Short backstory: my daughter loves classic cars, the XKE type in particular. So she very reasonably said, "A restored Jaguar is too expensive. Why don't we find a project car and restore it ourselves?" She then sent me links to a number of quite reasonable looking candidates, all of which carried "flood damaged" in the description. Some were "theft recovery" cars that looked like buzzards had picked them almost clean.
Question:
How much does this really matter in a total restoration? Are the "flood damaged Jaguar" sellers reliable, or notorious?
Comments and opinions most welcome.
Robin

 

A true 'total restoration' is gonna get new trim/carpet/leather, new wiring, new/rebuilt electrics, all mechanical systems rebuilt, new hydraulics, rebuilt instruments, etc so it really doesn't matter. The car is stripped to a totally naked shell and rebuilt from the ground up. *Everything* is replaced, repaired, rebuilt, refinished. Everything. Right down to the last trim screw. I'm sure a person could spend $150,000 restoring an XKE to that standard.

If your idea of a 'total restoration' is something less than that the story changes and flood damage can be a very big issue. Do want a total restoration or just a really, really nice XKE? There's a difference

As for theft recoveries, well, missing parts always adds to the expense and difficulty of any restoration.

Cheers
DD

 

Much depends on how good you are at DIY and fixing cars.

I would avoid any thing with the words "flood damaged" on the advert. It could mean the car was totally immersed in water for weeks on end in which case it is mostly scrap metal. E-types (as we call them here in the UK), fetch very good money and there is a thriving supplier market for spares, so you usually can get everything you need, even a new body shell! However, prices for parts tend to be very high so undertaking a DIY restoration is not something to be undertaken lightly. If you think in terms of a lot of time, love, and effort, and can supply these, then by all means go ahead.

Do you have the facilities to rebuild a car ?

 

Both Monocoque Metalworks and Classic Jaguar have excellent blogs covering the restorations of the cars with lots of pictures.

In this link you'll find Goodfellow's etype restoration project with lots of pictures.

A common thread you'll find is that the bottoms rust out and have to be completely replaced. It's not for the feint of heart or thin of wallet!

Good luck! The good thing is that restoring one can be a bonding experience!

Jim

 

Thanks all. I've since discovered that at least one, and perhaps more than one, of the "buy a flood-damaged E-type for cheap!" sites is a bit of a scam. You pay a nominal "registration fee" to buy a car that doesn't quite exist.
Dear daughter loves Jaguars, but we might choose to bite off something a bit less ambitious. Say, a TR-6, Spitfire or (gasp) a Mazda MX-5.
Robin

 

I wanted to buy "A flood damaged XKE" because the listed prices were so low ! $14,900.
$19,000. $7,000. etc. Because I can totally strip the car and start renewing any and all damage that water might do, to me this is not a problem! BUT the problem lies with the scammers that want you to sign-up and pay your $25. to access those cars that are listed as "FLOOD CARS". Well it turns out they are all sold and have been for years and the scammers still keep showing pictures of those cars to try to entice you to pay the $25. for finder info! Don't do it, the good looking Jags under the tarps are all long gone, take it from me, the guy who is $25. poorer......................

 

It also matters what it was flooded with. I'd pass on a salt water flooded E but might consider a fresh water flood car. Both would likely have a lot of mud/dirt but the added salt in all those inaccessible spaces could rapidly unwind an expensive restoration.

 

If cost is what is driving the idea of buying a car for restoration, don't do it! Unless you are a world class restorer with facilities to match, buying and restoring a car yourself will cost a great deal more than buying a ready-to-go good runner. And you get to enjoy it sooner! Even experienced restorers normally end up with a car that cost more than it's worth, having spent a year toiling.