Hello, I have been a an xke fan since I was 11, when my dad bought a 74 OTS. I've been hunting for a 65-67 coupe for the last 20 years. I'm now seriously looking at 1E33714 from a dealer in Orlando. He does not have any history on the vehicle but it appears to have new paint, its pretty clean, and supposedly has had a rebuild. I've checked XKE data and not much info there. Appears to have been built in 66. Block matches the body and looks like newer floors. Planning a PPI this am. So, 2 questions - am I out of my mind to pursue this with essentially no provenance? And any input for someone just jumping in on a 1.25?

Thanks for any input!
Dan

 

Never buy sight unseen. You must see the car yourself and make sure it drives well. There are too many so-called restorations which are no such thing. As you live in Seattle and the car is in Florida you have a long flight to make !

 

Thanks for this. Was planning at least one PPI but I'm getting cold feet at this point. Emailed the dealer last night with the blessing from my GF, he never replied or returned my call. Found that he'd purchased in January at auction at a killer price. Feels like not meant to be. The hunt continues

Tx
Dan

 

Hi Jagguy65,
A few things that I see in the Hemmings ad.

1. The frame rails, picture frame and bonnet support fasteners are supposed to be cad plated and not painted body color.
2. The chassis number is supposed to be on the RH side of the upper rail of the picture frame.
3. There isn't supposed to be any weld joints on the outboard ends of top rail of the picture frame.
4. The headlight scoops are supposed to be silver and not body color.
5. the bolts holding the frame rails to the bull head are supposed to be cad plated and not body color
6. the the brake/clutch pedal housing and steering column housing is supposed to be aluminum (bare metal or painted Al color). they look like there are painted cast iron gray
7. The lower front suspension bushing look to be painted silver
8. The radio console looks black and should be the same color as the rest of the console
9. the heater control bezel appears corroded.
10. The toggle switches, heater knobs and choke knobs don't look like they were restored
11. the gauges glass and black trim rings weren't restored

I'm sure I could find more if I looked for more than a couple of minutes at the pictures. From what I am seeing I would give it a 3- on a 1 to 5 scale. With 1 being a 100 point car and a 5 being a parts car.

I agree with Fraser, you need to see and drive the car and not just rely a report of someone who may not know E-types very well.

I hope this helps

 

Wow, thanks for taking the time on this, Bob. I really appreciate it. Great education for me going forward! I'm printing this for my Jag file

Tx!
Dan

 

Hi Dan,
I'm glade I could help. Here is a link to the Series 1 E-type judges guide, written by a good friend of mine - Bob Stevenson of the Michigan Jag Club. I have been judging series1 E-Types since 1989/90. Bob taught me a lot.

https://www.jcna.com/sites/default/f...es/e-type1.pdf

Have a great day and stay healthy

 

Thank you, Bob. This is great!

 

Since the car has been resprayed recently, make sure it is not a "bondo buggy". In the old days a weak magnet was used to determine how deep the metal was below the paint. I'm sure new instruments do a more accurate job these days.

A

 

While looking at the photos of the car, I noticed that the air tunnel that connects the air intake to the heater blower box is missing. Also, the heater blower box is missing the "Negative earth sticker". I am sure that a detailed inspection would reveal many more missing and/or inaccurate issues with this car. That does not mean the car is not worth buying. It means the price needs to be adjusted to match the condition of the car.
Good luck with the hunt and purchase.
Bill.

 

Thank you!