Sorry I haven’t posted lately, been tied up with summer time work around home and neglecting my Jag resto. So the series 2 car I bought has an original hard top which I intend to sell as I’m strictly a rag top guy plus, some of the sale will help fund my restoration. I was shocked this week to see a series 1 top, repainted black, go for over $30,000 on bring a trailer! The paint on my top had some cracking and flaking so I stripped it and plan to have it primed so it will be ready for the new owner to paint to match their car. I also plan to steam clean the headliner and maybe re- chrome some of the fittings. So a couple questions… 1: Am I right that there is no difference between a series 1 or 2 top and 2: do you think the top is more valuable primed or painted black as the one that just sold?

 

Hi John,
As far as I know the series 1 and 2 use the same top. As for paint Vs. Primer; shiny parts always sell better. Plus a painted top in good condition is a plug and play item. But as to the difference in price, yes the top in premiered will sell for less than a well painted top. But if your top needs to be painted you need to consider the cost of paint.
Good luck with the sale. I'll be looking for it on bat.
Bill.

 

Hey John,
I hope your summer is going well. Yes, the series 1 & 2 tops are the same. I believe all the hard tops were originally painted black and the dealers would paint to match the car for a price. I have seen many more black ones than body color.

Hope this helps.

 

My factory hard top is black and always was and will fit both Series 1 and 2 E types

 

Thanks for the feed back

 

FWIW the Series 3 hardtops (which won't fit the earlier cars) also all came in black from the factory. As mentioned, many were later repainted by dealers to match the car.