The bidding on this baby stalled before it hit the 68k reserve... Do you think it's worth that price? Check out more pics and info here.

 

Not to me it ain't. While the condition seems to be excellent, V12 is a show stopper for many (myself included). If it was S2, it'd be gone.

 

Fair enough. Killer color combo though...

 

It is really sad what a terrible rep the Series IIIs have but Jaguar had just made the car too big and the smog crap coupled with British Layland's financial issues at the time (it should have been fuel injected) really damaged the performance of that engine. And I absolutely hate the grill and raised headlights (this last also thanks to our brilliant bureaucrats). And if you modify the car to clean it up you'll probably drop the value not increase it even though, by most standards, due to the increased room it is a far more comfortable car to drive. Were I to get the car I'd want the mods to make it look like a Series 1 from the front and back, then I'd want to put in a late model XJS V12 (or XK12) (for the fuel injection system) and by the time I was done I'd have a great driver that'd likely be worth less. But this is a really nice car.

 

Hi, I have no idea about the correct value as that is up to the market as always. The S3 is a more sophisticated and long legged car than the S2 which also rectified a few design issues from the original pure design as the overheating issues due to small "mouth" and more. The E was never meant to be a car to be produced in large numbers and a lot of alterations was done along the production run. The v12 engine is a masterpiece and it was a showcase for the XJ12 as the 120 was for the saloons in early 50s. I think the s3 is just right with the wider track and a decent space inside. But its a personal view and thats nice with the E-types, there is a type for most budgets and way of driving. Hope you find yours! Good luck!

 

I know it isn't the favorite of XKE purists but, personally, I'd take a Series III in a New York minute....especially an example as nice as the one pictured.

Cheers
DD

 

 

I think that is well over the real market. Now a Jaguar marketing specialist might get that for the right one simply because he has the connections and can and will do the little things that add value that are seldom done when a private party is selling.

Buyers at the top of the price range can and often are extremely fussy. Wrong brand of tires, type of transmission, or color. Lacking proper details or a decal carelessly placed all have been known to kill a sale.

As far as a car, few will argue with the beauty of the series one, Since Enzo Ferrari said it was the most beautiful car made. But the room and sophistication of the series 3 can win a lot of hearts.

As a pure race car the series 3 is faster than the series 1 and with the right selection of components can be shockingly fast. But few remember how Group 44 and Huffaker Racing throughly trounced the Corvettes in their class.

 

Having built a race car out of a series 3 roadster I can tell you that is one serious performing car. The V12 is beautifully simple to work on and can easily make twice as much power as the 3.8-4.2 and about 100 times as durable.

Power wise a V12 makes 242 DIN net horsepower. Before you Poo Poo that realize that. A Chevy 454 makes only 235 hp SAE net. (Multiply DIN times 1.O139 To get SAE net rating) the 450 horsepower some Earlier engines have Is Gross or Advertized horsepower. Not SAE net. So you could fairly make the claim that if a 454 makes 450 Advertized horsepower then a V12 would make 490 Advertized horsepower.

Want more? The rest of the world (England, Europe, etc ) have 9.0-1 compression instead of America’s 7.8-1 plus a better distributor. That’s 40 more horsepower DIN net! The stock camshafts are extremely mild with only a tiny 3/8 inch lift . Both Piper and Kent cams in England plus Isky and Crower cams here in America have much better ones which will still idle smoothly at 650rpm yet give you an additional 65-100 DIN net horsepower.
The 4 single barrel carburetors are bigger than the biggest Chevy ever put on a 454 but so simple to work on a Holley looks like a hopeless maze in comparison.
Headers don’t make a big improvement. The stock cast Iron ones only weigh 4 pounds each. And headers will cost you thousands of dollars, be high maintenance and yield at most 4% power gain, Many “headers”actually improve nothing. That’s the beauty of a V12;
Realize the pollution equipment only hurts a tiny bit and once past 2500 rpm has no effect. While it’s removal cleans up a busy looking engine, save the pieces

 

You and I will have to differ.
While the labor dispute failed to produce the quality Jaguars were capable of by now any of those issues have been corrected or never occurred in the first place.
As for Fuel injection, be glad it never was. There was only 22 horsepower difference between carburator s
The problem is so very few people understood Fuel injection through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. That perfectly good Jaguars were often torn apart and then junked. It wasn’t until OBD2 came out that Some fuel injected cars were repaired.
Second while 242 DIN net horsepower doesn’t sound very powerful. Realize that a 454 Chevy only made 235 hp SAE net. So the V12 makes more power than. Chevy 454.

 

Looks like this one has run it's course.