| I’ve owned my E-Type for over 5 years now. During my ownership there has been one issue that has consistently plagued the car – brakes that do not release when they should. Over my ownership I have replaced pretty much the entire braking system, and some components twice! A couple of months ago, I had the master cylinder and booster replaced. At first, I thought this had fixed the problem as the very uneven pedal pressure was gone. However, sure enough after a couple of more sustained uses of the brakes, the non-release problem was back. This time, I suspect […] The annual British car display day at the Kings School is not be missed. Over 1500 classic British cars, trucks and commercial vehicles. The weather was lovely so the turnout was excellent. Last year, the show had to be postponed due to a sodden field. Not only is the display quite a sight, but its one of the few times of the year you’ll sit in traffic behind a Jowett and have a Daimler behind you. One of the highlights was seeing a Bentley 6.5 liter in the Vintage Sports Car Club. I was hoping to see a Derby Bentley […] Pretty much all the buyers guides I read when researching E-Types say that drivers over 6 feet tall should avoid SWB E-Types. This means they are allegedly restricted to the S1 2+2, S2 2+2 and all Series 3 models. I was never a fan of the styling updates to the E-Type as it aged, so was keen on an early car. I also didn’t want an automatic so that left the S1 2+2 manual as my primary choice. There were a few problems with that approach. Firstly, at the time I was buying my car (in the United States), 2+2’s […] The E-Type was going in for its annual service and rego check, with the view to move from full rego to the new logbook based club rego system. In addition, the braking problems that have plagued this car had re-surfaced on the drive back from Oberon. Yet again, the brakes were not releasing properly. I also noticed a fairly bad fluid leak after the British Car show from the front left caliper. The front calipers had been re-sleeved before, but the seal was not quite the right size and so it was causing the brakes to hang up and not […] This weeks ad is a well known Jaguar ad focusing on both the engineering and design elements. Most specifically it addresses the Jaguar IRS, which was very advanced for it’s time. Jaguar used it up until the 90s! It is an early ad because it shows the outside bonnet latches and a different position than normal for the reversing light. The picture below is supposed be elegant, but the lady in the car looks like she is trying to abduct a child. The Jaguar Suspension Considering all the furore and fanfare over the high-speed characteristics of the new Jaguar […] The Jaguar Compact Saloons were a highly successful range of cars that lasted from the mid 50s right through to the end of the 60s. They gave Jaguar the production volume to stay relevant and with their world beating sports cars of the same era are still somewhat responsible for the reputation Jaguar has today. Despite these being the cheapest cars in Jaguar’s range, they have eclipsed their more upmarket and larger siblings in interest, and market value. This makes the full size saloons rather good value, but today the focus is on the compact saloons. The compact saloons encompass […] The British car show has such a selection of cars that its hard to pick favorites, but these represent the standout cars for me on the day. Healey Elliott I found this to be a really striking car and not one I had seen before. Apparently it has the 2.5 liter Riley engine and was capable of 100mph, quite a feat at the time for a four seat car. Bentley S2 Continental These cars are incredibly rare and valuable, so not a car I aspire to own due to the cost, but I think the pick of the post […] This weeks Ad is a Pennzoil ad that ties their engine oil to the high performance XK engine and its over inflated performance specs. Still the ad had a great cutaway of the engine and the triple carburettor setup. The Jaguar E-Type had a lot of suppliers trying to associate with it during the early 60s. This is the power plant built for the Jaguar XK-E. It deserves Pennzoil “Protection Reserve” This is a beautiful, precision-tooled instrument of power. It’s built to deliver smooth, responsive performance for a lifetime. And the man who owns one takes exception pride in […] This weeks ad is on the E-Type, this time 1964. Its not clear if it covers the then current 3.8 model or the upcoming 4.2. A different breed of Cat The 1964 Jaguar XK-E is unlike any other car on the road today. For one thing, it doesn’t look like any other car you have ever seen. And it is capable of phenomenal speed and acceleration. Yet its handling qualities give you the relaxed confidence of being in complete command, whatever the road, speed or driving conditions. What’s more, the 32 unique performance and luxury features of the XK-E […] This is a great ad from the launch of the E-Type in 1961. It shows both body styles, the Fixed Head and the Open Top. In the USA, the XK series had great name recognition so the E-Type was marketed as the XK-E. This is the new Jaguar XK-E! | |
