Description
Offered for sale is an extraordinarily original, extremely solid, well-preserved, 100% numbers matching, one owner, 39k original mile 1970 Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupe (FHC) finished in charming and era-specific Willow Green over a Tan leather interior. Sold new to Mr. and Mrs. Bruce McGhee of Livermore Falls, Maine, the E-Type would see only weekend use in the summers and was always properly stored during Maine’s foul weather months. In the mid 1980s, Mr. McGhee put the car on blocks to address a few minor issues (a bad water pump that needed replacing, new window regulators, etc.), and although the correct replacement parts arrived, the project was always low in his priority queue, so much so in fact that the car has remained dormant for nearly thirty years.
In the mid 1990s the car moved with the McGhees to Aiken, South Carolina, where they’d purchased a thoroughbred racetrack and training facility in their retirement. For the next two decades the car remained warehoused in a storage barn on the property, waiting to one day be awoken and returned to its former road-going glory. We were fortunate to acquire the car directly from the McGhees earlier this winter and were pleasantly surprised to find it in effectively untouched condition, incredibly well preserved and original. This is the quite literally the proverbial barn-find, something that’s becoming harder and harder to come by as the collecting hobby continues to explode.
When looking in the engine compartment, one can see where the belts were removed to take out the water pump and, low and behold, both the original and the new replacement pump are present in the rear luggage compartment, waiting for reinstallation. Always kept out of the elements and properly stored, the car is also incredibly solid. A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: that’s not rust you see in these, our original intake pictures, it’s decades worth of Aiken, S.C. clay dust that had worked its way through the cracks of the barn, effectively providing a seal to this correct and desirable time capsule.
So here’s where we stand on the car: after a perfunctory mechanical inspection, the engine turns freely and we have absolutely no reason to believe that the car won’t be as strong mechanically as any other low mileage example following a comprehensive mechanical sorting. We’re seriously considering commissioning that work with our local vintage Jaguar expert, as well as having the entire car thoroughly detailed to preservation class show quality. At that point we would be offering the completed car for +/-$69,000, but being as the car is the perfect straightforward project for the enthusiast or an ideal platform for a concours quality restoration, we’ve decided to offer it in its current state. If we’re unable to find a buyer by the end of March, we’ll move forward with our planned refurbishment.
Whether in its current state or following the aforementioned comprehensive sorting, this gorgeous E-Type represents an excellent and exceedingly uncommon opportunity to acquire a practically untouched, preserved, entirely solid, numbers matching, one owner, low mileage example finished in a desirable livery. The astronomical valuation jump that the Series I XKEs have realized in the past two years has continued to drive the appreciation of Series II cars, ensuring that this remarkable car will undoubtedly offer its next owner investment upside while providing years of enjoyment. If you’re in the market for an E-Type, this Fixed Head Coupe certainly deserves your consideration.
