A discussion came up on the E-type list/forum of Jag-Lovers.org (I say “list/forum” because you can participate either way. I prefer a mailing list format, but most folks I suspect participate as a web forum. Thankfully the user experience is the same: a great resource for information, camaraderie, and technical support for owners and drivers of E-types.) Anyway, this discussion was started by a guy who bought a “basket case” car and is slowly restoring it, but likely YEARS away from the day when he pulls the choke, turns the key, and punches that starter button. He admitted that he’s never driven an E-type and wanted to know what it was like.
My friend Larry Wade, from southern California responded with an excellent write-up, which he has given me permission to share:
I bought my car out of love without really knowing what the content was. I was really worried because my normal car is a BMW M3 which I love. Would the e-type be a dog in comparison? It is 35 years older. It must be awful! Why am I straining my marriage over an ancient, obsolete dog of a car? Then, on my way home….the head gasket gave out. And then I spent a fortune (for me) getting the engine rebuilt, and the suspension, the IRS, the wheels, the transmission, the brakes, the clutch, the fuel system, the carbs, the steering, the cooling system, and some of the interior. Oh, did I mention the aluminum eaten out everywhere coolant can touch (how I hate the POs).
So what was it like to finally drive the car? Wonderful.
You will find that you can really feel the road. The texture, the camber, everything. You are part of it! After driving the E-type, my M3 feels like a floating luxury car instead of a sports car. The Jag is wonderfully responsive, quick and precise. The suspension was tuned back in the day when all corners were drifted, so the throttle/steering wheel interaction is perfect, beautiful and predictable. The braking is very good as well.
This past weekend Jerry Mouton and I got a chance to measure our cars against 30 or 40 of the best cars built anywhere before 1976. I learned that the Jag is truly a supercar. These guys were uniformly excellent drivers and pushed it to the limit. We ate them alive and at will.
The few cars that could brake and corner with us couldn’t match the grunt. The few cars that had the grunt couldn’t brake and corner. Most of them couldn’t match any part of our cars’ performance. Jaguar’s E-type is a genuine MONSTER! I had not realized how very, very good it is until last weekend.
So I remember how you feel now. I also know how you are going to feel. You are going to love it!
Cheers,
Larry
Well said. This really is a car that was light years ahead of its time. The engineering was beyond the bleeding edge, at least on the parts that mattered, such as the suspension and monocoque/tube frame construction. It is superbly balanced and a joy to drive.
I met Larry via Jag-Lovers. He and his kids stayed at my house during a marathon family road trip around the west a few years back. He arrived with his daughter, and he swapped her for his son via some flights between LA & Seattle, while they stayed for a few days. Here is a photo of Larry and his son Alec, who is the same age as my youngest:
We had a blast, roaring around the area here in our two E-type’s, with our two kids. One of these days I’ll reverse Larry’s journey and make a two-kid road trip to SoCal. I had wanted to do it this past Spring Break but the car was not ready. Maybe later this year or early next.