Good afternoon.

I have a 1969 E-Type 2+2 that very rarely sees the light of day. It was restored in 1992 as a full numbers matching car and since then has only had about 1500 miles put on it. It spends most of its time covered in my garage. I take it out to stretch its legs every 2-3 weeks for about 5-10 miles.

There are a lot of items on the car that need to be updated due to age and dry rot. All my ball joints, tie-rod ends, rad needs a good flushing along with a new thermostat as she runs hot. I also need to change fluids like rear diff and tranny as its been a number of years since that was last done.

I wanted to see what you guys recommend to update on my car to make it more fun and drivable. I was thinking a new set of long tube headers, maybe new shocks, maybe an intake modification. maybe just put a little more pep in her step. I plan on keeping all the original parts to put it back to stock at any given time.

Just wanted to get your thoughts. Im on a limited budget so nothing too crazy. Is there a place to order parts that have better pricing then others?

 

Hi Bulldog,

For cheap the biggest thing you can do on an S2 is the "five minute Strangleberg fix" (google it).

The other would have been the EDIS (electronic distributorless ignition system) kit from Ray Livingston but the last one ever was sold last month. The Pertronix electronic points eliminator is probably best option otherwise.

As for vendors I've found you really have to shop around as Barrett, XKS, Terry's and Welsh will have wildly different prices and inventory. So it's best to shop all of them! I have found all of them to be pleasant and good to work with though.

Good luck with your car.

 

Oh, pundits usually say that headers and Webers are bad for performance and driveability. I've never seen dyno results. One of the premiere e-type restoration shops in the world is here in Austin - ClassicJaguar - and they sell both headers and Weber kits.

 

Thank you. I will take a look into these.

Do you think I should pull the carbs off and rebuid them? I know they prob have not been touched in 10 years... if not longer.

 

That depends. Ethanol is your enemy so pulling the drain (big brass thing underneath) and letting the bowls drain wouldn't hurt. The ethanol will coagulate into orange jelly and it . That jelly will clog your jets so if there is ethanol jelly in your bowls it would probably be prudent to rebuild them. The kits are surprisingly expensive for what they are but every tens years it probably isnt too bad! :-)

 

Yeah I need to rebuild, taking a closer look at them today I'm leaking fuel from somewhere as there was a good amount on the underside of them down by the jet plug. I have 2 rebuild kits in a box but they are about 10 years old and I'm not sure how the o-ring would hold up after all the time drying out and if I even have all the parts. I am surprised one coast of the rebuild kits. I guess it's cheaper then the 3 carb kit for 3 grand.

 

VR,
You're so right about ethanol! I'm amazed how so many people are in denial about this.

E55,
Is your car a slushbox or manual 4spd?
You would do well to drain the tank and inspect, and change the fuel filters.
If it's an auto and twin stromberg car, that's two big strikes in the performance dept. To save a few bucks you could get a triple intake manifold and an extra stromberg. Then take a trip over to the (triumph) 6-pack forum where poolboy is the stromberg guru.
If you have an auto (made for girls) in an xke ...well.

A manual box would be the first thing in order for me. My 67 was sooo much fun from 0 to 100mph!
Bill

 

Mine is a 4speed manual. HAHA.

I have been running non-eth fuel for a few years now and I have also used treatment along with keeping the tank topped off.

I just changed the fuel filter a few months ago when I changed the oil, spark plugs, and distributer cap.

Ill take a look around for the intake kit and see how much single strombergs are running. Might be an option.

Anyone running long tube headers?

 

Probably the most enjoyable time I have spent in an e-type was not from getting a quarter mile punch. A quick drive on a winding road or cruise around a lake - a cool fall day with the top down. For these things - the ball joints and rubber seals are great, keep her as original as possible, the only upgrade that would improve her on those warm summer days would be some high end insulation on the tranny tunnel and the floor.
Grab a blanket for your favorite passenger, take a cool night ride with the top down and don't worry about the race track.
Oh, you might try one of the module style electronic ignitions - just don't cut your wires - make an adapter.

 

And maybe install an automatic transmission...
...and let the wife drive it

 

That's just kinda mean!
If you really want to go fast get a fast car, XKE's by today's standards are not a fast car.
Sure you can have a Lingenfelter go thru it - their shop is just down the street - But for the money you can buy an M class BMW.
Besides that She only drives a stick!

 

My advice is to forget trying to make it go faster, just enjoy the car and take it out more often. These cars are quite fast enough for modern roads and traffic. Only thing you might need to have a look at is the brakes. Certainly just leaving a car like this in the garage is not good for it. Would you just keep a race horse in its stable ? I don't think so.

 

Yea, I was poking you, but it was meant affectionately and I'm glad you have a good sense of humor!

You know, my e type was pretty dang fast to 100. I outran a few ford and chevy v8's back in the 70's in quarter mile street races. Thing is, it redlined in 4th at 110mph. I wouldn't take it past the redline as instructed by a jag mechanic. As you say, it wouldn't be as quick as any of the newer pony cars or euros. But I think even today would still be fairly impressive and a blast to drive. I won't know for a while, Dads '71 vette is still in my shop getting an LS1/t56 and until I get that done I won't start on the xke.
Hey kudos to your wife for driving stick, they're a dying breed!
Bill

 

Good grief ... no wonder the factory pundits moaned that America killed the open sports cars in the 70s and the E-Type in particular. All this talk of twin Strombergs and 110mph top speeds ... You are serious? I mean, this is not a come-on; a joke? What sort of gearing does this car have? I knew that your version of the V12 was strangled but had no idea that the trend had started as early as '68. Honestly, I sincerely mean no disrespect ... but what a tragedy.

Our pristine (but now former) 1964 Series 1 4.2L FHC would be accelerating strongly at 110mph ... in 3rd gear! And yes, it did once exceed the magic 150mph through the downhill speed trap at the foot of Mt Panorama's Conrod Straight. For sheer exhilaration, our 4.5L EFI racer which was crashed in a late 70s race incident, was hard to top. But, the spectacular current Eagle Speedster would certainly do so. What a beauty the E-Type could have become!


I would follow others' advice and maintain your model to the best of your ability and budget as a graceful tourer. Forget mods, although to bring it up to "rest of the world" specification would put some real tiger into it, if legal, by using standard factory parts from UK or elsewhere.

Cheers,
Ken

 

Ken,
It's no joke. But I suspect it has a 4:54 or similar rear diff. It would pull very hard to 95 in third gear, then a shift to fourth and 110 at redline! I never missed the top speed in favor of neck snapping acceleration! It had gobs of torque, would give you jelly legs sometimes.
Bill

 

slofut, I have found your experience to be the same as mine - 3rd gear a lot of fun and a road filled with curves just a joy but no real top end - my 86 635csi would eat it alive on the top end. not sure what the gear is in the rear end, I dropped the rear end to go thru it - when I get it up on the bench I'll check it to know for sure.

 

Hey signman, we have a lot in common in our taste for cars! I have an '87 e24 5spd, and an '88 autobox. And yes the e24's definitely have longer legs. I had my '87 pegged at 140 one time, but I think the tires are slightly taller than the original trx. My e-type would probably be at 100 and back to zero before the bmw got there though. BTW... have you had the no-start syndrome with the 6er? Lucas has nothing on bmw electrics imho!

 

So I finally got around to go out an play around with the car. I tied the "5min mod" or the "Cripen mod" with the stromberg.... When I started the car my RPMs jumped up to 1700 - 2000 RPMs vs my usual 700 RPMs at cold idle.... is that right... that seem really high, so I shut the car off and called it a day to do a little more reading.

As for the rest of the comments, Im really not trying to make a race car out of it, I have an M and its fast enough. I just want to pep things up a little without any major alterations or potential damage to the engine. I just figured a little more air in and air out would do the trick.

I really need to rebuild the cabs as soon as I get a chance, they are leaking on the bottom slightly.

 

I have had several no start issues with the 6 , never a computer, idle control valve, main relay, the most perplexing was a rotor, car would start fine until warm then die, evidently when cold resistance low enough to let it start - got warm went dead and I was just dumb enough not to check for spark. On the "e" the biggest problem is the contact ignition. That is why the only mod I would make would be an electronic module and maybe a little more insulation on the tunnel and floor.

 

Yeah, I battled with the contact ignition for about a year. sometimes it would start right up but when it got hot it would not want to start, thought it was the starter getting heat soaked... took a step back and started from the plugs and work back... it turned out I was not getting contact on all 6 every rotation, so checking for spark they all looked good... it was a long year. haha.

What electronic module do you recommend?