Lot 35: Jaguar E-Type S1 4.2 FHC

Bought by the current vendor in 1998, this matching numbers E-Type was already in fine condition and had a full service history from new, including an exhaustive 1995 condition report from XK Engineering and a Heritage Certificate confirming its authenticity. However, it was immediately despatched to renowned Jaguar specialist Nigel Dawes for a thorough overhaul to ready the car for occasional sprint and hill climb use.Upgrades carried out included a full suspension overhaul including the fitment of Spax adjustable shocks and a competition anti-roll bar. Brakes were uprated to four-pot Coopercraft spec with braided stainless steel aeroquip hoses and twin servos. A new pedal box was fabricated and the steering rack was solid mounted for quicker response. An uprated Facet fuel pump was also fitted and the air box replaced with a full-flow ITG air filter. The car is fitted with an all-synchro gearbox which is said to operate very smoothly.The exhaust is a full stainless steel competition system, mated to a tubular performance manifold, also in stainless steel. Wider 5.5-inch competition painted wire wheels were fitted all round and a small perspex rain deflector fitted to the driver's side of the bonnet. The headlamps were also aerodynamically faired in and the bonnet chrome trim removed along with the front and rear bumpers, while the driver's seat was fitted with a safety harness taken from a Gloster Meteor jet fighter! The end result looks somewhat like the classic lightweight E-Type, but all the trim bits removed from the car are included in the sale and could easily be reinstated if a more conventional look is required.Since the car was upgraded it has been meticulously maintained, always garaged and only used in fine weather for classic tours and the occasional bit of light competition use. Freshly MOT'd, said to drive superbly and sporting one of the finest interiors we have ever seen, this car is only being sold to make way for the owner's new toy, an Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage. Which of the two is more desirable is hard to say, but your cataloguer, for one, would happily give up a limb or a vital organ to own either.