Owen Automotive is excited to share the discovery and purchase of 1962 Jaguar E-Type FHC chassis 885307 from a barn in Surrey BC, CANADA. It has not been seen since long-term storage starting in 1976.
This is an important discovery for early E-Type Coupes as this is the the 307th LHD Coupe of only 500 with the early design features such as welded-in hood louvres and a flat floor.
Furthermore this car is fully matching numbers with its original and rebuilt engine, cylinder head and all the date-coded components including the starter, generator, distributor, hydraulic master cylinders, washer motor and wiper motor.
This car was purchased in 1968 from Montreal and subsequently spent its life on the west coast of BC with Guy W. Newman of Newtronics Industries Ltd. audio and video systems. At his time it was fitted with an Eight-Track stereo and likely seen at Honey Bear’s Disco on 571 Seymour St in Vancouver BC.
We have purchased it in a state of disassembly and engine rebuild which began in 1976. That leaves us with the task of continuing the work to reunite engine R2938 with car. At one point the owner stored his engine in the master bedroom which might explain the white paint and chrome hardware.
In this episode we reveal the Olde English White paint on our 1957 Jaguar XK150 restoration at Owen Automotive. We also work on the door fit, trunk catches, defective upper and lower ball joints.
-Chassis 970053 partially assembled by Owen Automotive -Matching numbers chassis, engine gearbox and body – Sat dormant near Sidney, BC Canada for 39 years. – Original Suede Green car with green interior – Comes with original aluminum rear spats and rare hand-crank tool and pass through radiator only used on the first cars. -Offered by RM Sothebys: https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo20/shift-monterey/lots/r0030-1950-jaguar-xk-120-alloy-roadster-barn-find/920837
Jaguar today at Retrombile in France that they will make exact replicas of the D-Type, the same car which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1957.
Press Release:
(Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK – 07 February 2018) Jaguar Classic is re-starting production of the iconic D-type race car in Coventry, 62 years after the last example was built in 1956. The first Jaguar D-type to be assembled by Jaguar Classic, an engineering prototype, will make its world debut at the Salon Retromobile show in Paris this week.
Just 25 new examples of the D-type will be meticulously hand-built at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Warwickshire. In 1955 Jaguar planned to build 100 D-types. With only 75 completed, Jaguar Classic is now fulfilling the company’s original ambition by creating 25 all-new, period-correct sports cars.
The D-type, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours race three times between 1955 and 1957, was powered by the six-cylinder XK engine. Every aspect of the D-types built for clients from 2018 will be created to authentic, original specification.
“The Jaguar D-type is one of the most iconic and beautiful competition cars of all time, with an outstanding record in the world’s toughest motor races. And it’s just as spectacular today. The opportunity to continue the D-type’s success story, by completing its planned production run in Coventry, is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that our world-class experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic are proud to fulfil.”
The D-type is the third continuation vehicle from Jaguar Classic, complementing the six missing Lightweight E-types completed in 2014-15 and nine XKSSs built in 2017-18.
Jaguar Classic experts’ painstaking research, with exclusive access to original Jaguar engineering drawings and records, ensures each new D-type will be built to the authentic specifications laid down by competitions manager Lofty England and his engineers in the 1950s. D-type clients can choose either 1955-specification Shortnose or 1956-spec Longnose bodywork.
The engineering prototype is the 1956 Longnose specification, identifiable by its extended bonnet, characteristic tail fin behind the driver’s head, wide-angle cylinder head and quick-change brake calipers.The engineering prototype is the 1956 Longnose specification, identifiable by its extended bonnet, characteristic tail fin behind the driver’s head, wide-angle cylinder head and quick-change brake calipers.
“Recreating the nine D-type-derived XKSSs was hugely satisfying, and an even bigger technical challenge than the six missing Lightweight E-types, but lessons learned from the XKSS project have given us a head start on the final 25 D-types. Each one will be absolutely correct, down to the very last detail, just as Jaguar’s Competitions Department intended” Kev Riches, Jaguar Classic Engineering Manager.
