A classic

Still breathtaking after all these year and one of the many cars I never owned but wished I had:

The car was black and the colours in the background just distracted; so a B&W conversion was in order.

Panasonic GX1 with Panasonic 7-14mm lens.

Comments 🔗

2012-04-02 | Spanky says

I have stared at that picture since Sunday. I think I figured it out. That is an Aston correct? I believe I worked on a restoration of one in my younger years. I also must request you stop taking pictures with the Panasonic 7-14.

2012-04-03 | Barry says

Bugger! Now I’m going to be depressed for the rest of the week because you’ve reminded me that I haven’t got one of these. I always wanted one in red with black interior. Pure class. I’ve never understood why they stopped producing the E-type when it was so popular. And still is. Maybe they’ll bring it back, like the Mini and the Volkwagen.

2012-04-03 | Grant says

Sorry Spanky, it’s a later series E type Jaguar. Spike I bought an early series one FHC (flat floors, Kelsey-Hayes brake booster) in 1976 when it was 14 years old. It was an import ex UK and already very weak in the body but strong in the engine, luckily. I ran it for nine or ten months and it gobbled up a day a week keeping it reliable and usable, maybe it was lonely! I sold it for a small profit and never regretted it for a moment. Of all the cars I’ve had it’s quite a way down from the top of the list, and I don’t think you’ve missed out on much. The later cars such as the one in your photo are only breathtaking until you see a series one, they were truly beautiful…

2012-04-03 | Grant says

Barry they stopped making them because they had put on weight, lost their looks and become sadly outdated. They were popular because they were cheap and they were cheap because build quality and reliability were always a bit of a compromise, which has lead to large numbers failing to survive. Quite the opposite from the situation with, say, Aston-Martin or Ferrari. These days I’d prefer a well-engineered D type replica, if the shed wasn’t already full…

2012-04-03 | Spike says

Spanky, you can be forgiven your ignorance of a kettle; but an E-Type….. Next you will be telling us you are unaware of a jam buttie.

2012-04-03 | Spike says

Indeed the series 1 looked the best; thereafter they looked a little bloated, although the V12 was appealing. The closest I got to one was on some back roads near my home when I was out for a run in my Lotus 7. A tuned E-Type with fat wheels appeared behind me with some stupid idea he was going to overtake me. He might have had me on a long straight, but an E-Type was no match for a 7 round the corners or under acceleration. It all came to grief (for him) on a particularly nasty bend where my little 7 danced round, and the E-Type headed for a large ditch. How we laughed; or at least I did.

2012-04-03 | Spike says

We need to know what is currently in your shed.

2012-04-03 | Grant says

Shared your laughter on many occasions. I bought a Lotus Seven (Steele Bros licenced production) in 1983 when it was about eight years old. Got it very very cheap as the non-mechanical owner had convinced himself the engine was knackered and he was terrified! The car had been fitted with the wrong muffler and those Lotus/Ford twin-cams had very short valve guides which wore out real quick if there was any back-pressure in the exhaust system. Whipped the head off, new set of guides, fitted a ‘muffler’ you could shove a cat through and the whole thing went like Jack the Bear. It was great! The Jap ‘hot hatch’ was on the rise in those days and we used to play with those plonkers for a while and then screw them up and throw them away. Fitted like a glove,went like an atomic skateboard. Didn’t keep it long but made some good money on it.

2012-04-03 | Grant says

PS If you want to know what’s in the shed you’d better email me some time…

2012-04-03 | Spike says

Mine was (half) built by Team Lotus and arrived in a Team Lotus van. Made sure the delivery guys were kept waiting so the truck could be seen outside my house for as long as possible. But then I have already rattled on about that…2011_03_not-a-gearbox-story

2012-04-03 | Spike says

Have mailed you. Am guessing “semi-naked virgins in a cage”, but I could be wrong.

2012-04-03 | Grant says

What’s with this ‘semi’ nonsense?

2012-04-06 | Chang Noi says

A from the good old time they still made cars instead of transport vehicles.

2012-05-13 | Pramothes says

Thanks again for your blog and photos I alomst bought a GF-1 when you started raving, but as can be seen, cameras change so fast, by the time you buy that new camera it’s already been bettered!