Not an E-Type Owner Yet, but lots of questions

Scott,

Get it inspected…you do not wear out a clutch unless it is used improperly…

Then, look at the E and see if you can live with the clutch and oil leak…

Scott E-types like to rust from the inside out. The sills, bonnet , doors, and firewall area have a lot of hollow spaces to hold moisture and dirt so if you see any bubbles in the paint assume it is much worse than it looks from the outside. Lift up carpet if you can to see the floors and pull out the spare to see well around inside of the boot floor and sides. Crawl underneath if you can. Of course look for bondo type repairs that might be hiding bad things. Go over the engine frame rails as closely as you can to look for signs of cracks, corrosion, deformities and where they mount to the firewall. Frame rails cannot really be repaired and usually require replacement if any problems.

By the time I found mine I had looked at several so had some idea about problem areas. After about 20 minutes looking it over I had a pretty good idea it was rust free and pretty original unrestored car. At that point I did not really care too much about its mechanical problems.

It had lived its life in California and Oklahoma before I got it. So far 18 years later still no rust but I never do drive it in the rain and have never really washed it in the traditional soap and water and spray it down with a garden hose way. I have not resealed or rust treated the body so I am kinda obsessed with not letting much water get inside all those hollow spaces.

David
68 E-type FHC

There has to be someone in the Quad Cities on this list. We visit relatives in Muscatine, but not until Thanksgiving.

I’d suggest JCNA, but the closest Jaguar Club of North America clubs are St. Louis and Chicago, so you’ll likely have a hard time luring someone from one of those to help you out.

The advice to arrange an inspection is sound, but depending on the dollar amount of the “good deal” you might just go ahead and buy the car. Even rust bucket S1 FHCs go for insane prices, particularly if they’re complete.

Very few E-types are rust free. You can pretty much size up the soundness of the body by inspecting the lower 2 inches or so of the monocoque, where the outer sills, rear bulkhead and the X-panels (aka firewall) meet the floor. The rear wheel arch is another rust prone area. Poke around with a wooden stir stick and if these areas aren’t punky (and the price really is right) buy the car.

I’ll second Geo’s recommendation of the Vredestein 185/15 Sprint Classic. They are excellent.

–Drew

1 Like

Thanks guys. I’ll start with some inspection of my own in the areas discussed, but it’ll be at least a week before I can do so. Also haven’t heard it run yet. I’ve spent a lot of time “around” the car when helping my friend with various projects at his building, but haven’t really dug into it. I’m cautiously optimistic on body integrity, because he bought it out of Palm Springs in the '80s and it’s been kept in some form of climate controlled storage since, but you never know.

The bigger hurdle right now might be achieving spousal unity. :wink: I need to get the wife on board, as I value my 27 year marriage more highly than any vehicle. I did tell her I would sell a car to make room, in this case the '25 Dodge Touring. (So if any of you would like to experience life in the slow lane . . .)

Scott,
I’m sure that the St Louis and Chicago Jag clubs have members all around the state and possibly the adjoining states just a the Michigan club does. If I were you I’d contact each of these clubs and see if they can help you.
Bob
Jag of Mi.

Good idea. …

I also need a new set of tires for my '64 FHC. I read on the Coker web site that the Vredestein tires are fussy about running in cold temperatures. I am in Utah where the winter temp occasionally drops below zero. Has anyone actually had trouble with these tires in cold weather? Perry

Hi Scott, welcome. When I bought my '62 coupe I took strong and weak magnets wrapped in cloth and went all over the car. Check the lower members of the engine frames for dents created by poor jackstand placement. Arguably early cars had more issues with these frames rusting from the inside out than later cars. I replaced mine. Look in the carb plenum chamber for blow-by oil. Good luck. Paul

Scott,

secure the deal asap. Culprits might or might not show up later, but so what? Seems to be of known provenance and close by, another one as good just might not show up for you. I‘d buy it and live with whatever comes up. Part of the fun of having an E.

Martin

2 Likes

Nick,

Robey still makes Etype body shells, but at $40k ish and buyee has to provide their on roof. So, what would you estimate Etype repair costs for Sills, Inner Sill and entire floors and the rear quarter panels ?

Thanks,
Patrick
'66 FHC

Martin,

You, sir, are what my wife would call an “enabler.” :wink: Seriously, thanks for the encouragement and advice. I’m just doing my due diligence over the next couple weeks and also working on spousal unity, because it really is important to me. I’m not worried about having the deal slip away, because this is truly a very close friend, almost like a father to me. He really wants to see the car stay with me and stay local, unlike some of his other cars that have been or will be shipped off to far flung destinations, including overseas.

I just have to make sure I’m not getting in too deep. I went and read @69Cat’s thread and that was a bit sobering.

Thanks,
Scott

You know the proverb Reagan quoted, “Trust but verify”. It sort of applies to these cars, except you can omit the trust part and just go straight to verify. You can’t ever know it’s rust free unless you’ve seen photos of it in naked metal. But there are clues.

  • Bang on the sills and hear a metal raining sound? It rust slag inside.

  • Rust bubbles - Try and look deeper. If it’s on the frames, worry.

  • Excessive bondo - something ain’t right

  • Lack of original spot welds - It’s had panel repairs, dig deeper

  • Empty out the boot and look all around including the backs of the wheel wells.

  • Look under the carpets.

  • Always do a compression test unless you’re already planning a full rebuild

1 Like

Very sound advice. Thanks.

On an unrelated note, I’m having trouble finding the “quote” function to quote a prior post. The mechanics of this forum are different than most others I’m on. Any hints? (It’s also possible that something about my work computer is hiding a button somewhere, but I can’t find it at home on my iPad either.)

Never mind, I just figured out that you highlight what you want to quote and it automatically puts up a button. Slick!

Expensive if you don’t do it yourself, Patrick. I had mine on a rotisserie for six months, I didn’t keep track of my time - probably 350-400 hours. Multiply that by the usual shop rate and you’re approaching the cost of a new shell. Less than a thousand in parts and materials if DIY.

The training bot will have sent you a message when you joined, reply to that PM to go through a basic introduction to how to work with the forum.

Most other things are covered in User Guides and How-Tos

Thanks Andrew! I should have paid more attention to the bot.

First thing I would do while inspecting an E Type that looks ok as far as rust issues on the outside, is to pull the battery out and unbolt the battery tray. A lot of cars that are fairly rust free still can have an issue in this area due to leaking battery acid over the years. The acid corrodes the tray some, but worst is the damage done by the acid that leaks down to the top of the front portion of the sill and corrodes the closing panel, and the sill, further back under the door and on rearward. It also can rust the frame rail that is bolted on through the closing panel. After the acid opens a small hole in the closing panel, water can get in and rust all the way down the sill and even eat into the inner sill and floors.