2018-07-07 17:05:51 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 7/18
www.brightwells.com/classic-motoring/leominster-classic-vintage/leominster-class ...

Auction description:
Leominster Classic & Vintage Cars and Motorcycles
Wednesday 11th July
Lot No. 84
Registration Date 1961
Make & Model Jaguar E-Type S1 3.8 'Flat Floor' Roadster
Colour Opalescent Dark Blue
Registration Number 29 SBB
Chassis No. 850239
Engine size 3,781 cc
Engine No. R2076-9
Documents V5C; MOT Nov 2018 with no advisories; 29 old MOTs to 1979; many invoices; Heritage Certificate; photos etc
Estimate £125,000 - £135,000

This particular car is number 239 of the run and is one of the original 'flat floor' models before recessed footwells were introduced from chassis number 850358 onwards. As the Heritage Certificate confirms, it was built on 20th October 1961 and was originally finished in Opalescent Dark Blue with a grey leather interior. A note on file (attributed to John Scobbie at Jaguar) states that it was the first car to have moulded bonnet louvres, all cars up until late 1961 having the louvres in separate panels which were welded into apertures cut in the bonnet.

Despatched to distributors Rossleigh Ltd of Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 1st November, it is not known who the first owner was, but it must have been someone special because the waiting list for E-Types was huge in the early days and William Lyons craftily ensured that the lucky few who did get one were high profile figures who would only stoke demand for his sensational new sportscar. Either that or they knew someone at Jaguar who could help them jump the queue.

Correspondence on file from the son of a previous owner, John Hooper, states that his father bought 29 SBB in 1964 from Wadham Stringer Garages of Portsmouth who had in turn acquired it from an ex-Naval Officer (the mysterious first owner, perhaps?). Hooper was to keep the car until 1970, getting it repainted red by Wadham Stringer shortly after he bought it at the insistence of his wife! Black and white photos show the car as it was in the mid-1960s with an infant John Hooper Jnr happily playing with the steering wheel.

It was then briefly in the hands of a wheeler-dealer from whom Peter Allen of Newmarket acquired it and treated it to an engine overhaul, two new front wings, refurbishment of the interior plus numerous other jobs detailed in correspondence on file. He then sold it to Nigel Grisham of Saffron Walden who kept it until 1980. For the next 20 years it was owned by Mel Riding of Stockport, a Finance Director with ICI, who had the body fully restored and repainted in its original Opalescent Dark Blue by Lord's Motors of Heywood, Lancashire, in 1991 at a cost of £2,685 (invoices and photos on file). Other bills detail further maintenance by Lord's throughout the 1990s, while a sheaf of old MOTs show that the car only covered 5,000 miles in Riding's 20-year ownership, mainly attending car shows.

Our vendor was a regular visitor to Lord's Garage and got to know Mel Riding and his E-Type well, falling in love with 29 SBB and finally persuading Mel to sell it to him in March 2000 after several years of badgering. An experienced historic rally organiser and competitor who has campaigned his trusty Triumph TR5 on many events over many years, the vendor likes his cars to be in peak mechanical condition so he immediately entrusted 29 SBB to those excellent chaps at CMC in Bridgnorth with instructions to go right through the car with a fine tooth comb, fix any faults and above all, to make sure it went as well as it looked!

Two years and £40,000 later and it is safe to say that this objective had been well and truly achieved. The extent of the work carried out by CMC is too detailed to even scratch the surface of here, but is amply documented in many invoices on file. Basically, every mechanical aspect of the car has been rebuilt or replaced as necessary, with many upgrades along the way including the brakes, suspension and cooling system.

The engine was also rebuilt with a new crankshaft, bearings, valve seats etc, new engine support frames and a new wiring harness. A stainless steel exhaust system was fitted along with all new wheels, tyres and rear splined hubs, plus a new windscreen and uprated wiper motor.

Best of all has been the fitment of a 5-speed Borg Warner T5 manual gearbox (plus a new clutch kit and lightened flywheel) which snicks through the gears so sweetly, and makes sustained high speed cruising so relaxing that you very soon find yourself deep into license-losing territory unless you keep a beady eye on the speedo - as we discovered when we were casually tossed the keys and told to take it for a good thrashing on the occasion of our visit.

It would be unwise to admit in print just how fast we went, but let's just say that Jaguar's claim of 150mph in period is entirely plausible. Even more impressive than the pace is the combination of ride and handling which dismisses the curves and bumps of our atrociously pot-holed B-roads as if they didn't exist.

Since all the work was completed in April 2002, 29 SBB has only covered some 10,000 miles, being serviced regularly by a local garage with many more new parts fitted over the years (shocks, springs, bearings, filters, tyres etc) and was last serviced less than 350 miles ago. It flew through its last MOT in November with no advisories recorded.

If you are concerned about the presence of the Brantz Rally Timer equipment (which is included in the sale) - don't be. This car has not been raced or rallied, but it has been used to establish suitably challenging time targets on events that the vendor organises. Used in fine weather only, it has always been kept garaged in the current 18-year ownership and is only reluctantly for sale due to eyesight problems which mean the vendor can no longer drive it safely.

To ice the cake still further, this car comes with a quantity of useful spares, including the original Moss gearbox, which are included in the sale but will need to be collected from the Welshpool area if desired. The original Newcastle-issued registration number, 29 SBB, is also included and yes, it is transferable, but don't you dare!

Fully rebuilt; sensibly uprated; unstintingly maintained; few owners; matching numbers - this early E-Type ticks all the right boxes and needs to be driven to be fully appreciated. Go on, you only live once...