My father passed away a few months ago and left us this early E Type. He drove it for a couple years in the early 70’s, then parked it and it hasn’t seen the light of day until recently. We would like to sell it to someone that plans to restore it (I don’t have the time or resources). It looks to be complete (with some additional parts inside). It’s in rough condition and would need to be taken down to bare metal for a full restoration. The odometer reads 66,618 miles and the car is located in Michigan.

We haven’t tried to rotate the engine and used wheel dollies to move the car away from the wall. We don’t want to damage anything and would prefer someone who knows much more about these cars to make those decisions. Any advise on what we should do (like spray oil in the spark plug holes) would be appreciated.

I’m planning to post the car for sale here on Marketplace and potentially on Bring A Trailer. I know it is hard to tell from photos, but what do you think the car might be worth?

 

I use Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders to free stuck engines. Squirt some in the spark plug holes and let it penetrate for a day or so. It will probably take several applications on a car that has not run in a long time. The last Jaguar engine I "treated" needed a week of daily applications before I could get any movement. Do not attempt to crank it with a battery. Instead try to turn the engine via the big nut on the front of the crankshaft.
Regarding value..... one way to get an idea is to contact Alex at Beverly Hills Car Club or Peter at Gullwing Motorcars. They buy classic cars in any condition and may be able to give you a quote based on the photos. Their estimate will be on the low side but it will give you an idea.

Cheers, Richard

 

I would never call Alex or Peter about the value of a car I wanted to sell. They would offer you a lot less than it is worth. I would look at there website to see what they are asking for a similar car. You may want to attend Jag of Michigan meeting and see if there is anyone who would be interested in your car. Or put an ad in their newsletter.

The next meeting Is The Awards Presentation at Shield’s Pizzeria, Troy, MI 13th @ 6:00PM.

The Aprils meeting is a zoom meeting. Contact me if you want the info for the April meeting

 

The key label says “1961 XKE” which would indicate a very early (and valuable) E-type. However, this car lacks two important early features, namely outside bonnet latches and welded louvers. Maybe the bonnet was changed at some point?

Can you tell us what the serial number is? That will definitively tell us how early this car is.

The car is in very rough shape and would require a full restoration at $250,000+…that will limit the price people will be willing to spend for the car.

Bottom line: the serial number is all important. If it’s a very early car (first 500 units) someone will probably pay up for it ($100k??). If it’s a later car it probably won’t fetch much more than $50k based on its ratty condition.

All of the above is simply my opinion.

Please tell us that serial number!

Good luck,
Alan
N.J.

 

I just reexamined the photo of the chassis data plate and it seems to indicate a serial number of 889110, if I am reading that correctly.

E-type coupes started with number 885001 which would indicate that your car was the 4,109th E-type coupe made. In other words, I think this is a 1964 E-type coupe. Worth $50k in my opinion.

Alan
N.J.

 

I know the car is in rough shape and would require a lot of money to restore and someone may want it just for parts, but that is up to whoever is interested in purchasing the vehicle.

We haven't found a title for the car yet, so I suspect the key ring date is wrong (that is why I took a photo of it and hoped someone could confirm the model year). I always remember it at a 1964 model and I will look into getting a title for it.

Thank you all for your help with this.

 

You can access this site to get what is essentially the car's birth certificate. It would help to clear up some of the details on your car. Someone interested in buying it would want to see and/or have the certificate. There is also XKE data, there may be info on the car there.

I would also research sold Es on BAT. As above, those are resellers so you may not get its true value. There are some examples like yours on BAT that sold.


https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk...e-certificates EDIT... have to back off on this... looks like they are no longer doing Jaguar (?????)


This is the location now... Jaguar/Daimler

https://www.jaguarheritage.com/archi.../certificates/


XKE Data - Keeping track of every Jaguar E-Type - Jaguar E-Type (XKE) information, articles, photos and register

 

You can see what other cars like this have sold for at bringatrailer.com. Its the preeminent auction site for classic cars and they record and chart sales of cars by years and makes etc. You can also seek out a car that looks like it, see the detailed condition pictures from the auction and see what it went for. Michigan rust is hell on these cars when they sit even in unheated garages and haven't been prepped for storage.. . I tried to bid on a 65 roadster a couple years ago with MI license plate # XKE and they wanted $60K and it was a total rust out. (I would have paid for the plate alone!) Not sure what they ever got for it but would have needed well over $!00k to restore. Alternatively you can contact Chuck at Monocoque Metalworks. If your not familiar with him his lifetime passion is restoring these cars. He makes almost every body panel for these cars and can give you an honest assessment of what its worth and what it may take to restore it. (probably every lower and internal body panel) If its a series 1 car it may have some worth but if its a series 2 (69 plus) in this condition not so much. Best of luck!
www.monocoque-metalworks.com
bringatrailer.com

 

Build date was around August, 1963. I wouldn't worry about turning over the motor, or anything else. This car would need to be completely broken down and restored, big question is whether the price plus the cost of restoration makes it worthwhile. E's of this vintage are probably worth it, as they will always be valuable in prime condition.

 

Nice work, Alan. I was looking for the floor pans. The earliest had the flat floors and one of the pictures on the left side seems to show the lowered floor pans of later cars. Agree on the valuation at $50K (retail) and on avoiding a value from Beverly Hills and GullWing which will be low-ball. This is a Michigan car and there's a lot of visible rust, which means that there's even more than can be seen without pulling carpets and looking at the undercarriage. It is a coupe and their value is not as high as a convertible, but it looks to be all there (a plus). It will take a skilled metal worker to make proper repairs. The mechanicals and interior work is pretty easy stuff compared to the rust elimination and high end paint job. If I were a buyer looking to do the resto, I'd want to be in it at about $25-30K to start. There's $100-150K of work and parts. I'm not sure that you could get $200K or more for it at this point, although the earliest S1s are getting the premium prices and a 64 is not that early...IMO.

 

If you bought this car for, say, $50k then paid for a full nut & bolt restoration ($250k) you’d be in it for $300k…a good $100k more than a primo ‘64 coupe is worth in today’s market. You would then have to wait maybe 5 or 10 years before you were no longer underwater. That being said, because it’s complete this car is an excellent starting point for someone who wants to “save” a great car.

This was exactly the situation when I fully restored my rusted out ‘64 OTS fifteen years ago…I was underwater for 5 or 7 years but I didn’t care. I had a beautiful car that I enjoy to this day. Restoring it was a labor of love and I’m proud to have saved a car that was otherwise destined for the junkyard.

Alan
N.J.

 

My condolences on the loss of your dad. My father passed away a couple years ago and I know that dealing with estate is a royal pain.

One source that has not been mentioned is Hagerty's free valuation tool. It only goes down to fair condition but it could give you some idea. My car was an Ohio car and had significant rust (rockers, floors, fenders, quarter panels) but it was not as rough as yours.. It cost me about $80,000 just to restore the body and frames. You may want to consult an appraiser which would cost you a few bucks. There are a couple good ones in my local Jaguar Club. Henry Platt at VehicleValuationServices.com and Gary George appraisalsbygeorgedenver.com. Tell them I referred you to them.

My recommendation is to just put it on BAT and see what you can get for it. You can always cancel the auction if you are not happy with the bidding.

Good Luck, I hope someone will rescue your dad's car.

Herb

 

We put the title in a safe place back in October and we haven't been able to find it since. After three trips to the DMV (had a photo as evidence) I was able to get the title application completed yesterday, and it should arrive in the mail by the end of the month.

I contacted Chuck at Monocoque Metalworks. He thinks the car in it's current condition is worth between $30-35K, so I plan to list the car here on Jag Marketplace for $30k or best offer within the next couple weeks. If it doesn't sell here I'll try BAT.

Thank you for your help and if you know anyone that might be interested please send me a pm.

 

Thank you for your help guys. The car has been sold to Gullwing Motor Cars in New York.

 

If you don't mind the ask...what did it fetch?