2007-12-18 19:46:49 | Lofty writes:

Registration WSV 898

2011-09-08 19:25:07 | David writes:

This car was the Scottish motor show car from 1961.

I owned it for four years, it was in excellent original condition.

It was stolen from me outside the Bristol Classic Car show (1990/91 if my memory serves me well) and never recovered.

I have always assumed it must have been broken up for parts as it was a gold mine being almost totally original.

2014-07-01 18:15:30 | pauls writes:

Found in France!
Jaguar E-Type fixed head coupe Chassis No. 15 has been discovered in France and is to be restored by world leading restoration company Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC).

The Series 1 3.8 Litre Chassis No. 860015, a right hand drive car, is a very rare and historically important example as it was one of the six E-Types on display at the Scottish Motor Show in November 1961.

Nick Goldthorp, Managing Director of CMC, said: "We found Chassis No. 15 at the end of last year in Cernay, a town close to the border with Germany about two hours away from Paris. It had been owned by the same person since 1976, who dismantled it probably some twenty years ago and that is as far as he got.

"Unfortunately, the car was left unattended in a barn until we found it, very rusty and corroded - there was even a bird's nest in the rear quarter! This will be a full nut and bolt CMC restoration, covering every aspect of the car. It will be quite a challenge but we are looking forward to it."

CMC is famous for having restored some of the most historic E-Types, including Lofty England's Chassis No. 4, the Lindner-Nöcker Lightweight and 1VHP, the first RHD Coupe off the production line. They are currently restoring two very early E-Types, Chassis No. 34 and 60.

Nick added: "It took us some time to confirm this was the real Chassis No. 860015 as apparently there was a duplicate or fake car registered with the same number. After thoroughly checking it with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, we were able to confirm that this was the fifteenth E-Type fixed head coupe that left the production line in 1961."

CMC expects to finish the restoration by July 2015.


Additional information:
Date of manufacture: 14 October 1961
Chassis number: 860015
Engine number: R 2204-9
Body number: V 1246
Gearbox: EB 1349 JS
Transmission: Manual
Original distributor: Rossleigh, Edinburgh
Date of despatch: 27 October 1961

2014-07-01 18:36:14 | Anonymous writes:

Be careful of legal ownership, if an insurance company paid replacement cost after it was stolen then it could still owned by that insurance co. I'd hope the "current owner" can prove that they legally own it....

2014-08-01 08:28:08 | pauls writes:

So right! Continuous paper trail mandatory. If there is any good news these huge databases between insurances and state registration authorities weren't prominent until the 80s. If the car fell off the record before then it could most likely be reintroduced safely. If however a previous owner were to appear with a title that would be serious trouble indeed.

2016-02-10 16:48:29 | pauls writes:

Car has resumed its former glory and then some:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3439951/Rusting-old-Jaguar-E-Type-restored-form ...
Now registered YSG 547

No detail was too small and extensive work has been carried out in the paint and trim shops so that the car can now boast its original colour combination of pearl grey exterior and light blue interior, being the only one produced in those colours in 1961.

2016-02-10 17:14:27 | pauls writes:

Note, at original sale body number was quoted as V1246 now wears V1130.

2016-02-13 04:09:49 | Anonymous writes:

Not good at all. What is an XKE if not its original ptub?

2016-02-13 09:28:02 | Stefan writes:

Anyhow strange with the different information on the car (stolen 90/91 or in one hand since 76 - but this could be a mixed up).

But moreover the body in any case does look odd as it is in maroon throughout. I have never seen such a perfect paint job on an not fully restored car. Normally I would expect to see the colour pearl at least somewhere in the inside of the car if not on the engine frames, etc.

2016-02-15 18:51:19 | edward writes:

the people with lots of money to spend will allways get there way
if this was a stolen car,it would belong to the relevant insurance company
maybe cmc bought the salvage as the payout would only be about £25,000 in 1991,worth more now,france would be a good place to hide a stolen car as no eec

2016-10-16 09:30:43 | Daniel writes:

For sale by Classic Motor Cars in UK - £315 000
www.classic-motor-cars.co.uk/classic-cars-for-sale/1961-jaguar-e-type-fhc_17

Seller's description :
The E-Type that turned heads at the 1961 Scottish Motor Show has been brought back to its former glory by world-leading restorers Classic Motor Cars (CMC).

Chassis No. 15 was the fifteenth right hand drive fixed head coupe E-Type to leave Jaguar's production line in 1961 and was used as a press car at the Scottish Motor Show held at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, in November that year.The car then moved on to private ownership and went missing for decades until CMC discovered it in Cernay, France, in late 2013. Exactly 2,956hrs were spent restoring every nut and bolt of this E-Type at CMC's modern workshops in Bridgnorth, saving as much of the original car as possible and bringing back its show-stopping condition.

Tim Leese, Managing Director of Classic Motor Cars, said: "We found Chassis No. 15 in Cernay, a French town close to the border with Germany. It had been owned by the same person since 1976, who dismantled it probably some twenty years ago and that is as far as he got. "The car was underneath some covers in a garden, very rusty and corroded - there was even a bird's nest in the rear quarter! We carried out a full nut and bolt restoration, which proved to be quite a challenge due to the sorry state in which it was found."

However, CMC is known to never back down from a challenging restoration and has a reputation for having restored some of the most historic E-Types, including Lofty England's Chassis No. 4, the Lindner-Nöcker Lightweight and 1VHP, the first right hand drive fixed head coupe off the production line.

Tim said: "No detail was too small and extensive work has been carried out in the paint and trim shops so that the car can now boast its original colour combination of pearl grey exterior and light blue interior, being the only one produced in those colours in 1961.

"This was one of the six E-Types on display at the 1961 Scottish Motor Show. After restoring it to its former glory, we thought it was only fitting that the car returned to the centre stage 55 years later and what could be better than the London Classic Car Show."

2017-11-09 16:30:28 | pauls writes:

Car now offered at:
www.coys.co.uk/showroom-cars/1961-jaguar-e-type-flat-floor-coupe-chassis-number- ...

Sellers description:
Produced on the 14th of October 1961, #860015 was shipped to its original distributor, Rossleigh Jaguars in Edinburgh on the 27th of October 1961 as an original RHD Coupe and was the fifteenth car off the production line.

Most importantly #15 was finished in special order Scottish Thistle Pearl White, specifically for the Scottish Motorshow 1961 where this car was displayed to unveil the E-type to the eager and excited British public.

Sold from the Motor show stand the car became the first Coupe Birmingham saw ( photos on file) purchased and subsequently registered to its first owner Mr. N Moore under the registration YSG 547, as confirmed by a copy of the sales ledger.

Finished in the same unique and beautiful colour combination with its striking contrasting light blue interior it is presented today to the exact specification of the 1961 Motor Show. Also included in the history file is its original continuation logbook from 1969 which shows that the car was still registered with its original number TSG 549 right up until its last entry in 1979 when the car was purchased by its last owner, Mr. William Brian Johnstone. In 2014 the car was purchased from Mr. Johnstone's Widow and subsequently underwent a professional body-off restoration by renowned marque specialists Classic Motor Cars ltd (CMC), costing in excess of £200,000 GBP and taking over 4,000 hours, with a breath-taking result.

Now presented in similar if not better condition that when it rolled off the production line in October 1961, #860015 is being offered for sale for the first time in over 40 years.

2018-04-21 04:22:22 | Chris Eddy writes:

Has anyone got to the bottom of the claim that this car was reported as stolen from David as per the above comment in the first entry .....??? David - did you do anything about this...????

2018-05-18 16:19:19 | Paul writes:

The car discovered in France was inspected by Jaguar Heritage, at CMC before restoration. The body number, engine number and gearbox number all matched Jaguar's records from 1961, in addition traces of the original Pearl Grey was visible inside the car. The car had been owned by the same man since 1976. Jaguar Heritage were happy to issue a letter and Heritage Certificate to confirm that this car is chassis number 860015.

2019-10-29 08:49:45 | Malcolm McKay writes:

Perhaps I can throw some light in the darkness here. I am currently researching this car for an article in The E-type magazine and, having seen all the photographs taken from when it was first found by CMC and through the restoration, including some I took myself at CMC when visiting in 2015, I can answer most of the questions above.

1. The car found by CMC in France is 860015 and does retain its original running gear and many other original details. I don't know where Stefan above saw "all maroon" photos, but the as found photos I have seen show Pearl Grey throughout the bulkhead, floors, and all other internal panels. The car was resprayed Regency Red in 1971, which is confirmed by the 1969 Continuation Log Book held by the current owner. Same log book shows the sale to William Johnston in 1976, from whose widow CMC bought it in 2014. The car had already been stripped when purchased, but Johnston had kept ALL the parts he had taken off in his barn, he'd just never started the restoration. Apart from the colour change, it was extremely original - but extremely rusty. Even the "FORCED DRAUGHT FAN" chrome plaque fixed to the heater box for the Scottish Motor Show (where, incidentally, it was one of six E-types on display) can be seen in the 'as found' photos.
2. Also visible on the original photos, under the Pearl Grey paint, is the body number V1130, riveted in the correct place inside the left rear body. The chassis plate, however, carries body number V1246 - which is the number on Jaguar Heritage records. Shocking as that may seem, it is in fact nothing unusual on 3.8s of this era, when it is known that chassis plate and body stampings varied by as much as 150 for a time. One can only speculate how this confusion arose, between the person stamping the plates and the person riveting the body numbers to the shells, but perhaps some shells intended to satisfy huge US demand were diverted at the last minute to the RHD line to satisfy urgent UK needs? We may never know, but this deviation in body numbers is established fact.
3. David's reference to the theft of this car from him in 1990/1 is mysterious and unsubstantiated, but CMC refers to the apparent 'cloning' of the car. Reg WSV 898 is also quoted - somewhat mysteriously, as the car was always registered YSG 547 and has continuous history as such. The most likely explanation is that the car David bought during the late 1980s boom was cloned by some unscrupulous person, who 'created' 860015 from another, possibly later, 3.8 FHC, faked a chassis plate and obtained an age-related registration (WSV 898) for it as he had no original registration documentation. This car was then stolen from David and has presumably never resurfaced.

So there you go. YSG 547 is a gorgeous, correctly-restored E-type with a great history and is now being driven and enjoyed as it was when first built. And the colour scheme is superb! See the December 2019 issue of The E-type.

2021-01-11 03:02:59 | Martin Lane writes:

Lanes Cars restored another Jaguar Scottish Motor Car Show Car Chassis number 13

lanescars.co.uk/early-1961-flat-floor-jaguar-e-types-rebuilt-by-lanes-cars/