Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Number 10
Take a look at the first five pictures of our gallery. What do you see? Right, a wreck in the woods and shortly after its salvage. If it weren’t for a Jaguar E-Type, these remains would probably have been disposed of. But in this particular case, an inspection of the chassis number revealed a surprise. It might very well be the tenth E-Type ever built with the 4.2-liter engine. This larger inline six-cylinder engine replaced the previous 3.8-liter one in 1964, while the bodywork remained unchanged until 1966. Then the extended Coupé appeared as the 2+2 and finally in 1968 the modified Series 2 was launched. The almost unrecognisable ingrown and run-down vehicle re-appeared in a forest in the British county of Gloucestershire. Surprinsingly, the remains included the original engine and gearbox, while the original roof had been cut off in the earlier life of this car. Originally this car left production as a Fixed Head Coupé (FHC). In its poor condition it was bought by restoration experts E-Type UK in Hadlow.
Presumably this car was exposed to the elements for at least three decades. Therefore, the restoration team quickly realized that the entire bodywork was in an unrecoverable condition. But they tried to save as much of the original technology components as possible. Apart from the original log book, everything else had to be either replaced with original spare parts or re-manufactured by hand. So the search was on for a suitable period-correct floor pan as well as front and rear bulkheads, while the in-house body shop aligned the other sheet metal parts with the help of a specialist body alignment jig and then welded them together. In the rear area, new C-pillars and mounting points for the tailgate, which opens to the left side, had to be made by hand.
When the body-in-white was completed in the workshop and all gaps were perfect, the car was handed over to the in-house paint shop. There it was dipped into the color ‘Opalescent Silver Grey’ and then polished for about 60 hours. The mechanics then installed a new wiring harness, a new dashboard including dials, black leather seats and a metal pedal box. They tried to re-use as many parts as possible from the engine and gearbox, but due to the long time outdoors they had to scrap some parts. The cam covers and cylinder heads were sanded and polished by hand in many hours of work.
In addition, this E-Type was equipped with a stainless steel exhaust system with a new manifold, which gives it even more sound from the 4.2-liter engine. Also the new owner, who purchased the car during restoration, opted for a camshaft with high-stroke cams, a balanced and lightened crankshaft and a five-speed gearbox to keep this sports car moving well in today’s traffic. This E-Type has been on the road regularly since it was handed over.
Images: E-Type UK
