1969 Jaguar E Type 2+2 Auto

“It’s a solid car but it does have paint and interior imperfections,” explains vendor James Harvey, of this Jaguar E-Type 2+2. “The previous owner had the car for six years and had the engine rebuilt in that time; it still starts and sounds well.”

As such, it’s definitely a sound base for a fixer upper; one to be gently re-commissioned and improved as time allows. Equally, it could also provide the basis for a concours restoration should the next owner wish to visit the ‘go to town on it’ approach.

It comes with a big box full of invoices, receipts and paperwork (some of which can be viewed in our Photo Gallery, below), as well as the original operating, maintenance and service handbook. Given its condition and being a left hooker – that’s also endowed with an automatic gearbox –means that this 2+2 will provide a low-price entry point to the E-Type world.

How does an estimate range of £29,000 to £39,000 sound? For a Series 2 E-Type… I’d bite your hand off if I had the funds currently sitting in my own bank account.

Sadly though, it’s to another that this Bronze Beauty will go – could it be you?

Well, twist my (grease) nipple nuts and send me to Alaska…

Apologies for the Red Dwarf(ish) quote, but just look at that colour – if the Cadbury’s Caramel Bunny were a car, then she’d be this one. Bronze is most definitely of the period and lends this particular E-Type one hell of a sultry aesthetic.

From a distance it looks good, but up close it’s evident that this US car has lived a life. There are scrapes (on door edges), perished rubbers (above the bumpers and surrounding the windows), dents (on the lower valances), cracks (pick a panel) and faded paint (here and there, but most notably on the bonnet!), but the good news is that the panels look to be solid and there appears to be little visual evidence of any significant rust (surface or otherwise). There could be a small touch of filler in the nearside B-pillar or the paint may have been applied with a trowel; either way, it’s not the prettiest work.

Bright work has seen better days; it’s a touch pitted and a bit cloudy here and there, but is presentable. That includes the wire wheels; they’re shod in rubber that has a period tread, but as we always recommend the date stamp should be used before the car’s exercised with any gusto.

Patina aplenty…

Okay, an unscrupulous salesman from the Seventies may once have tried using that line with a car like this, but that’s certainly not our style.

The interior is tired and needs a fair amount of work. The driver’s seat has a languid deportment and is heavily torn down the outside bolster, while the passenger side isn’t much better.

The driver’s over-mat looks as if an uncouth Raccoon has used it for hibernation, so ruffled and grubby is it. Although, contrastingly, the one in the passenger foot well looks as if it’s barely seen any action.

Up top, the headlining is saggy and discoloured and all of the dashboard instrument glass has seriously delaminated. Pop the hatch and you’ll find a stain or two on the matching tan surface.

Concours it ain’t, but you could certainly get this car up and running and not give fig about damaging the interior.

We’ve had the E-Type running but have resisted the temptation to take it for a spin, as it does require a spot of re-commissioning before that happens. The engine revs quite high when cold (it could be just a touch of fettling required) and it did set off the fire alarm in our facility, which put the wind up one or two of us!

Under the bonnet, the E-Type presents quite well. The engine looks in decent nick and the HT leads and coil appear relatively fresh. There’s little evident corrosion and that extends to the bonnet (or hood in the case of this US car) as well, which has edges that look to be free from surface rust.

At first glance the underside again looks to be solid. The under seal has come away in a few places but there is one area that’ll definitely require attention and that’s the nearside boot floor, which has a number of holes in it.

A full Bell stainless steel exhaust system is fitted and it remains nice and shiny.

The Jaguar 4.2 Litre ‘E’ Type Series 2 Operating, Maintenance and Service Handbook in the car’s history file has so much patina, that it’s actually not far off the colour of the E-Type’s bodywork – and it’s definitely nice to have.

The included V5 document shows its first UK registration to be recorded as 01/03/2015, with just the one single owner in Blighty. There are also import documents and others that offer clues to the car’s origin (Sacramento, California) that explain its solidity of body.

There are a number of invoices for minor bits’n’bobs during his ownership, but it’s worth noting that the car had a new water pump fitted (£112, parts only) in 2015, fresh body rubbers that same year (£399.36, parts only), new ball joints and wishbone bushes (£129.20, parts only),

It comes with two sets of keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a good standard, but is currently in need of a fair bit of TLC.

An E-Type is an E-Type, is an E-Type. As stated, the fact it’s a left-hooker and an automatic both drop it a touch down the model hierarchy, as does the 2+2 element. However it’s a Series 2, which isn’t to be sneezed at and we’re not all top-down poseurs (no offence to poseurs, of course!); some of us value practicality in our classics, too.

The meat and two veg of this particular example is that it has that epic 4.2-litre XK unit under its sensuously bulbous bonnet and it’s a Californian car, which means it’s survived better than most salt-exposed UK beasts. It undoubtedly requires some work, but after a bit of fettling there’s no doubt it could be run as a bit of a rat-rod E-Type; surely the antithesis to the multitude of shiny concours paddock darlings?

With a reputed recent engine rebuild, this should make the basis of a very nice car. As such we think it’ll sell for somewhere between £29,000 and £39,000.

That’s seriously small bananas for entry to Jaguar’s legendary E-Type world.

And just look at that late Sixties colour!

It’s wonderfully smooth – Cadbury’s Caramel bunny style.

Viewing is always encouraged and as stated this car is located at THE MARKET headquarters near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.