8th Dec, 2010 14:30

The Pavilion Gardens

 
  Lot 43
 

1965 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Style Roadster

Sold for £69,750

(including buyers premium)


Lot details
Registration No: HBF903C
Chassis No: 1E1136
Mot Expiry: May 2011

The last E-Type Jaguar rolled off the production line in 1975, yet the model still has a unique ability to excite enthusiasts of all generations, its Malcolm Sayer-penned lines thought by many to be among the most striking ever to adorn a motor car. Indeed, only two years ago the Daily Telegraph ranked the E-Type top of the '100 most beautiful cars of all time'. Like the XK150 before it, it was born of Jaguar's competition successes on the race tracks of Europe. This was no ordinary motor car - it was a true thoroughbred.

The E-Type or XK-E as it was known in the USA, made its debut at the Geneva Salon of 1961. At launch the new Jaguar was the fastest production car of its time - its 3.8-litre straight six engine allowing a 0-60mph acceleration time of a whisker over seven seconds and a top speed of circa 150mph. With such off-the-shelf, race-bred performance and Jaguar's enviable competition history it was only a matter of weeks before the newcomer hit the tracks.

The venue was Oulton Park and the drivers were Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori. The result was victory first time out, with Hill winning in the Equipe Endeavour car ('ECD 400') and Salvadori in the Coombs example ('BUY 1') coming home third behind the Aston Martin DB4 GT of Innes Ireland. A few weeks later the E-Types of Salvadori and Jack Sears outstripped the Ferrari 250 GTs of Whitehead and Parkes at Crystal Palace. The die was cast and after gaining useful experience through the 1961 and 1962 seasons, the factory decided to get more serious for 1963 and build a run of 12 lightweight competition E-Types - the majority of which were Roadsters with hard tops. Piloted by a mix of amateurs and such aces as Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori, Jackie Stewart, Briggs Cunningham, the cars achieved numerous national victories but, unlike the illustrious C-Types and D-Types, were denied the development required to beat the all-conquering Ferraris in international events.

The 1965 car offered started life as a Series I 4.2 Roadster and was subsequently turned into first a Modsports racer and then an evocation of a 'Works' Lightweight. A fascinating letter in the history file shows that, having bought the car from Phil Bennett, rapid racer Phil Scragg than sold it back to him in 1974 (complete with minor damage!) for £600. It seems Bennett then passed the E-Type to Neville Robinson the following year. Again according to the file, Robinson achieved the following successes in 1977 before selling the Jaguar to Roland Duce in 1978:

- Equalled Croft outright record
- Equalled Mallory Park record
- Broke the Harewood Hillclimb record previously held by Phil Bennett in the same car
- Victory at Longridge Circuit

'HBF 903C' was still configured as a Modsports racer when marque specialist Alan Collins accepted a commission from Ian Spencer to convert it into a 'Lightweight-style' car during the early 1990s. Interestingly, Mr Collins recalls talk that the Jaguar had once belonged to 1980 Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones (though, there is now nothing on file to substantiate this notion). At that time the specification apparently included: full alloy skin on a new steel floorpan / inner tub by RS Panels; alloy doors fitted with proper window frames and Perspex windows; GRP hardtop; fully balanced and lightened 3.8-litre wet sump engine equipped with triple Dellorto carburettors, D specification cams, big valve head, tuftrided crank, wide blade rods; large diameter stainless steel exhaust; close ratio Moss gearbox; Powerlok 3.07 differential; 11.5in vented front brake discs with GT40 callipers; bigger anti-roll bars and Koni adjustable dampers all round; peg drive D specification wheels - 6 x 15 front and 8 x 15 rear; Fire Eater system. The seats fitted were believed to have come from the renowned Lindner/Knocker car via John Foster. However, subsequent research has totally disproven this rumour.

The E-Type has been in the vendor's care for the last 10 years, during which time it has seen no serious competition action but has been regularly used for continental events in Hungary, Corsica etc. These days the specification includes: 3.8-litre engine fed by triple 45DCOE Weber carburettors and fitted with standard camshafts, wide blade con rods and fabricated exhaust manifold; alloy radiator and expansion tank; electric cooling fan; five-speed Getrag gearbox (the car comes with two other boxes - a five-speed closer ratio unit and a standard Jaguar four-speed box plus propshaft); limited slip diff; vented front disc and twin servo rear brakes; standard rubber suspension bushes; Dunlop peg drive wheels (six all told); steel inner tub; alloy bonnet, doors, rear wings, boot lid; GRP hardtop; Perspex door windows supported on springs; heated front windscreen; half roll cage; alloy fuel tank; quick release filler cap; uprated fire system; door cards and pockets.

Finished in Metallic Blue with blue leather interior, this special and historic E-Type is described by the vendor as having "excellent" coachwork, "very good" paintwork and engine, a "serviceable" transmission and "good" interior trim. 'HBF 903C' is MOT'd into May 2011 and taxed until the end of April.

PLEASE NOTE: Since the catalogue went to press we have been informed by the vendor that the Jaguar's engine has had its camshafts checked rather than changed during his ownership. Apparently, they were found to be within normal tolerances when the straight-six was retimed. Therefore, he believes but does not warrant that the camshafts currently fitted to `HBF 903C' are the same ones which Forward Engineering installed when they built the powerplant for Ian Spencer.

The vendor also tells us that the Jaguar four-speed gearbox which accompanies the E-type is an EJ-series close-ratio unit.

PLEASE NOTE: The number which appears on the engine block where it meets the oil filter housing seems to read 'LB3545-8' which would indicate that the unit began life aboard a Jaguar MKII 3.8 Litre. This engine number differs from the one printed on the E-type's V5C Registration Document.
 

All successful bids must be paid in full by midday the day after the auction at the latest.

You can collect your new pride and joy from our venue until 1pm the day following the sale or our partners are on hand to help arrange safe transportation:

               

Auction: The Pavilion Gardens, 8th Dec, 2010

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