1963 Jaguar E Type Series 1 FHC

Peter Blanchett and his wife have owned this stunning Series 1 E-Type for approaching six years. “It originally exported to the USA in February 1963,” he explains. “And had just been re-imported to the UK by a chap who did it as a hobby (sourcing three to four good quality cars a year, registering them and then selling them on). A Gunmetal S1 with Red leather interior was the model, spec and colour combination that we wanted; we’d lived in the US for a while, so for us LHD wasn’t an issue.”

Unfortunately, the car’s North American history didn’t make it back across the pond, but it was restored around 14 years ago. In its time back in Blighty, Peter has continued to carry out numerous improvements to improve both its day-to-day drivability and aesthetics. “It’s matching numbers, although the cylinderhead has been replaced at some point and is fact older than car.”

“I gave the car a good going over. I had the cylinderhead off and serviced, as well as painted the correct ‘Pumpkin’ colour, while the bottom end was checked and found to be good with strong compressions. The bonnet is the original and had quite a bit of filler in it, so I had that restored; it was stripped, panel beaten, skimmed and re-sprayed. I upgraded the brakes as the originals are not up to modern standards, and it improved them by a tremendous amount.”

An alternator was fitted, but it’s cunningly concealed inside the original dynamo to retain an original appearance. While in came a full stainless-steel sports exhaust system.

“It didn’t have any seatbelts, so I fitted some period-looking ones. All cooling hoses have been replaced, a new battery and new tyres (last year) have been added. The rear suspension cage and differential also came out a few years back and were serviced. It didn’t require an MOT but I put it through one in December 2020 and it passed, with no advisories.”

Having used the car regularly for pleasure (sunny afternoon trips, Goodwood Revival race meetings and Jaguar Drivers’ Club test days, amongst others), the Blanchetts are now considering an Austin-Healey 100M.

That means that this lovely, usable example is now available.

The exterior still presents very well. Paintwork has a very decent finish and is deep and shiny. There are one or two minor blemishes (discernible in our Photo Gallery, below), but then it’s not a garage queen and has been used regularly. The colour has real depth to it, with a delightful subtle hint of pink in the paint. Panels appear nicely aligned, with consistent gaps and brightwork is very smart indeed.

“Bonnet aside, the body is as it came from the US,” says Peter. “It sits on 6” Dayton chrome wheels, rather than the original 5.5” items”. These are shod in matching 185VR15 Blockley radial tyres, fitted in July 2016 and with plenty of tread left on them. The vendors also sourced a brand-new spare chrome wire wheel, as the original was rusty. It’s worth noting that there’s a tiny stone-chip on the windscreen’s bottom offside corner.

It is such a majestic looking specimen and the Opalescent Gunmetal is surely one of the E Type’s best hues. You can see exactly why the Blanchetts sourced one in this colour. We think the bonnet has been resprayed separately at some point, as you can see from some of the photos (you have to look closely), it isn’t quite a perfect paint colour match, although the finish is just as good and would not generally be noticeable. 

At the rear, the twin rear-exit stainless pipes still look as clean as they did on the day they were fitted.

Stunning.

“The Interior of the car was Red from new and everything works except for the tiny clock at the bottom of the rev counter and the period radio; the former is quite common and never really bothered me. That also applies to the radio, as we preferred to listen to the noise of the engine,” says Peter.

The Red leather is in superlative condition and just on the cusp of developing a nice patina. Best of all is how it looks against that contrasting exterior colour and that’s striking; it’s certainly not a colour combo that we’d ever tire of. One more glance in the car park (any car park), I think so…

The carpets are in good condition and lifting them reveals solid, corrosion free metal. “I treated one or two areas of very light surface rust under them,” says Peter. “I’ve also replaced one or two of the water seals on the doors to ensure that it’s watertight – well, as much as a Sixties E-Type can be.”

In the boot you’ll find it identically finished. The replacement wheel sits underneath the carpets, but alas there’s no tool kit. “It was missing when it came from America and they’re like hen’s teeth,”

“It’s in very good order,” says Peter. “And drives very well. It’s not loose or sloppy, just tight and the handling is exceptional with beautiful turn-in. The exhaust system sounds lovely and the engine is very lively and responsive. The gearbox is the original Moss 4-speed unit. Many owners upgrade to a five-speed, but we wanted to keep it original. You must double de-clutch, but it’s fine once you get used to it. The upgraded brakes are from Fosseway Performance and include 4-pot calipers with vented discs at the front and uprated rear calipers; they are superb.”

He’s driven it both on road and track and recalls a Jaguar expert following him at Goodwood and remarking that he thought the car “must be tuned” as it went that well. “I don’t think it has, though”. Peter also competes in historic racing, so we’ll put it down to a complement of his particular skillset.

Oh, there’s nothing like an E-Type to get the blood pumping; that vigorous XK engine is wonderous piece of mechanical engineering. And we must agree, as we think this one sounds particularly lovely through this car’s sports exhaust system.

Time spent behind the wheel demonstrates that it’s absolutely on the button; Peter’s fettling has ensured that’s case. It’s responsive and free of rattles and suspension grumbles. The only minor point to note was an intermittent squeak from the nearside, rear wheel.

Lift that epic bonnet and you’re rewarded with a lovely and clean engine bay. Get down on your hands and knees, and likewise it looks nice and solid underneath. That said, there are one or two small areas (lower front sill edges, for example), that would benefit from a wire brushing and re-painting/re-sealing.

You’ll find a Jaguar Heritage Trust certificate in the history file, which notes all numbers (engine, body, chassis and gearbox). It also confirms the date of manufacture as 29 January 1963 and the original distributor as Jaguar Cars, New York, USA and the first owner was the very-thrusting-sounding, R.W. Youngblood. The eagle-eyed among you will also spot that car’s original colour was Opalescent Silver Blue.

The included V5 document shows two UK owners since it was registered here in July 2015, although the first of these was the aforementioned importer. The current MOT certificate is also present and runs until 01/12/2021.

A Jaguar ‘E’ Type Operating, Maintenance and Service Handbook is also present, as well a 2010 Pennsylvania Department of Transport vehicle title certificate (its only US history).

You’ll also find invoices for all the works that Peter has carried out. The main ones include: outlay of £160 for classic grey safety belts on 3/8/18, from Safety Belt Services, Bedford; £1622.40 for uprated brake package on 08/02/2018 from Fosseway Performance, Glos; £1800 for bonnet restoration on 31/03/16 from Berkshire Body Shop Ltd; £492.07 for tyres from MWS International Ltd, Berks; as well as numerous others from SNG Barratt for a variety of parts including the stainless steel exhaust system (£395) and manifolds (£250) amongst others.

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 the highest of standards.

The owners are clear that this E-Type is not a show pony and has been used regularly, “that includes the odd bit of exercise around the track” says Peter. That bodes well if the next owner plans to use it frequently for anyone in the old car game knows that, that’s the key to keeping these beasts running sweetly.

“It’s not a concours car and I wouldn’t want to pretend that it is. We like to drive our cars, rather than look at them. It has a very good exterior and interior and is in very good mechanical order. If I were to keep the car then I would possibly invest in a respray, but it really doesn’t need it unless someone wants it to be perfect.

Taking all the above into consideration, we think that this delectable Fixed-Head Coupe will sell for between £75,000 and £85,000. That’s a fair bit less than for a comparable right-hooker. For that the next owner will be getting a lovely, mechanically robust and usable Series 1 E-Type. And for us, it’s surely the perfect weapon with which to attend any 60th Anniversary event.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located us in Abingdon, South Oxfordshire; 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’.