Here is what you can do with a Jaguar XKE

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it cant be improved.

 

this is our (nearly completed) XKE Custom Speedster.
it started life as a 1965 XKE Series 1 Roadster. we bought it 30 years ago, and on the way home with it, i was run into by a semi truck that pretty much wiped out the rear end.
we had it restored to a degree, but discovered the engine was not original, so just ran it for a couple years.
then we decided to do it right and restored it again to a much higher degree, replacing many parts for modern equivalent - suspension, ignition, brakes, transmission, etc etc and it ran very nicely.
then we had a garage fire whereby the exterior and the interior were irreparably damaged, and was totaled by the insurance company.
but mechanically it was still sound, and all of our upgrades were still functional, so we bought the carcass back from the insurance company, and then debated what to do with it.
it was a prime candidate for some sort of do-over, restomod, homage - whatever you want to call it.
i wanted to make a 'Lightweight' tribute car, but my Dad wanted to make a speedster like the Eagle company had done. Dad won.

we then went through a 6 year process.....
bought the rear end ready done by the company in the UK that makes it for Eagle.
wanted a taller windscreen since no normal person can fit under the cut down Series 1 screen, so we cut out the windshield/firewall portion and replaced that whole 18 inch section with a series 3.
the hood was welded to be one piece. bumpers gone and everything frenched.
huge Dayton wires ordered with the biggest tires you can put under those fenders.
etc etc etc
it took forever to get right.
it still has a few niggles to sort out, but it will appear at Naples Cars on 5th, and maybe Amelia .

the traditionalists will object, but given what it was in 2018, i think it turned out rather nicely, and you wont see too many like it. (there are only about 8-10 Eagle Speedsters, and even fewer Eagle Spyders).

 

very nice but be careful. it be trying to take you out with that history.
ferrari style Snaps exhaust tips would look nice.

 

I love the front end on that. Nice work!

No, excellent work!

 

What a fine result, especially if your eyes are below top of windshield now.

 

it is hard to capture the essence of the car on an iphone in a cramped space.... so in the flesh it looks aggressive, and powerful.... we think this is what the original design was trying to be, but limited by the tech of those times.

 

And the exact opposite of what Jaguar just revealed that's reviled by so many now.
I had my 2005 S-Type R in Jaguar Racing green at the car wash Monday morning ... it was 27F and cold as F! But I needed to get it squeaky clean because it's going to my mechanics shop for some odds and ends and a warranty claim from last years overhaul. He left one of bolts out of the EGR valve on the RH manifold that's impossible to get to which is why I took it to him in the first place. It sat for 4 years because I just couldn't physically do it anymore. ARGH!

I got so many compliments on that car that morning, I always do. People miss the more classic styling of the Jaguars and even though it's only a 2005 that design is a throwback styling wise but has most of the modern conveniences plus ~ 425 HP SC V8.

 

Amazing!!! Very well done!!

 

Heavily modofied E-types are not my cup of tea, but under the circumstances I can entirely understand why you did what you did, and in the process, as an alternative to the Eagle Speedster, I think you could teach Henry Pearman a thing or two.

I am not an originality freak / "purist". However, when I bought my current E-type, a '63 FHC, I wanted to keep the appearance and driving experience as close to how it would have been when the car was new, so the modifications I chose were purely for practicality (upgraded radiator fan, alternator conversion, etc.) or comfort / convenience (intermittent wipers - it rains a lot in the UK - and air-conditioning - occasionally the sun comes out).

I resisted the temptation to change things like the Moss gearbox, wheels & tyres, seats etc., and even for a long time the brakes, though I have at last surrendered to that one after several scary moments and fitted Zeus calipers all round, 4-pots on the front and ventitlated discs, which are a marked, and necessary, improvement. I have also fitted LED bulbs, so now I can see at night.

 

i understand your opinion and your efforts to keep your '63 as original as possible.
we will do the same with the '61 (with maybe a few exceptions as you described).

i know you understand our thought process, but to elaborate, there are so many e-types overall (more than 70k examples built), and so many of them that are so far gone in one way or another, that they are ripe for resto modding.

a car with mismatched numbers, corroded body, or interior, or shoddy engine, or all of the above, can be bought relatively cheaply, but to bring it back to oem standard costs as much as resto modding, and wont be as valuable, and wont drive as well. (the same is happening in corvette world btw).

anyway, as i said above, the next project might be a Lightweight mod

 

I think it looks great! You can buy an original restored XKE. You are the only one who owns your rendition of a XKE.

 

Unlike the purists, I am not into originality for originality's sake. I admire people who are, because it is good to be able to see examples of cars the way they were built, but that is just not for me - I am more of a driver than a polisher and so I like to have modifications that make ownership more enjoyable, while still preserving the feel of the car as it was built: I own an old car to esperience the driving characteristics of an old car.

That is not to say that there is not a place for restomods like yours and, as you say, there are plenty of E-types around, so there is no need to restore every decaying example to original spec., so why not give vent to your imagination and have a car that is truly "yours", and unique? Henry Pearman has made a very nice living out of satisfying demand for exactly that.

One of the more enjoyable cars I have owned in the past was an "XK120" which would have been described as a restomod, if the term had been invented at the time (I owned it in the early'90s, but I think it was built in the mid-'70s). It was in fact a 140 FHC that had so far decayed as to be scrap, so the bodywork was junked, the chassis modified, a 3.8 E-type engine installed, mated to an overdrive gearbox and a low-ratio back axle, with a custom-built rear suspension with watts-linkage, and the whole enclosed in aluminium bodywork to 120 spec. Because it had been built for competition, it was pretty impractical as a road car (no weather equipment, not even a windscreen, though the little aeroscreens were surprisingly effective and even kept the rain off over about 50 mph), but as a fun car for sunny days, it was great. And it went like the proverbial **** off a shovel!

So I hope you will enjoy both your E-types, for different reasons, and I look forward to seeing the Lightweight in due course.

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god willing, one of these days, this will be next:

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Ross- you may want to consider a copy of this Tom Hale art work to hang in your office. I love mine and it makes one feel good to walk into the room with this large size art work. This impressionist treatment is very similar to your XKE.

https://www.tomhalegallery.com/gallery/prints/jaguar-xke/

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very nice !
thats the color scheme of the 61 flat floor right now - however those are not the original colors - which are gunmetal grey and red interior and red top - that i intend to convert it back to so that it is back to oem completely, so i wont buy this artwork until i get the new livery.

 

Seal of approval. Love these lightweights conversions.

 

@SCantera hey Steve! Hope you are doing well. I will be headed to Naples for Cars on 5th next week. Will you be there? Pls let me know - would love to see you.
This car will be in the show in the British section, parked down towards Bice and it would be fun to show it to you in greater detail.

 

Here we are at Cars on 5th
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need a competition for this build vs the 430 to 16m with stick conversion for best on fchat. both so nice i literally could not pick a favorite.
My F430 to 16manual project | FerrariChat

 

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ian callum of f type jag design fame, tries his hand at e type update.

 

IF jaguar had built this instead of the abomination they are trying to foist onto the world, they might avoid bankruptcy...

 

tbh, i like yours better than callams. his is just a low rider with wide tires.

 

proof that its hard to improve on perfection.
the only thing that i would say is an improvent would be a 5 spd and 6” wire wheels back in 1961 and of course being able to change the clutch without removing the bonnet and engine.

 

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