I have a 1969 E-Type FHC, in Ascot Fawn. I bought it brand new in May 1969…. and don’t intend to ever get rid of it. While it has now earned a quiet semi-retirement in my garage, I loved driving it. Most of my driving was in and around New York City, and I didn’t mind working a “real” clutch a bit.

During its active years, the Jag did need a moderate amount of maintenance, but not to the extent of the horror stories one hears of British cars. The main problem was cooling, and it did go through the Lucas electric motors that drive the radiator fans. There is also the Lucas voltage regulator, but this was rather easily repaired, just by soldering the places where they used rivets as electrical connections. Silly design.

In its later years, there have been other minor annoyances, such as the fuel pump failing, and the wiper (oh sorry, windscreen wiper) motor seizing. Come to think of it, all the problems lead back to Lucas electrics.

Considering all the years, it served me well. I wouldn’t have had any other. From the first time I saw one in 1961, to this day, I still believe it was the most beautiful car ever built! And absolute fun to drive!!!

—Rick

The designer of the Datsun fairlady/Z cars is said to have been influenced by the E-type fixed head coupe, but I can’t confirm the notion.

Technically the E-type was introduced in 1961, and did not really change much in body until 1971 when everything got longer and wider.

“My question is what was/is the reliability of the ‘65 JAG—can you drive it to the mall and back and hope to get yourself home?”

Remember that all cars of this era were in need of far more maintenance than todays machinesappliances. Additionally this was the pre-British-Leyland Jaguar, where they had earned a reputation for performance in endurance racing. You can’t win if you don’t finish as the saying goes. The drivetrain of the E-type is nearly bulletproof. The only reason Americans swapped Ford V8s into Jaguars is due to familiarity, not reliability. The DOHC cross flow XK engine looks completely alien in a world of V8s. I’ve had literally hundreds of people (some of them real car guys) look at it and exclaim “Look, a V-12!”

The E-type was technologically advanced for its day, and is a significantly more complex car than most of its contemporaries. It is however vastly easier to work on than all of today’s cars. I do most of my own maintenance and repairs, and try to drive it at least 5000 miles a year. It is not very practical for shopping trips, but does make for an excellent road trip car.

I have a few other reviews of classics in the queue, so stay tuned.

–chuck

This, then is why America has soured on its love affair with the automobile. They have no distinctive line and are all variations on the theme ’rounded edges’. They all look ubiqious, rounded and boring. Take off the badge plates on an Infinity, a Lexus, a Buick, a Nissan Altima, a Crown Vickie and a Sebring and I defy you to tell me which car is which. In the 60-70’s you had choices.

Suggestion for your next two cars: A 1972 Buick Rivie (the one with the glass back that looked like a P61 Nightfighter) and my BOSS 302 Fastback (that looks cool at the light but snakes above 90mph!!!).

–chuck

This gives me some hope for him (eg, that he’ll have better taste than I)

Good article. If we’re ever out your way, I’d like to show him the car. He’d probably stand shell-shocked for a while.

I used to live at the western end of that route until 5 years ago. 2 years ago I made a cross country run from Winnipeg and found myself in Missoula with no room at the inn. Took a short breather and ran Lolo Pass in the moonlight to finish off the day. Best part of the whole trip.

Eastern WA and Northern Idaho are some of the best driving and riding territory around. Lolo is a great stretch, but Hwy 14 to Elk City is just a few miles south and even better.

The E type Jag what a car!

Ever since i first saw one of these delightful cars i have fell in love.

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/find/vehicle/vehicleDetail.xhtml?adId=129601&conversationId=57694

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/find/vehicle/vehicleDetail.xhtml?adId=126572&conversationId=57694

(I also wanted to say that Lucas gear is pretty good, actually. It’s not Delco but it’s also not the crap that is Bosch. I’ve driven nothing but Lucas-equipped cars, many of them in “interesting” condition, for 25 or more years and haven’t suffered any electrical maladies that weren’t caused by room-temp-IQ idiots trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.)

I grew up in a very well off neighborhood with lots of type-A execs, and was fortunate enough to watch their midlife-crisis-mobiles every day at the bus stop. Most drove Caddy or Lincoln pimpmobiles, but there were quite a few Porsches and Corvettes. Nobody, though, had a cooler ride than my neighbor and my dad.

My neighbor owned an early-70s XKE convertible in British Racing Green, with a tan leather interior. Beautiful didn’t cut it. For a 12-year-old kid, as erotica, it was right up there with the episode of “Charlie’s Angels” where they all went to a women’s prison and had to take a group shower on the way in.

But the Jag had its problems…nothing serious, just starting when it got below 40 degrees, or having the entire electrical system go Poltergeist on the way to work (gotta love Lucas). The coup de gras, though, was the beautiful spring day when he hit the driveway a little too hot, listening to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” (kid you not), and deposited the Jag’s entire exhaust system on his curb. He had the music up so loud that he didn’t even know he’d screwed the pooch until he got out and went to the mailbox.

But that was NOTHING compared to my dad’s ride, a ‘73 Citroen SM…and believe you me, we found out EXACTLY what “SM” meant with that car. In theory, it was all leading edge stuff for the mid-70’s – teardrop shape, full hydraulic steering and suspension (which could be raised and lowered, much to the delight of onlookers). It also had a Maserati V-6 with triple Weber carbs that sounded like Tazio Nuvolari’s wet dreams when you opened it up. It was also incredibly luxurious inside.

What was the hitch? Why, nothing…it was fabulous when it ran, which was about fifty percent of the time; when the mercury dropped below 40 degrees, the odds went to about 100 to one.

Like your dad’s E-Type, the SM caused plenty of marital strife…not because Dad spent too much time with the car, but because he had to take my mom’s car to work about half the time, leaving her stranded.

Strangeness ensued from there.

Remember the scene from “The Longest Yard” when Burt Reynolds gets landed in the joint for going Captain Nemo on his girlfriend’s SM? My dad was actually grinning evilly when he saw that.

The whole thing hit a nadir when he threatened immolate the SM, Buddhist-monk-style, in front of the Citroen dealership (a contradiction in terms if ever there were one).

Then, my dad somehow blew the engine on his SM while in second gear at 35 mph, and dealer told that it would be six months and five grand to get another one from Italy. Faced with the iniquity of driving my mom’s Olds wagon to work for six months (or, more likely, no sex), my dad bought a Mercedes 450 SL. After getting the SM fixed, he sold it to a lawyer down the street, and never made eye contact with the guy for fear of a lawsuit.

My neighbor ended up trading his XKE for a Datsun 280Z.

Nothing as cool as the XKE or the Citroen ever set a tire in my neighborhood after that. Thank God.

Yes!!

I like to think of myself as a caretaker, rather than an owner. It is a point of view I learned from my father.

This is a special kind of car, and you don’t so much “show it off” as you share it. I have a sign I put in the windscreen of the car whenever I park it that basically says: Go ahead and touch this car. I’m happy to let anyone, kids, old ladies, whomever sit behind the wheel. Provided they meet the unusual requirements of my insurance company, I’m also happy to toss the keys at people I know are serious car buffs while I ride in the passenger seat, because how else will they ever get the chance to drive one? It is not a show car, and I’m not operating a museum. So go ahead and touch it. Go ahead and sit in it. This is a few thousand pounds of steel, aluminum, rubber, and glass… so you can’t hurt it by touching it.

The VERY best part of driving this car is how it instantly dissolves social barriers. People wave when I drive by. Anywhere I stop, for gas, to eat, wherever, people come up and talk to me. They tell me how their uncle or dad had one, or maybe even they had one. Perhaps they have no idea what it is and want to know. It doesn’t matter why they talk to me, but it is so nice to instantly meet people who are happy and friendly … just because of the car.

–chuck

Nice read, and wonderful car. I am glad it’s regularly on the road, and I am sure once we are over the guilt, all us kids raised with guilt appreciate you showing her off.

May well be the best-looking car of all time, though. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

the original and IMO probably the only true E-type

after that came the open lights, the bigger scoop and a general dilution of what the original design intended ending with the abomination that is the V12 with the 3 spd automatic

pretty much the crowning achievement of the british car industry

It is a 4.2. The change was universal and came in late 1964. My car is the 715th 4.2 LHD roadster built

jconli1 :
I’m 2 years into life in western WA, and am convinced its the best place in the world for car/bike photography. I guess the driving/riding isn’t so bad either…

sssshhhh, don’t tell anyone! ;)

I live in north Snohomish county, and the ’snow” pics were shot about 12 miles from my house on a Super Bowl Sunday a few years back. There are some amazing roads around here, which are often empty. Too twisty and tree-lined to drive like Jack Baruth, but still very entertaining on a Sunday afternoon. Let me know if you want to go for a drive sometime.

dgduris :

You’re welcome.

–chuck

THIS – r-t-f here – is why TTAC is great: Amongst all the brew-ha-ha about the unions, the Commie-in-Chief and the current state of the automotive world…

…up pops a review of a car.

Not just any car.

The car I taught myself to drive in.

The car that Henry N. Manney III called the “ultimate crumpet collector” (he was right)

The car that Peter Egan has kept me entertained on for many of the past – when did you get that E-Type, Peter – years.

And that’s what it is really about. Cars that ignite passion and the passion about ALL of the business of cars.

Thanks Chuck- for the memories!
Thanks Dad – for THAT car!

Thanks RF, for your great labour of love.

Rock on!

RD

I’m 2 years into life in western WA, and am convinced its the best place in the world for car/bike photography. I guess the driving/riding isn’t so bad either…

Thanks-