2005-08-11 10:09:01 | pauls writes:

Ebay item 8/11/05
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jaguar-E-Type-V-12-2-2-1971-Jaguar-XKE-2dr-2-2-Coupe-V-1 ...
Current bid $5,000.00 (Reserve not met), 2 bids, 6 days left in auction. 68k miles. Buy it now price $11,899.

Sellers description:
71 JAGUAR XKE V12 2+ 2
We bought this car in the late 1970?s because I wanted an XKE and my wife said I had to have room for 2 kids in the back seat. I loved the real wire wheels with knockoffs rather than wheel bolts (even the spare is a wire wheel and the car includes the standard hammer and brass knockoff ring that came with the car). The 1971 V12 had the 9.0 to 1 higher compression ratio than later V12?s (and is the stronger engine per road tests of those times).

The car has been kept in our house with a garage above freezing ever since. I don?t think we put even 10,000 miles on it since purchased over 25 years ago. It has never had any significant mechanical repairs, and the body is original as far as we know. Only the power rack-and pinion was re-sealed in the 1980?s. The car was last used in 1995 for a wedding. It was fully operational at the time. Electrics seem well preserved, but we don?t remember the power antenna or the air conditioner working at any time we have owned the car. Living in the Northwest (without salt) and living in a dry garage has produced no rust evidence we have ever seen. The paint is not perfect (having lived a few years), but is fully original as best we know. As in most older Jags, The roof liner is falling because of the aging under material. The body has a few minor dings and scratches after this many years and miles, but has never needed repair.

Obviously in later years, some fluid matters were starting to become important (brake fluid was beginning to be closer to jello) and the exhaust system was getting older and less shiny. Automatic transmission has leaked slightly since day 1. The car has had no attempt to be started since that last trip for our son?s wedding in 1995. A machinist friend did put oil in each cylinder and checked the spark plugs within the last year to better preserve and protect the engine for starting. We are aware that one or more of the float chambers in carburetors are likely to spill gas because of the old 1995 fuel having evaporated there. They should be checked before starting.