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September 1997: LIFE WITH A JAGUAR E-TYPE by Alec Davis

The idea for this article came during a discussion at committee when Mr. Editor JP was requesting for contributions to the Newsletter. I had just read (yet another!) article on the E-Type in Classic and Sports Car and suggested writing one on my own, a 1965 Series 1 4.2. JP’s immediate reaction was ‘not another bloody article on the E-Type - let’s read about something interesting like an Austin Metropolitan!’. Of course his comment didn’t generate universal support, though he has a point. The E-Type is probably the most written about car ever and it’s difficult to find something new to say. Anyway, in spite of his reluctance and at risk of boring Club members I still feel that the car retains considerable interest so I’ll persevere with this article (and hope it’s published!).

The E-Type was recently voted the ‘Most Beautiful Car Ever’ by a reputable motoring journal (not Jaguar Driver!) and in its day the classic D-Type derived Malcolm Sayer lines were an absolute sensation. When the car was introduced in Spring 1961 it not only looked like nothing else before but was also the world’s fastest production car. Top speed was measured at 150 mph (though this represents 6000 rpm and my car is red lined at 5000 rpm - road test cars were always a bit special!) and 0-60 mph acceleration 6.8 secs - very respectable figures even today. The car was equipped with disc brakes on all wheels so it stopped properly as well and, with the E-Type, Jaguar introduced its famous independent rear suspension design which was subsequently applied to all models until 1986, with the current XJ6 and XK8 still using an evolution of it. The geometry is basically wishbone in concept, though the upper arm is the drive shaft. It has the advantage of good geometry and low unsprung weight to give excellent ride and road holding. The result when applied to the E-Type was revolutionary ride and handling compared with contemporary rivals which mostly used live axles, often cart sprung. The car’s success was therefore quite understandable - it went, handled, stopped and looked like nothing else and to cap it all it was launched at a price of about 50% of its serious rivals (e.g. Aston DB4, Ferraris, Maseratis etc..). The car became an icon of the sixties and was what every little boy (me included) dreamed about one day owning.

My chance to own an E-Type arose during a lunch time chat in 1980 when a friend of mine mentioned that he knew of one for sale in Eldoret. The next weekend I dragged my new wife on a high speed one day tour of northern-eastern Kenya and found the car of my dreams - a Series 1 4.2 Coupe. Though always a controversial subject, this model is generally agreed by the cognoscenti to be the best one made (the 3.8 was rather under-developed while the 4.2 retained the unblemished original shape, all dropheads lack the grace of line and the V-12 is a dog to drive).

This particular car was badly neglected and had been ‘modified’ by budget owners, though it was a runner, complete and had never been pranged (unusually - E-Types tended to end up in all sorts of scrapes!). I bought it on the spot for the then absurd price of Kshs 70,000/- (to put this in perspective a new Mercedes 200 was then about Kshs 160,000/- so I paid the equivalent today of maybe Kshs 2m!). I broke myself to buy it, but I had what I wanted and have never regretted it since! I bravely drove the car back from Eldoret solo and apart from losing the electrics in a down pour the trip was relatively trouble free. When I reached home, though, I found out I had been terribly lucky - all the hoses were shot and the car was generally in a dreadful state! The first restoration then started which included a respray (from vomit yellow to the present red), top end overhaul, suspension ball joints, brakes etc. Since then the car has been resprayed a further three times, had a complete engine overhaul, a new interior and most wearing parts replaced. It is now far from perfect but as good as I want it - totally original with everything working, reliable, nice to look at and fun to drive. To me that is how a classic should be and though it has been entered three times in the Concours with rather modest success, I like to use my car and for me the effort of serious Concours preparation rather detracts from the pleasure of ownership.

So what’s it like driving an E-Type today? Firstly, I must mention my pleasure in reading the article ‘Driver or Motorist’ which so aptly sums up the pleasure of classic car driving - the car’s smell, listening to the click of the fuel pump, careful monitoring of gauges, the manual choke, the noise, using second gear synchro when selecting first - all this applies very much to my car. The cockpit is snug and the view out wonderful - miles of bonnet with that mountainous bulge in the middle. Visibility is otherwise quite good, providing it isn’t raining when the windows steam-up completely , which always adds a dimension of complexity we’re not used to in modern cars! Out on the road one can appreciate what the fuss was about in 1961. The car is still fast, though mine runs out of puff at about 120 mph and I feel that some professional tuning would much improve matters. It is also incredibly responsive with direct non-powered steering, good brakes (though not up to modern BMW standards) and tidy handling at lower speeds. It is, however, a bit of a handful on the broken Kenya A-roads over about 90 mph as it jumps all over the place. I do feel, however, that much of this is due to incorrect suspension settings and if I could avail myself of the aforesaid professional to set the suspension up I’m sure matters would improve.

Otherwise the car is comfortable (that rear suspension really works!), practical and wonderful fun to drive. It also attracts an extraordinary amount of attention, some welcomed (little boys waving from the back of Dad’s car) and some not (people driving 1 meter behind to try and read the model name on the boot). Matatus also tend to treat it with a measure of respect (though not enough to let me into a queue of traffic!) and it generates enormous goodwill wherever it goes.

Considering the car is now 32 years old (about 1/3 the life of the automobile!) there are certainly areas where technology has moved on. The ventilation is absolutely dreadful which necessitates driving with the window open on hot days with the resulting extremely tedious wind roar. When I went to the coast on the Nyali run I was totally wind blown on arrival and it certainly makes driving at speed very tiring. Also the lights are poor (largely because of the glass covers which were removed on subsequent models) and certainly high speed handling of modern cars is infinitely superior. Also, of course, modern cars have all sorts of gadgets we tend to take for granted, the electric screenwash on my car being quite progressive in its day! All in all, though, the car remains an incredibly attractive package and I always maintain that Jaguar should have developed the E-Type a la Porsche 911 instead of introducing the unloved XJS. The new XK8 has returned to the E-Type roots, though of course it is more of a GT than a sports car and not really aimed at the same market.

There is no doubt that buying my E-Type was probably the most successful purchase of my life. I have had enormous pleasure restoring it, driving it and simply looking at it and it is my intention that the car will never be sold. I have been extremely lucky to find the exact car I was looking for and I don’t really have any other classic car ambitions. The E-Type has an MGB stable mate (which I also enjoy and takes me back to my youth as it was a car I owned then), and though sometimes tempted, if you have the ultimate everything else must be a bit of an anti-climax! I also once had a V-12 roadster which is still the most valuable E-Type available (values are about double that of my car) though it was a dog to drive with over sensitive power steering and a soft ride, unbearably hot and extremely unreliable (possibly because I completely rebuilt it myself!). It was fun to say that my other car was an E-type, though like wives one is quite enough and any more considerably complicates life! It’s only a pity that there aren’t more about so more members can appreciate the joy of ownership!