Registration No: APY 36G
Chassis No: 1R40054
MOT: November 2021

• Supplied new to the Rodrique Manufacturing Co via Jaguar Cars of New York and later owned by Charles Hughes of North Carolina
• Repatriated in 1990 and subsequently treated to a bare metal bodywork restoration and conversion to right-hand drive
• The subject of circa £30,000 worth of mechanical work and other improvements since 2016
• Triple SU carburettors, four-speed manual gearbox, an elegant and usable E-Type
• Currently insured for £80,000
• Offered for sale from a private collection

Completed on September 30^th 1968 as a Two-plus-Two Coupe, chassis 1R40054 was supplied new via Jaguar Cars of New York to the Rodrique Manufacturing Company. Relocating to Gastonia, North Carolina and the care of Charles Hughes sometime thereafter, the E-Type returned to the UK in 1990. Bought by marque enthusiast Alan Pearson of Hartlepool for £13,500 that same year, a letter on file from him recalls:

‘It was in a rough condition but had very little rust. I started to strip the car immediately and checked out any possible structural damage or corrosion. The sills were in excellent condition and the only repair here was to an end panel which I welded. The sole corrosion was in the boot floor due to a leaking rear hatch seal. This was replaced with a new panel and a new fuel tank was also fitted. The body was stripped to bare metal and I brought in a professional to lightly fill any dents. It was then passed to a first-class body shop for final fettling and painting’. The same missive notes Mr Pearson’s decision to install a thoroughly overhauled E-Type Series 1 4.2 litre engine in place of the original powerplant because the latter had suffered cylinder head damage. He also notes that: ‘I bought and fitted a new right-hand drive steering rack and all of the appropriate conversion panels including the dashboard. All US spec parts were removed and equivalent UK parts fitted. This included a set of triple SU carburettors and manifold. Components were highly polished before installation as I intended to show the car’.

A shortage of funds meant that chassis 1R40054 was still off the road when acquired by its second registered UK keeper during May 2016. Entrusted to Classic & Vintage Restoration Ltd of Sandford a few months later, the Two-plus-Two Coupe had its valve clearances checked, carburettors overhauled, torsion bars reset, hubs rejuvenated, brakes refurbished, rear subframe renovated and radiator recored etc. As might be expected the associated invoices total five figures and indeed the second registered keeper is understood to have spent some £26,000 on the Jaguar with additional work encompassing some remedial paintwork and a full interior re-trim.

Further improved since joining the vendor’s private collection, the past year has seen ‘APY 36G’ benefit from attention to its sump gasket, coolant block drain tap, spark plugs, clutch linkage, steering UJ and lower bowl fuel tank seal not to mention a new wiring loom (all courtesy of SJB Classic Cars of Tarporley). Professionally machine polished, the Jaguar also had its interior smartened yet more. Starting readily upon inspection, the E-Type’s combination of Midnight Blue paintwork with Light Grey leather upholstery is particularly striking ‘in the metal’ and complemented nicely by MWS wire wheels shod with Kumho tyres.

Currently insured for £80,000 and due to possess a fresh MOT certificate by the time of sale, ‘APY 36G’ represents great value on the basis that its guide price amounts to little more than the 1990 purchase price and the money spent on it over the last four years alone!

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737