E Type restoration cost.
Discussion
I have a 1963 3.8 coupe, a RHD UK car, matching numbers, original reg and quite a bit of its history.
Current status is body work all done, all new from frames, new wheels, new exhaust, new interior, rebuilt engine and box and rebuilt IRS, all front suspension ready to fit. A few boxes of other new parts ready to fit.
It will need a radiator, loom a few bits of chrome trim, tyres.
Its completely dismantled.
It will need blasting or dipping to get rid of a shocking 80's Carmen red paint job, painting OSB and putting togther.
I'm not making good progress.
What would it cost me to have it done?
Who would I go to?
I really dont want to end up with a car I'm scared to leave in a supermarket car park or drive in the rain, but I do want it well built and looking nice.
Current status is body work all done, all new from frames, new wheels, new exhaust, new interior, rebuilt engine and box and rebuilt IRS, all front suspension ready to fit. A few boxes of other new parts ready to fit.
It will need a radiator, loom a few bits of chrome trim, tyres.
Its completely dismantled.
It will need blasting or dipping to get rid of a shocking 80's Carmen red paint job, painting OSB and putting togther.
I'm not making good progress.
What would it cost me to have it done?
Who would I go to?
I really dont want to end up with a car I'm scared to leave in a supermarket car park or drive in the rain, but I do want it well built and looking nice.
try http://www.butlinclassiccars.co.uk/
My father has had restoration done on his roadster from these guys. Might be too far for you being based in derbyshire, but can vouch for their honesty, good knowledge and premises.
Funnily enough the car my dad is restoring now is a '63 coupe RHD with a shocking maroon paint job probably from the 80's. it's supposed to be Opelescent silver blue... As yours is i see. Good luck!
My father has had restoration done on his roadster from these guys. Might be too far for you being based in derbyshire, but can vouch for their honesty, good knowledge and premises.
Funnily enough the car my dad is restoring now is a '63 coupe RHD with a shocking maroon paint job probably from the 80's. it's supposed to be Opelescent silver blue... As yours is i see. Good luck!
Edited by pb63 on Monday 17th January 15:42
A bit closer than Derbyshire, you could try talking to Winspeed Motorsport near Guildford.
http://www.winspeedmotorsport.com/
I suspect that a lot of the experienced E-Type shops are very busy at the moment as this is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the E and so there are a lot of E-Type events going on and people trying to get there cars ready in time.
Another company that would be worth talking to are CMC http://www.classic-motor-cars.co.uk/
http://www.winspeedmotorsport.com/
I suspect that a lot of the experienced E-Type shops are very busy at the moment as this is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the E and so there are a lot of E-Type events going on and people trying to get there cars ready in time.
Another company that would be worth talking to are CMC http://www.classic-motor-cars.co.uk/
Having any car restored needs to be somewhere near perfect, for 2 reasons. Firstly a car not up to scratch is not something any restorer would want to own up to, secondly if you want a car with the rough edges, just assemble it as is and enjoy. However, don`t expect to get top money for it, just because it is an E.Quality always sells. Quality costs money.Quality would start at around £140k.
There remains a shortage of go0d quality stock, o it will forever be just another E, or something special.
My advice is not to waste your money on a second rate rebuild.If you can`t afford don`t do it. There are plenty of restorers who give good value work for less than the `big boys`.
There remains a shortage of go0d quality stock, o it will forever be just another E, or something special.
My advice is not to waste your money on a second rate rebuild.If you can`t afford don`t do it. There are plenty of restorers who give good value work for less than the `big boys`.
pb63 said:
Thanks, I spoke to them this afternoon, based on how far I have got, he thought about £30k to £40k, he said a complete nut and bolt rebuild on a really rought car comes in at about £65k. His hourly rate is £30, takes about 18 months, Can it really be £140k?
No, the Reg does not have KV in it.
I did a "just put it together" job on an E type about 5 years ago.
Similar hourly rate, with and engine rebuild (was told it will start - not with 3 broken head studs and if it did - gutless with wrong pistons in it..)
Car was nasty really, bits missing, assembled wrongly, rear wheel bearings had spacers missing so split pins were all that were holding the hubs up....
In the end it came to around £18k, but this did not need a respray or much interior. Poly bushed and coilovers, simply cleaning, inspecting and painting bits so they looked original, not concourse.
Theyre not difficult cars to work on and with the likes of Barrats, bits are simply look on line and pay by card.
Similar hourly rate, with and engine rebuild (was told it will start - not with 3 broken head studs and if it did - gutless with wrong pistons in it..)
Car was nasty really, bits missing, assembled wrongly, rear wheel bearings had spacers missing so split pins were all that were holding the hubs up....
In the end it came to around £18k, but this did not need a respray or much interior. Poly bushed and coilovers, simply cleaning, inspecting and painting bits so they looked original, not concourse.
Theyre not difficult cars to work on and with the likes of Barrats, bits are simply look on line and pay by card.
That's sort of the point though - it should be possible to get it better than original, which is how concours works.
The trick will be to do as much as you can. For example, if you can get the car painted and rolling, and get the restorer to do the fiddly bits that make it special, you'll save a bundle.
The trick will be to do as much as you can. For example, if you can get the car painted and rolling, and get the restorer to do the fiddly bits that make it special, you'll save a bundle.
pb63 said:
I think 140K is excessive to say the least. On this kind of money it would be a product that would exceed how the car would have come out of the factory originally.
Again it depends what you want and/or expect. In my opinion a full restoration means returning the car to a minimum of "as new" standard and hopefully much better in way of paint and trim finishes.
To do this the car would be dismantled to the last nut and bolt and EVERY item rebuilt or renewed to the makers original tolerance, this would include even such items as the instrumentation. The cost to do this for an E-type would certainly exceed 100k.
For example - if a car retains the original wiring loom, the gearbox appeared o.k so has been left alone, ditto the differential, the engine frames haven't been renewed as a matter of course, and so on, then in my eyes it isn't a restored car.
Nothing wrong with this of course but that's the difference between a +100k and a 50k "restoration" and it will be refelected in the end product and the value of the finished article.
Would be no point in restoring an E and bringing back to factory standard because you'd be back to square one in a few years.
My car is in bits and the body and paint will come to just over 30k (trade) I estimate that the car will have cost me 65k done and that is with me doing absolutely everything bar the body. Stripping parts and painting,plating rebuilding etc.
My advise is NOT to cut costs....you only want to do the job once so do it properly and it will last
My car is in bits and the body and paint will come to just over 30k (trade) I estimate that the car will have cost me 65k done and that is with me doing absolutely everything bar the body. Stripping parts and painting,plating rebuilding etc.
My advise is NOT to cut costs....you only want to do the job once so do it properly and it will last
E-Types Are VERY COSTLY/Complicated to restore properly, its a case of 2 grand for this, 2 grand for that........Engine bay detailing is very time consumeing/costly, the Original front side frames are allways rotten, ( even on the California cars ).
Many repro parts are of poor quality/dont fit and they drive SO MUCH better, with either an Alloy or Fibre glass bonnet. A very worth while , but costly ( alloy ) mod.
The rear Suspension is time consumeing and expensive to overhaul.
If they are not put back together properly they can be real dogs and never drive or perform well.
However, one drive in one and you are smitten, there is just nothing like a Series 1 E......Even when they have broken down on the M-25 !!
Many repro parts are of poor quality/dont fit and they drive SO MUCH better, with either an Alloy or Fibre glass bonnet. A very worth while , but costly ( alloy ) mod.
The rear Suspension is time consumeing and expensive to overhaul.
If they are not put back together properly they can be real dogs and never drive or perform well.
However, one drive in one and you are smitten, there is just nothing like a Series 1 E......Even when they have broken down on the M-25 !!
Thanks for all your inputs, it very interesting to see how opinions vary.
I once bought a concours Healey, after about a year I was so precious about keeping it in top condition I found it limited the amount of use it got. In the end I sold it as I found it too much of a worry.
Once this Jaguar is finished I quite fancy having it as my daily driver for a while and I certainly dont want a concours car to do that to.
I once bought a concours Healey, after about a year I was so precious about keeping it in top condition I found it limited the amount of use it got. In the end I sold it as I found it too much of a worry.
Once this Jaguar is finished I quite fancy having it as my daily driver for a while and I certainly dont want a concours car to do that to.
I still believe 140K to restore an FHC series 1 is excessive. If the car is being returned to better than factory spec but still in keeping with the original aspects of the car then I cannot see how you would get to 140K. If for example you’re replacing the bonnet with an aluminium item and upgrading other aspects of the car to this magnitude, I can see how the bills escalate – For me this is destroying originality. If your are doing concours then I’m sure you could throw 250K at any project, but I believe the OP wants a useable car and I for one commend him for this as these cars were meant to be driven and enjoyed not feather dusted. So I think 140K for him is unrealistic - indeed i still question value for money you get from spending so much. Why bother to spend 140K when you can get an excellent example of this car for around £60K.
On restoring I’m only speaking from mine/and my fathers experience. He does a lot of the work himself on the jags having owned classic jags for 30+ years and driven etypes from factory new so I guess in that respect we’re lucky to have the knowledge in house. I certainly would be very wary about giving a restoration project to a company and just saying get on with it. We’ve seen some con men over the years under reputable names which I cannot mention here – indeed some of you maybe using them!
On the series 1 roadster that was completed around 2 years ago, my father did all of the mechanical restoration and the body was completed by Butlins (who were excellent) and the whole car assembled by them as well. He did have parts of the engine done by Rob Beere upgrading the spec. of the engine to have bigger pistons/valves and gas flowed head but my father assembled and built the engine. He also made other upgrades such as the brakes (coopercraft items), replaced engine frames etc... but I think he’s ended up with the ideal. It’s not observably modified, however it certainly is improved! How much did the total project cost – I’ve no idea but nowhere near 140K or even half that but the end result is stunning. But I suppose when you are doing a lot of the work yourself and you have the knowledge then that’s how you save the money. (Finished item below in OSB)
On restoring I’m only speaking from mine/and my fathers experience. He does a lot of the work himself on the jags having owned classic jags for 30+ years and driven etypes from factory new so I guess in that respect we’re lucky to have the knowledge in house. I certainly would be very wary about giving a restoration project to a company and just saying get on with it. We’ve seen some con men over the years under reputable names which I cannot mention here – indeed some of you maybe using them!
On the series 1 roadster that was completed around 2 years ago, my father did all of the mechanical restoration and the body was completed by Butlins (who were excellent) and the whole car assembled by them as well. He did have parts of the engine done by Rob Beere upgrading the spec. of the engine to have bigger pistons/valves and gas flowed head but my father assembled and built the engine. He also made other upgrades such as the brakes (coopercraft items), replaced engine frames etc... but I think he’s ended up with the ideal. It’s not observably modified, however it certainly is improved! How much did the total project cost – I’ve no idea but nowhere near 140K or even half that but the end result is stunning. But I suppose when you are doing a lot of the work yourself and you have the knowledge then that’s how you save the money. (Finished item below in OSB)
Talk to Klimcke Racing near Stansted... Roger just finished one off for a foregn customer and that car arrived as a total barn find from the US. Cant remember how many hours that went into that (roughly 1000hrs) and add to that everything getting rebuildt.. engine included.
http://www.klimcke-racing.com/
Also be aware that to factory new spec wasnt really that nice compared to the Astons of the time.. one was truly bespoke, the other factory built mass produced jobbies.
Another factor, is to consider selling as-is.. dont paint it or nothing. People can then see it in the nude and not be scared by a fresh paintjob that may hide a multitude of sins. Barn find basket cases tend to go for more money than some restorations these days..
http://www.klimcke-racing.com/
Also be aware that to factory new spec wasnt really that nice compared to the Astons of the time.. one was truly bespoke, the other factory built mass produced jobbies.
Another factor, is to consider selling as-is.. dont paint it or nothing. People can then see it in the nude and not be scared by a fresh paintjob that may hide a multitude of sins. Barn find basket cases tend to go for more money than some restorations these days..
A good bloke by the name of Brian Mondey in Gosport restored my Jag Mark II, engine, gearbox and bodywork. He's not the cheapest (but not unreasonable) however he really cares about the job in hand. He also does a good line in very dry humour. Definitely worth a call as he is local.
PM me for his details.
PM me for his details.
Old Git said:
A good bloke by the name of Brian Mondey in Gosport restored my Jag Mark II, engine, gearbox and bodywork. He's not the cheapest (but not unreasonable) however he really cares about the job in hand. He also does a good line in very dry humour. Definitely worth a call as he is local.
PM me for his details.
Thanks, I've got an idea I bought some bits and bobs from him via Ebay.PM me for his details.
I certainly have no interest in making the car better than when Jaguar built it in any respect.
For the last 10 or so years I've run 2 old cars side by side as my daily drivers and loved every minute, I intend to do that with the E type.
Unfortunatly I dont seem to be finding the time to make more progress with it.
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