All cars sold in the United States beginning on January 1, 1967 had to comply with the newly-enacted U.S. government safety regulations. Jan. 1, 1967 was 1/3 of the way into 1967 model year production. The new regs covered bumpers, lighting, dash switch gear, tailpipe emissions, knock-off wheel spinners (pedestrian hazard) and a host of other items. That is the reason for so many changes made to E-Types during the 1967 model year. Most of the Coventry, England plant's production went to the U.S.

Since E-Types were built for the world, not just for the U.S., some cars after 1-1-67 were built with covered headlights. The plant would try to use-up all available parts in stock. If you own a left-hand-drive 1967 with closed headlights built after 1-1-67, it could be a car that was sold in a country (such as Germany) and later brought into the U.S. However, it has been my experience that many of the post 1-1-67 production E-Types, that I have seen in recent years with covered headlights, have been converted by the owner.

 

According to my Heritage Certificate, my 1967 was built June 1, 1966 and the original distributer was Jaguar Cars of New York. It has covered headlights and they have been that way since my dad bought the car in 1983. So I am guessing my car was in the US ahead of Jan. 1, 1967.

 

Sorry for the late reply, folks. I've been busy all summer. New job, lots of travel and I had to put this aside for a while. I had ordered the heritage certificate and that in itself is a lengthy process these days. I managed to make it even longer because when I filled the form online I mistyped the engine number, throwing the fine people at Jaguar Heritage into a loop, searching for a number that doesn't exist. Shame on me! When they reached back out the mistake was addressed and yesterday I finally received the certificate. So, my S1 OTS E Type was manufactured on June 8th, 1967. Again, the car presents all the typical S1 features except for the open headlights and unpainted engine block (as in "not gold"). From further research I also learned that these models (sometimes referred to as S1.25) can easily be converted to covered headlights with no modification to the bonnet openings. Essentially, you just need to buy the parts and install them. I understand that that is not the case with later models, like S1.5 and beyond. I'd love to know more, in case someone is better informed. I am sticking with the plan to not convert the headlights, but I think it's an interesting story about how the design of this particular detail evolved over the years, from series to series. Hope everyone is having a nice and healthy summer!

 

Did you mean "... was built June 1, 1967"? If that is the case, our cars are six days apart (mine is June 8th, 1967).
That means that production switched to open headlights in that week.

 

Hi Dan219,
I have been toying with the idea of converting my 67 to covered headlights, but like you I decided to stick with the open headlights. The switch from covered headlights to open headlights happened on Jan, 11th 1967.
With regards to the series 1 belonging to Left(near)side, If his car was built in June 1st 1966, it is definitely a covered headlight car that probably arrived in the US sometime in July of that year. I am just surprised that it is titled as a 67. I was under the impression that 1967 MY production started in August of 1966.
By the way, My 67 open headlight OTS was built on May 8th, 1967. A month before yours.
Stay safe,
Bill.

 

Got it, Daytona. Thanks for the clarification.
With all this data available, I was wondering if it's a known fact how many of these "1.25" have been built? I understand that many today have likely been converted to covered headlights, but do we know how many have originally left the factory?

 

Dan219,
I don't knowhow many series 1 open headlight cars left the factory though I am sure that number is recorded somewhere, but it can't be many since the change happened almost half way through the model year. So, statistically speaking, about 58% of the 1967 production were open headlight cars. Compared to other production years this makes these cars relatively rare. But when you consider that 0nly 42% of the 1967 production had covered headlights, those are even more rare.
Bill.

 

It is my understanding that the Coventry plant made the running change from closed to open headlights, as poster "Daytona" wrote earlier, in early January 1967. The United States government had a large number of safety related mandates that took effect on January 1, 1967, in the middle of the 1967 model production run. This included headlight illumination distance, the size of brake lights and other auxiliary exterior lighting, the banning of toggle switches and anything else (wooden steering wheels) that would cause injury in a car crash. This also banned spinners with "ears/wings" to improve pedestrian safety. I cannot find confirmation that the mandates began on or after 1-1-67 in regard to a car's date of build, cars that were in transit, those arriving at the U.S. importer or cars that were sold in the U.S. So, there will always be some controversy over exactly what 1967 model E-Types were factory-fitted with open headlights. I would think that if you have a Heritage Certificate for your car, with a build date on or before January 1, 1967, your car should have closed/covered headlights.

 

The regulatory changes did not all take effect at the same time which leads to some of the confusion. The headlight change was first. Most of the remaining changes did not go into effect until the 1968 model year.. I have an open headlight '67 with all of the rest of the S1 accoutrements such as those obviously dangerous winged knock offs and toggle switches.

Herb

 

It's my understanding that most or all of the safety improvements (open headlights, rocker switches, change to taillights)(not to mention whatever they did to the engine) were driven by US regulations. It might not be surprising if some US exports preceded other markets before stuff became standard (or parts were used up!). Don't forget this car was cheap at the time compared to equivalents. It is also the reason why the XJ6 Series 2 had the bumper raised (around 1974). Yeah it's not like they "Bang-Changed". There was also some early "flat-floor" version as well. And as mentioned, most of these cars have probably been restored in various degrees by now.

Which is all very good and improvements, except that open headlights look like an open biplane to me...
(not denying that I swoon over all the pics posted)