1966 Jaguar E Type Series 1

Welcome to our auction for this Jaguar Heritage-certified Jaguar E Type Series One fixed-head coupé. Manufactured in April 1966, it went to the USA with a Mr. Roberts under the personal import scheme after being supplied by Henlys London.

Restored a decade ago while it was still in the United States, it is now finished in Old English White rather than the Cream it left the factory in. However, it does retain its red interior, albeit largely new and restored.

Re-registered in the United Kingdom at the very end of 2013 after coming here from North Carolina, well-known classic car and Jaguar expert Anthony Godin had his workshop convert it from left-hand drive to right.

Bought by the seller’s father in October last year, he sadly passed away shortly afterwards, never having got the chance to enjoy his dream car.

It’s been sitting in a garage since then, so would benefit from a service and an MoT, after which you can take up the baton and enjoy using it in his memory.

The coachwork looks good; of course, the underlying shape sets the scene but the quality of the panels and the way they align sounds all the right notes; with consistent shutlines, no dents, dinks or other damage and a good shine to the Old English White paint, the work a decade ago was clearly done with a high degree of skill – and it’s been well maintained since, which is almost as important.

The chromework is also excellent, with a good shine to it and very little pitting; if it were ours we’d be happy to leave it exactly as it is.

Ditto the glazing, the badges, and the lamp lenses; all are very good.

The other, smaller details withstand scrutiny too, like the rubber door and bumper seals, the exhaust tailpipe alignment, and the presence of a top-notch rear numberplate.

Having written this, it might surprise you to hear the chromed wire wheels are, if anything, in an even better condition than the bits we talked about already.

Bright and shiny and free of damage and corrosion, they’re also fitted with a matching set of 205/70R15 Yokohama A321 tyres. All have plenty of tread.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

As for flaws, there is some rust starting behind the trim on both A-pillars and a blemish on the bottom of the driver’s door.

The red leather interior is every bit as impressive as the coachwork. Beautifully restored with many new parts fitted, it is as much of a testament to its subsequent owners as it is those who carried out the work.

The seats are excellent. Firm and almost completely unmarked, they’re probably every bit as good now as they were when the new covers were fitted and the seats rebuilt with new foam cores and diaphragms back in the States ten years ago.

The carpets, door cards, and headlining are also all very good but then most of them were also new and fitted at the same time as the seats were refurbished.

The dashboard, with its long rows of instruments and toggle switches, was new and is therefore in a very good condition; sun damage, something that is the bane of many US cars that’ve lived their lives in the sun, is therefore absent.

The boot is as glorious as any we’ve seen with great trim and very good chrome floor strips. It’s home to the spare wire wheel too, plus a bottle jack, a wooden spanner and mallet to remove the wheels, and an indoor car cover.

Lifting the contents out shows only solid, rust-free metal underneath.

If you’re looking for work then the steering wheel and gearknob are not quite as good as the rest of the interior. The black paint on the instrument bezels has, perhaps, been applied with more enthusiasm than skill, and a section of the rubber seal on the boot aperture is missing.

As you can see, the engine starts well but fluffs a little when it’s cold. It hasn’t really been used in the past year so could do with an ‘Italian tune-up’ or maybe even a service to get it back on form and singing sweetly again.

The engine is in a good cosmetic condition with just the beginnings of a patina making itself known by way of some surface corrosion to some of the fittings and fasteners. If you have a fastidious nature then sorting this out would be easy and satisfying.

The rest of the engine bay is similarly good; there’s some minor work there in detailing if that’s your thing but if it’s not then you could leave it as it is and still show the car at your local events without shame.

The Jaguar Heritage Trust Production Record Trace Certificate confirms its factory specification and there is paperwork confirming the relevant UK VAT and duty have been paid in addition to invoices detailing the parts and labour incurred during its 2013 restoration back in the USA.

Not that that is the end of the story: please also note the many invoices from Classic and Vintage Restoration Ltd. for the work it carried out in 2016. This adds up to well over £7,000 of work including a gearbox rebuild, a new clutch, and many bushes and suspension bushes.

This work is in addition to the more recent invoice for routine maintenance and servicing in 2022.

The Jaguar doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity.

That said, it only expired in 2021 and that one was issued with no advisories, which is reassuring.

Cars like the Jaguar E Type are widely admired and a staple of the classic car scene. This popularity, which is driven by their staggering good looks, great dynamic performance, and huge marque support, mean they’ve appreciated significantly over the years.

That’s both good news and bad. The bad is that we think this one will sell for somewhere between £65,000 and £85,000, which might sound a lot but the good news is that this is almost certainly going to be a safe place to keep that money while you enjoy your new Jaguar; the price of E Types has been steady for a while now and we don’t expect to see them drop anytime soon.

Of course, this isn’t a guarantee but it is worth remembering the market does value high-quality examples like this above all else.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|CarsOnline HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, 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, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.