Jaguar E-Type worth £200,000 after restoration

The owner had abandoned the classic 1964 sports car since 1979 and had given up hope of getting it back on the road.

At one point before its demise he had even attached a tow bar to it to pull a dinghy.

But a specialist firm has now stepped in and spent 18 months restoring the car to its glory days.

The company, E-Type UK, inspected the fixed-head coupe and was excited to discover its original chassis, gearbox and engine numbers all matched.

The firm’s founder Marcus Holland knew the potential value of the rare right-hand drive model, so offered the owner, who lived in Herstmonceux, £50,000 for the crumbling 1964 series 1 classic.

Enzo Ferrari once described the Jaguar E-Type as “the most beautiful car in the world”.

Marcus’s team set about an ambitious 18-month project to restore the car to glory, adding modern upgrades and few classy touches under the new buyer’s commission.

Marcus said: “A restoration like this is a real challenge for our team.

"Forty years of inactivity takes an enormous toll on every single part of a vehicle.”

At first glance the car’s condition appeared reasonable, but extensive sandblasting and a three-day strip-down revealed the cost of four decades of neglect.

Previous cheap repairs and British dampness had rusted many areas of the floor and the inner and outer sills beyond repair.

Engineers replaced them completely and spent many months repairing the body shell to reveal the car’s perfect lines.

It was finally re-finished in its original opalescent silver blue paintwork and the interior retrimmed in oxblood red leather along with fresh chromework and headlight surrounds.

The team then turned to the 265 bhp 3.8-litre engine, gearbox, suspension and brakes, rebuilding and enhancing them all to “fast road” specification as requested.

A new five-speed gearbox means the car is now refined for cruising and a new stainless-steel sports exhaust, aluminium radiator and header tank enhance the car’s cooling ability.

On testing, the car exceeded 230 brake horse power.

Marcus added: “Everything about the running of the car has been upgraded. It drives really well and pulls like an absolute train.

“The five speed gearbox makes it more enjoyable on long modern drives and means you can do some proper miles. If looked after properly you can expect it to last a whole new lifespan.”

The team kept the original gearbox so the car can still be classed as a “matching numbers” original, enhancing its later sale value.

Marcus said: “It means you can make the car more reliable and increase its performance but it is still classed as a matching numbers car.”

The car’s original owner had not treated it as a heritage piece, but drove it regularly and had even attached a tow bar to pull a dinghy.

Marcus said: “He was heavily impressed with the result.

"It was in a better condition than he would have ever seen in it originally.”

The new owner is a Jaguar E-Type enthusiast, who already owns a convertible model, and plans to drive his latest acquisition in European car rallies, as well as between his homes in West Sussex and London.

Marcus, based in Kent, said: “There are two types of buyers. Investors who keep them in specially made garages, only driving them in dry conditions and those who go shopping in them.

“The owner of this one won’t quite be using it for trips to Sainsbury’s but definitely won’t be kept in storage either.

“He has spent enough money restoring it and now wants to see what it can do. He was very pleased that the vision was accomplished.”

Marcus said he was also delighted to keep a piece of British motoring history on the road “for many years to come”.

When launched in 1961 the E-Type cost £2,450 and was one of the fastest cars in the world, reportedly hitting 150mph on the M1 with a test driver at the wheel.