This 1964 Series 1 3.8 FHC blue on blue example was found in the previous owner’s unused garage in South-East England, where it had sat since 1979. Luckily the garage had fully functioning walls and a roof, which is a nice change from the other abandoned E-Types we have discovered, hence the surprisingly rot-free bodywork.
Once a sand-blasting slot is found, strip down commences and we can finally view the underside of this “barn-find” UK-supplied car. All seems to be in relatively good order with only two holes in the passenger side floor. Corroded bolts everywhere mean the strip-down of this E-Type is a more difficult job than it should be. This time it’s a 3-day, 2-man task, we have decided to film the whole process using time-lapse and the video will be posted on our YouTube and Facebook as soon as it’s done.
The owner of this E-Type has specified for it to be reverted to its original colours of Opalescent Silver Blue with Dark Blue interior, a very good choice in our eyes! We now await the results of sand-blasting, fingers crossed!
One of Britain’s leading E-type specialists, E-Type UK, has completed a transformative restoration on a barn-find 1964 Jaguar E-type Series 1 3.8 FHC. Found in the previous owner’s unused garage in southeast England, this particular car had been left sitting since 1979, but has now been given a new lease of life by E-Type UK.
Finished in period with an Opalescent Silver Blue exterior and matching blue interior, the new owner opted for a striking new combination retaining the exterior colour but with a new Oxblood Red leather interior and a number of other choice upgrades.
Upon its discovery, this E-type looked as though it was well preserved and rot-free, protected from the worst of the weather by four walls and a roof. However, after an extensive sandblasting and a three-day strip-down, the extent of the damage caused by 40 years of neglect, coupled with previous cheap repairs and the usual British dampness revealed the real challenge ahead.
The E-Type UK team set about making sure this E-type would be safe and durable in years to come by identifying and replacing sections that were too rotten to save. The workshop team found that many areas of the floor and the inner and outer sills were beyond saving, opting to replace them completely while also strengthening the body elsewhere. Every suspect piece of metal was eliminated to ensure the structure is even stiffer than the day it left the factory.
After the metalwork was completed, the E-type was introduced to the filler room where E-Type UK’s specialist bodywork technicians set out to restore those seamless ‘60s lines. The entire car was cleaned and skimmed, then block sanded to obtain the perfect straightness and contours, with long hours of fine-tuning the perfect gaps and apertures.
To achieve the original Jaguar colour of Opalescent Silver Blue the car underwent a long process of painstaking preparation. Due to the silver pigments in the paint, errors are often unavoidable, often leading to a cloudy finish, but with the expert skills from the team the final result was a sparkling and even finish.
Reassembly started with fitting this E-type’s uprated Independent Rear Suspension, which also included improved brake calipers and brake pads. At this stage, the front suspension was also fitted to create a rolling shell, making the car easier to manoeuvre around E-Type UK’s busy workshop.
The E-Type UK team then turned its attention to a number of performance and usability upgrades. The original 3.8-litre XK6 engine was fitted with high-lift cams, a balanced and lightened crank and new seals, all of which will help with driveability and reliability. Also fitted were a new five-speed gearbox for tighter shifts and more refined cruising, a new full stainless-steel sports exhaust and an aluminium radiator and header tank for enhanced cooling.
With much of the work complete, the finishing touches were applied, including the newly trimmed Oxblood Red leather interior, along with fresh chromework and headlight surrounds. In a nod to examples of the rare E-type Lightweight (of which only 12 were originally completed) the new owner requested the addition of a new red vinyl bonnet mouth, setting off the look perfectly.
E-Type UK Founder, Marcus Holland said: “A restoration like this is a real challenge for our team; 40 years of inactivity takes an enormous toll on every single part of a vehicle. But customers come to us to make their dream car a reality, so we will take it apart piece-by-piece, clean and improve everything we can save and replace everything that we can’t with better-than-original quality. Not only are we delighted to have delivered our client a car they’ve always wanted, but we’re honoured to have played a part in keeping this piece of British motoring history on the road, and being used regularly, for many years to come.”
Since rolling out those barn doors from it had sat since 1979, this 1964 3.8 coupe example has come along way to be turned into an exceptional classic sports car, hosting an array of modern upgrades. The “barn-find” is now presented in better than factory condition and follows the client’s very own E-type story featuring numerous personal touches that make this stunning Series 1 stand out from the rest.
While the car may have been left and forgotten in a barn, the E-type benefited from the luxuries of four walls and a roof, offering a level of coverage from the British weather elements. This resulted in a reduced metalwork process to return the E-type to a strong and safe shell, with the largest job being removing and replacing the floor sections and inner and outer sills.
Having been through all our specialist restoration services; metalwork, filler, paint, rebuild/upgrade and trim, this 1964 example is now completed in an eye-catching combination of Opalescent Silver Blue and Oxblood Red leather. Benefiting from several engine upgrades that include an upgraded to fast road specification 3.8 engine with gas flowed head, high lift cams, balanced and lightened crank with lipseal conversion. Also fitted is a new 5-speed gearbox, full stainless-steel sports exhaust and aluminium radiator and header tank for enhanced cooling.
Making a mark on this E-type, the client has also commissioned a number of personal touches one of which includes a nod to the limited number produced ‘lightweight’ E-type. Produced between 1963 and 1964, Jaguar had planned to create 18 of this race-bred E-types, however only 12 were ever produced, being an avid E-type road and track fan the owner of this recently completed Series 1 had fitted a Red vinyl bonnet mouth or more commonly called ‘lipstick’.
While we enter an age of electric cars, the E-type begins another long life of classic motoring with high hopes of inspiring countless generations of automotive petrol heads.
