

Bonnet is prone to misalignment - common, and a pain...but more cosmetic (unless there's damage to the subframe. Also doors - make sure they close and line up (sign of unibody damage).

If I were looking, I'd get a S2 FHC - absolute bargain. Second choice would be S1 FHC (which I own) simply because it's all the experience with out the OT. I was never enamored with the OTS as much as the FHC anyway.

 

That red car looks awful.
I have a s2 roadster. Headlight covers not worth the big expense. Hardtops are a pain. You will leave it off.
In this market, I would look for a s1 fhc. Very pretty and pure. Try to find an older restoration that was done to show winning standards and scored well at shows or restored by a jag specialist. These cars are botched by restorers more than any other car I can think of.
Ed

 

Rust is #1. Look at the sills and everywhere there is metal. I had an "original" California car and both sills were rusted. Lots of sheet metal boxes that love to rust. When mine was taken down to metal they found it'd been hit in front of the door. Truth be told there are lots out there, if you can't look it over yourself, you must have a specialist check it out for you.