BF Auction: 1970 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
- Seller: Jesse M
- Location: Boise, Idaho
- Mileage: 76,039 Shown
- Chassis #: 1R13486
- Title Status: Clean
UPDATE – A cold start video has been added below.
The Jaguar E-Type is one of the most iconic sports cars to come out of Great Britain. The performance was impressive and the good looks were unmatched. They were even a bargain when new. Everyone has caught on now though so it can be difficult to get into one for a reasonable amount of money. That’s what makes this car so appealing. It still needs some work so the reserve is set low but a ton of money has already been spent on making it a driver. It’s being auctioned exclusively right here on Barn Finds!
Obviously, this car is going to need a new interior. Luckily, complete kits are available from multiple sources. Moss Motors carries one for about $5k but there are even more options available from the UK. This might be a good time to switch the color to black if the green-on-green color scheme doesn’t sit well for you. Personally, that’s the route I would take. The paint isn’t perfect but it’s presentable so a new interior would make this thing a nice driver.
Besides the interior, the biggest issue here is the rust. At the bare minimum, it’s going to need the rear passenger side floor pan, the drop section on the driver’s side, and the panel right behind the seats. Luckily the exterior of the car looks great so hopefully, the floors are the worst of it. E-Types are so special and valuable that even rust typically isn’t a huge deterrent if a project is priced right.
There are a few scratches and discolored areas but the older British racing green paint has a nice patina to it. Polish up the bumpers and reinstall the included over riders and grill bar and you’ll have one tough-looking machine! I can’t find any serious dents or damage in the photos and the convertible top looks to be in good condition. One could totally restore this car but I think it might be wiser to finish the cosmetics and drive it!
And that’s partially because it’s already a good driver. Over $40k was spent about a year ago at Vintage Motorsports in Pennsylvania to make the car road-worthy! Some of the work included pulling out the rear subframe and going through the rear brakes, rebuilding the carbs, installing a new fuel pump and tank, resurfacing the flywheel, new clutch, new wire wheels and tires… The list just goes on and on. Take a look at the scanned receipts here for a detailed list. A new windscreen was also just installed and the car comes with a bunch of new hardware and gaskets.
With some work on the floors and a new interior, this roadster is going to be the perfect driver! It’s not so perfect that you’ll be afraid to drive it and honestly the flaws make it stand out among the sea of perfectly restored E-Types at every car show. I’ve had the privilege of driving this beauty and now I really wish I could keep it for myself. Hopefully, this one goes to a Barn Finds reader with the skills needed to finish the job and then enjoy it! Please post any questions in the comments below and be sure to register to bid if you’re interested. Good luck!
Bid On This Auction
PaulJ bid $40,000.00 2023-11-02 11:05:36
MikeinDenver bid $39,000.00 2023-11-02 11:02:09- PaulJ bid $38,500.00 2023-11-02 11:01:34
Pezzarelli bid $38,000.00 2023-11-02 10:58:59- MikeinDenver bid $37,100.00 2023-11-02 10:57:40
- PaulJ bid $36,600.00 2023-11-02 10:56:23
- Pezzarelli bid $36,500.00 2023-11-02 10:49:46
Steve bid $35,500.00 2023-11-02 10:47:46- Pezzarelli bid $35,000.00 2023-11-02 10:36:32
triumph bid $33,500.00 2023-11-02 10:00:55
Sucker bid $33,000.00 2023-11-02 09:28:00- triumph bid $31,200.00 2023-10-31 06:55:29
GEC bid $27,000.00 2023-10-30 19:59:55- Pezzarelli bid $25,200.00 2023-10-29 13:54:53
- Sucker bid $25,100.00 2023-10-29 10:42:57
- Pezzarelli bid $25,000.00 2023-10-29 10:24:21
- Sucker bid $23,500.00 2023-10-29 09:23:02
TheGadget bid $22,000.00 2023-10-28 22:37:41- MikeinDenver bid $18,000.00 2023-10-28 09:11:16
- TheGadget bid $15,000.00 2023-10-28 01:45:41
Tomtomterrific bid $10,000.00 2023-10-27 17:39:07- TheGadget bid $7,500.00 2023-10-26 14:59:23
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Comments
Enzo Ferrari said this is the most beautiful car he’d ever seen, I agree. There’s nothing to compare
Enzo Ferrari turned out some pretty gorgeous cars that won a lot of races. So did Alfa Romeo.
I’ve read that as well! And he was right!
Lots of work here, but could be a nice car for the right loving owner. I would go with a light green interior. My neighbor had a v12 roadster in that color combo that he bought from a Minneapolis banker. Color of money!
I would do a dark tan interior, to set off the British green nicely.
The only green interiors in 1970 was ‘Moss Green’ and a very dark ‘Olive Green’. For my money, either go with the original Black or switch to ‘Biscuit’. Just saying.
I’d go with Cinnamon or Tan interior, and swap a pair of SU HD8’s for that Solex crap.
Those aren’t Solexs. They are Strombergs and they are actually great carbs!
Neighbor’s series 3 was a custom ordered color. Definitely striking!
Jesse, I am greatly appreciative of the number of pix you have provided. My 71 has been apart for so long that the level of detail you have provided gives me new hope to be able to put it back together correctly. Production date of 8/70 (VIN P2R13773) has some slight differences (twin electric fans vs. one large fan for example), but almost everything is the same otherwise. What a treasure you have provided. Thank you.
I’m glad we could help out?
Current bid is only $7500 and they just put $40K into it? I gotta believe the reserve is way up there! And it’s a beautiful car. The interior does not scare me at all. Floor work too. I’d love to be running her around down here in FL
The auction just started and the reserve is only a fraction of what was spent. Cars should be valued based on what the market is willing to spend, not what a previous owner spent.
Don this is Jim I am interested in the Green 1970 Jaguar XKE I was wondering if you could give me some information about the cross member up front that ties into both sides of the uni body they say it is rusted and needs to be replaced is that a large job do you how.large a job is Jim
My name is Jesse and I never said the front cross member is rusted. The rear section of the floor pan on the passenger side has some rust and the inner panel right behind the seats has some around the outside edges. The sub frames appear to be solid.
Jesse, you’re right. Senior moment. But no, I had Strombergs on my 76 XJ6C and they were trouble. And I replaced them With HD8’s, as used ROW.
Strombergs are misunderstood. If they aren’t worn out, there is absolutely no reason they shouldn’t work as good as a SU. In fact, they should stay in tune better.
Strombergs are relatively easy to deal with. I had a first year XJ and I rebuilt those carbs twice, the shop manual is key, very explicit steps. Just follow them and you are good to go :-)
I think the later water choked ones gave them a bad rap.
Actually, Jesse, the E Type won’t run properly on two HD-8 SUs. When it gets HOT in the summer, the TWO SUs won’t be able to supply the engine with enough oxygen–unlike some Jag saloons with two SUs that don’t rev quite as high due to different cams. The Zenith-Strombergs have thermostatic valves that open up when hot, to allow the motor to get all the oxygen it needs. The Zenith-Strombergs also atomize the fuel more finely for a better burn. Series I and non-North American E Types had to have three SUs to give the engine the oxygen it needs when hot…but the triple carb set-up proved to be too “dirty” as of the 1968 imposition of emission regulations. Too much only partially-combusted fuel in the triple carb set-up was clogging the exhaust system and belching out too much in the way of tail pipe emissions.
Yep, the later water choked carbs were a different story. These are the good Strombergs.
The body colour looks like a BL one called Tundra, I think.
I hate to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm but I can see this roadster swallowing buckets of dollars and very large buckets at that.
Getting the body right is a huge task as there is much about it that’s okay and that’s before you tackle the rust. Everyone here knows that rust is always a lot worse than what it first appears.I note the air conditioning system has been removed but the interior evaporator which is misshapen remains.
Well, it’ll be worth bucket loads of money when done. It’s an AC, 4-speed, inline-six, roadster. Doesn’t get any better than that in the E-Type world so it’ll be worth doing.
Rust is like cockroaches. You may see some but there’s a lot more hiding.
We are already getting close to the reserve!
We’ve blown past the reserve now. This one will sell to the highest bidder!
Looks to me to just become a great driver! As a driver the interior can be cleaned up reasonably. I still don’t understand this business model…. you put 40K into into it and have reserve in the low 20’s……?????? It looks good…drive it and enjoy it before someone puts so much cash into it that it can no longer be driven!!!
*Joe Meccia
Makes as much sense as the driver who buys a new Ferrari for $400,000 and 4 years and 1,500 miles later sells it for $150,000 and 2 years later it sells for $90,000 with 2,800 miles. The depreciation is so insane, I don’t understand anyone buying a new one, but buy they do.
I haven’t bought anything since my 500SL, purchased on Bring A Trailer, so I’m drooling over this one. My wife is very much against it, so first I have to win her over. I’ve registered to bid, and price isn’t an object …. so all I have to do is convince my wife. I’m about to turn 79, and am recovering from a broken leg, so she thinks it is too much for me to handle right now. She’s probably right, but it won’t be my first rebuild, and I’m not in that much of a hurry. All I have to do is keep the ‘grim reaper’ off my back and I am ready to go!
Looks like somebody rode that one pretty hard and appears to be a money pit to me and not worth restoring,the rust is deeper than it looks and it’s thin metal to begin with. To each their own but that’s a can of worms so I’d have to pass. Good luck to whever buys it though,I hope I’m wrong.
Look up what nice restored ones go for. Even if it takes a lot of work, this project will be worthwhile.
Shame it isnt a 2+2…that’s my favourite body style in the E-Type. Weird, right?
No, they are sweet too. The roadster is really fun to drive though.
Here’s a startup video: https://youtu.be/SSfP6IezB-Q
The comments on this are funny…
I think this is a great entry to a beautiful car…it’s not perfect but so what. Drive the damm thing!
Ps: Did I mention that all the comments are funny?
Nicely bought PaulJ, best of luck with this beauty👍