Pretty cool car-
Home-Built Jaguar: British Man Cobbles Together Last Jaguar E-Type From 31-Year-Old Factory Leftovers

Now let's see your concours restoration compete with this!

 

I was just starting to drive when the XKEs came out -- man I wanted one. SCCA used to match the 3 liter 6's against the 327 Vettes -- apparently some good races.

I pointed one out to my Dad once -- he thought that his 59 Ford would run away from "that little thing". One of the few things that pop got wrong.

 

Whenever I think of a Jag that is it, I always wanted one too.

 

Too bad Ford sold Jag to Ta Ta Motors of India.

 

I just want to add that in the XKE era, everybody prononuced the compny name as
"Jag wahr".

Drives me a little nuts when somebody on this side of the Atlantic says
"Jag yoo are".

 

Yeah, I didn't want ford to sell jag or LR, but I guess with the current economic climate it's just as well they did. Now congress wants them to sell volvo, thier shares in mazda and drop merc. Maybe thats why ford deciced they didn't need the bailout, they didn't want congress running ford motor company.

 

I have worked on newer Land Rovers and Jags, not the same appeal as the older models.

 

My son is a Jag tech down in Baltimore, MD and he says that the newer Jags and especially the LR's can be a royal psin in the butt to fix because of all the new computerized bits and pieces in them.
When I told him that I wanted a LR he nearly had a fit, until I told him that I didn't want a new one. I wanted one of the older aluminum bodied diesel engine Jeep kind that infested Africa back in the 60's.
Those things were damn near bulletproof.

 

Make mine a BRG Series 1 roadster with the 4.2 and triple SU carbs.

 

> Those things were damn near bulletproof

Slow, but, bulletproof. I met a guy around here that actually collects them :-)

 

"Too bad Ford sold Jag to Ta Ta Motors of India."

Why should Ford get involved with things that aren't FORDS? It's irrelevant who owns Jag.

 

The ones that I lusted over were the 4.2L E-type coupes, but let's face it, they all made you want one. The interiors were just as alluring as the bodies! I ALMOST bought several classic Jags (and even an Aston Martin) over the years, but thankfully I always came to my senses. Buying them was only the "down payment!" If any of you ever owned a British car back then, you know what I mean.

 

I believe that the expression "The English invented darkness and Italians invented rust" stems at least in part from their totally unreliable Lucas electrical systems.
Damn things would drop dead without a hint of why, they just did.

 

I could never figure out why a country that has so much rainy weather would make such crappy electrical stuff. I've never owner a British auto, but I've heard aboult Lucas for many years.

Maybe dreaming about owning an XKE is better than owning an XKE ( but they sure are great looking)

 

I agree, they are great looking cars, even if they look like someone put space saver spares on all four corners.

The BEST bar none example of an XKE I have ever seen was at a local cruise night a few years ago. It probably would have made the original designers cry. The body was completely stock, no wings, airdams or anything else.

But open the hood and it had a warmed over 302 Windsor backed by a t-5 5 speed. The engine had what looked like a 4 bbl carb on top that was really just a MASS/throttle body setup for an aftermarket EFI system that used everything but the MASS out of a standard Ford parts catalog.

The guy had also replaced the electrical generation system with what's in nearly any Ford on the street and is avalable as a part in any Ford dealer or auto parts store in the country.

All of the nice looking Smith's gauges had also been replaced with Stewart Warners or Autometer, I couldn't tell which. I wasn't sure I liked that.

As unreliable as the Smiths are, they are nice to look at even if some of them were setup to read backwards. Stewart Warners and Autometers may work perfectly. But lets face it, they are not as nice to look at.