In reply to a message from paul spurlock sent Fri 19 Mar 2010:
Hi,
Yes, a big question in making a lookalike is the question of
when?
The car when presented to the public for the first time in
1961 was LHD and did had overriders and motif bar just like
any other early E-type.
There are plenty of pictures from Geneva 1961, mostly though
they are B&W. But just don’t confuse this with the other
Gunmetal LHD FHC that was on the Jaguar stand, that’s 885005
that Christian Jenny has in Switzerland today. (and that car
never went back to UK, but was reluctantly sold by Lyons to
a car company in Geneva and has stayed almost 50 years in
Switzerland)
AFAIK that car is much closer to the original appearance. It
is just like it was on the Jaguar stand to the tiniest
detail (like the twisted bonnet safety catch). 9600HP was
later converted to RHD, sold by the factory and used as a
road car, serviced, repaired etc. until it was laid off.
Porter then found it bought it and late had it restored to
his liking, paying the restoration company with the first
RHD FHC made.
Many of the legends related to 9600HP are what legends
always tend to be a bit exaggerated as as Porter himself
owns the car, he’s not going to cut the wings off, is he?
The missing overriders and motif bar are a result of Motor
magazine only getting that car to exceed 150mph both ways
once they removed those. Supposedly the car also had
perspex/acrylic rear screen and aluminium parts (rear door?)
Interesting but IMO mostly about making it more special than
the other early cars.
So the front never really looked like it does now. It is
made to emphasize the legend of the Motor test drive and
achieving 150 mph. The bumper blades for sure had the holes
for the overriders when they did the run, so that would be
more ‘‘historically correct’’. There’s nothing wrong making
your version of it, but at least IMO also the current 9600HP
is Porter’s and Classic Motor Car’s version of it.
I have mentioned it many times in here that another car
‘‘6162RW’’ made 159mph both ways on an Italian highway with
the writers on German Auto Motor & Sport (number 10/1962, I
have a copy) and yet it was no big thing. That car had
overriders, all glass was glass, basically a standard 3.8
FHC with Dunlop RS5 tires, half an inch wider at the back.
The Brits were accused of being over optimistic about the
performance of ‘‘their’’ car, now I don’t think the Germans
would have done that, would they?
As that car was a press car, sure it may have had a
blueprinted engine etc. and at least at the time those
runs were made it was properly run in!
Cheers,
Pekka T. 1E76372BW
PS. One year at a concours event in Turku, Finland a Porsche
backed into my front end! The owner payed for new overriders
and fittings, but for a short while, I used the car without
them:
http://idisk.mac.com/ptelivuo/Public/DCP_0428.jpg--
The original message included these comments:
Tom,
The car has chrome wheels on it now.
XKE Data - Gallery Detail - Jaguar E-Type (XKE) information, articles, photos and register
If you haven’t read the book ‘‘the most famous car in the world’’ its
worth a read. I personally don’t like the title but enjoyed the book.
pauls 67ots
–
MKV 3.5L DHC, E-type 2+2 Ser.1 MOD, XJ6C MOD, XJ8 Executive
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