Hello, I'm considering buying an E type as it has always been a dream of mine. What is considered to be the most sort after Generation and engine of the series. Thanks in advance!

 

All series have their own good points and bad. For me (a former series 2 roadster owner) my pick would be a very late series 1 3.8 litre.

 

Hello fellow Aussies . . .
How long is a piece of string . . . ? I mean . . . what is your agenda? How do you propose to use the car . . . or, just like a certain D-Type up north, do you intend to drain it of all fluids, never start it, and hand push it on and off an enclosed trailer to wow the crowds at car shows and watch its value skyrocket? If so, hang out for one of the single handful of initial cars with pressed alloy dash, flat floors and external bonnet catches. Several million AU$ might (or might not) land you one eventually!

Having owned 2x Series1 3.8s briefly back in the day (first a FHC, then OTS), my final choice in the mid 70s was the 4.2L . . . far more tractable engine (read better low down torque), far superior g/box and brakes, yet with all the styling purity of the Series1. Delivered new to Brysons (Melbourne) ours had a sister car in identical colours which went on to Brysons (Sydney). One evening in the late 80s, the cars met again briefly in Sydney.

As 2nd owners, based in Sunraysia, we loved that beauty for the next 40 years, but finally sold to a mate here in NSW who treasured all the car's documentation from new and all ours, and the initial owners' photo albums. Why? Because we discovered the XK8/XKR . . . but that's another story . . . and we could never afford an Eagle Speedster which, IMHO, is/was the most remarkable and expensive E-Type that Jaguar never made!

Mekon makes a good point that all variants have strengths and weaknesses. For the Oz climate, I regret that the cooling (engine & occupants) on the S1 and S2 cars was indifferent at best . . . and generally, totally unacceptable. Engine oil pump needs to be "as new" or lubrication will be problematic. Beware the "laid up" low mileage E-Type as the hygroscopic brake fluid will have most of the pristine brake components rusting from the inside out.

Gosh . . . sounds like I am a real negative nellie. Well, I am really not . . . just that my rose coloured glasses of 1970 have faded . . . not through any jaundiced experience with our E-Type. It's just that these are all OLD cars, and we have come such a long, LONG way in 55 years. Whichever you prefer, aim to get the finest example you can afford . . . every wise "new" owner should expect any such car to demand heaps of careful, ongoing and often expensive, maintenance.

Best wishes,

Ken

 

I'd say a '67 series 1, best of the Series 1s. The '68 isn't bad but they tend to have the raised headlights I'm not a fan of. At 69 the tail lights are screwed up too. I just saw a '67 coup for sale here (Oregon) at the restoration shop I'm planning to use. No idea what the are asking but if you are interested this is their web site (it is a numbers matching full restoration in black fully certified so, I expect, it won't be cheap). Here is a link to the shop: Tom Jones Motorcars LLC

 

Presumably a US spec LHD delivery and therefore not likely to be of any interest to our OP who is in Melbourme, Australia (RHD).

Cheers,

Ken

 

I have been reading about the new electric jaguar E-type on the internet....seems like a model you can consider since all cars will be electric soon.

 

True I've been arguing that, in the future, if you want a classic it will likely need to be converted to electric if you actually want to run it on the road (or run it at all). Good news is that, with an electric, very little in the power train ages badly while with gas engines all those hoses, seals, and liquids are problematic long term.

Back to topic here is a nice report on choosing the right XKE I ran into today:

http://www.thecarnut.com/JaguarSeries.pdf