~Afor
Wed, Nov 5, 1997 (15:11)
seed
O.K., let's talk about "the greatest crumpet collector known to man" as the late Henry N. Manney III put it. Jaguar E-Type, or XKE as known in the U.S. The sixes, the twelves, the Moss crashboxes, the real sports cars and the later GTs. At the end, we'll have a collective sigh about the unaffordability of the remaining E-Types. All together, now...
~Cafe
Wed, Nov 5, 1997 (15:41)
#1
*sigh* I knew it. Now I'll not get any work done! E-types started in 1961 in England, not sure if they made it here that year. The series 1 (3.8l) with "crashbox" ran until'64, when the Series 2 (4.2l) withn synchro came up. Best one to have IMHO is the '67 roadster: big motor, synchro tranny, 3 carbs, and the *covered headlights*, which made the car IMO. The best bonnet of it's time!
An honest 245hp and with the best rear end man ever put together, they could haul withut you realizing it, until you overheated! Sounds like a nice babe, 'ey?
~Afor
Wed, Nov 5, 1997 (16:24)
#2
If I remember correctly, the Series 3 came out in the Seventies, with a V-12 engine. Less of a sports car and more of a Benz SL kind of GT.
The E-Type was eventually replaced by the XJ-S (what the hell were they thinking? Oh yes; Leyland...)
~Cafe
Wed, Nov 5, 1997 (17:04)
#3
Series 3 started out fine, then the gas crisis and concurrent concerns like bumper regs followed, and softened what was a potential 'Vette whipper into a boulevardier closer to the 'Benz. Best dash was in the V12 though. Those had both heat problems and electric problems! I was working at restoring a V12 when I found it was made from 2 different cars, cut and welded at the front, and also blew the head on the way to school; the repair was beyond my wallet so g'bye 12. When running the V12 was a wonderful
ide, felt much more solid than the 6 and smooth as only a 12 is. A lot of car IMO.
~Afor
Sat, Dec 27, 1997 (08:09)
#4
Do you think that Jaguar (or anyone else for that matter) will ever come up with a car as great as the E-Type again?
~Cafe
Sat, Dec 27, 1997 (09:42)
#5
I'm sure hopin', in my lifetime. Don't be telling me that designers with flair, taste, and good engineering sensibility all disappeared after the "gas crisis"!
~Afor
Sat, Dec 27, 1997 (18:22)
#6
Nope, they're all zombies who've had their brains sucked out by wind tunnels and government regulations.
~Cafe
Sun, Dec 28, 1997 (11:49)
#7
Yeah notice how the individual designer/credit is gone, gone, gone?
~Afor
Thu, Jan 1, 1998 (14:53)
#8
Well, let's be thankful for Porsche (Harm LaGaay) and Chrysler (I'll have to find the article to recall who got credit for the Viper) But it's a far cry from the days of Touring, Pininfarina, Exner, Stevens, Loewy, Mulliner, Saoutchic, etc.
Let us hope for better days.
~sprin5
Sat, May 13, 2000 (08:35)
#9
Let us hope for El Sam Blob's second coming.