1964 E Type FHC (CB) 15,862 original miles

Back to Home

This is a totally rust free 1964 E Type FHC with 15,862 one owner miles and racing upgrades from the factory. This amazing car was special ordered by Sidney Seligson in the winter of 1963. The sales price of $6265.50 included a number of performance upgrades that Sidney had specified. The car was completed on January 14th, 1964 and dispatched from the factory on January 29th, 1964. This really is a sensational and unique car, with the provenance to back it up. The car still has all its original documentation, service manuals and even an original bill of sale specifying the racing equipment and upgrades installed at the factory. These included DS11 brake pads with racing brake fluid, competition clutch and driven plate, gas flowed cylinder head and intake manifolds, polished crankshaft and polished connecting rods - and a seriously light weight racing flywheel. At less than 15 lbs, this is the lightest factory flywheel we have ever seen. The factory stamped the engine number on the flywheel - and in fact, as you would expect, all the numbers match throughout the car.  An unbelievable find with rare, possibly unique, factory racing options. These cars do not come along often. We've been through this car from stem to stern and there is zero rust in any of the body panels or structural members. This is literally the most rust free original E Type that we have ever seen. Sidney Seligson lived in Tornado Alley - specifically Wichita Falls, Texas - where he worked as an architect at the local air force base. On April 10, 1979 the 5th largest tornado ever recorded in the USA struck and devastated the town of Wichita Falls. As Sidney and his mother fled from their house in the family car, the E Type was left helpless in the garage. The car actually withstood the storm pretty well, escaping with only minor roof and (lh) side window damage from a tree limb that crashed through the garage wall. After the body repairs were completed, the car was never fully reassembled and she never ran again. Sidney simply stored the car in his garage until his death in 1999. Sidney's daughter-in-law says he insisted on the very best of everything in life. This Jaguar was apparently a perfect example of his excellent and individualistic taste. Sidney loved and babied the car, and certainly never raced it. This E Type is really being recommissioned, not restored. We are rebuilding it to ostensibly the same mechanical spec as it left the factory. Bodily, we have never seen a better original example. It literally does not need a single panel replacing. Unfortunately, however, the partial repaint that was done following the tornado damage was of poor quality. The car deserves (and will obviously receive) a top quality, bare metal repaint. Some of the interior, including the hides, will be saved. The car has a complete tool kit, including the Dunlop tire gauge still in its plastic wrapper! The original jack and bag is also present. The fascinating history of 889859 continues... By a strange twist of fate, the new owner of this car was born on the same air force base in Wichita Falls where Sidney Seligson worked as an architect. Even more amazingly, he was born in February 1964, the same month Sidney first took delivery of his E Type...

 




Jay Leno giving his seal of approval to 889859 at a charity event in Lubbock, Texas - February 2018

---

I was delighted to hear from Carl and Carrie following their adventures at the fabulous Santa Fe Concorso, held last weekend. The Santa Fe Concorso is one of the most prestigious Concours events in the country, with only the very best and most significant cars being invited to attend. This year saw a spectacular gathering of cars, including several D Types, C Types and XKSS's, one of which was the famous ex-Steve McQueen car.

Congratulations Carl and Carrie! I have no doubt Sidney Seligson was smiling down on the event, immensely proud to see his special ordered E Type rubbing shoulders with genuine automotive royalty.
 
 

Dear Dan,

I hope you're doing well. We were honored to show the 'Factory Race Car' at the Santa Fe Concorso this past weekend. The Concorso was fabulous! E-liza, as she is now known, was awarded 2nd place in the Sports & GT 1960-1966 Class. First Place went to an impeccable 1962 Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso. We greatly enjoyed the 100 mile mountain run. What fun! E-liza was flawless. We really enjoyed chasing the C and D Types, as well as the XKSS's, three of each. We did see the temperature gauge rise a couple of times in traffic, but quickly corrected at speed. I hold the original 2 blade fan responsible!

The car was continually surrounded by a friendly crowd. Too many compliments on the quality of the restoration and finish of the car to count! I was amazed at the number of people that follow the restoration projects on your website. I know you and I visited once regarding the number of monthly hits on the site. I now understand why. I suspect you will have many more clients after seeing E-liza in the 'flesh'. The judges were also impressed with all of the original documentation.

I'm not trying to rub salt in the wound (I did see your comments regarding selling us E-liza on your new Facebook page yesterday), but I wanted to congratulate you personally, and all of the artists at Classic Jaguar for making a young boy's dream come true (43 years later).
 

Carl and Carrie Britton after receiving their award
No shame in coming second to one of the world's  most beautiful cars!	889859 in the company of Jaguar royalty

Applying the finishing touches to any restoration is always fun, never more so than with this wonderful old E Type.

Service reminder sticker dated 1964	Next service due December 2013
Car last serviced in November 1964	15,000 mile service completed by Classic Jaguar

As we complete this special project, I find myself hoping that Sidney Seligson would have approved of our work...

Installing headlmaps, front bumpers, seats...

Restoring and retrimming the seats (part 2)...

Restoring and retrimming the seats (part one)...

Just a couple of teaser photos before a more substantial update for you next week..

I am pleased to report that we have now test run the engine and everything went smoothly and according to plan. Click on the photo below for a video of Chris running the car through the gears on the Dyno.

I couldn't resist staging a photo of the original spare wheel and tire in place in the boot compartment, complete with factory applied cosmoline.

Headliner installation in progress	Door latches and locks now installed
	Original gas tank cleaned up very nicely
Original spare wheel and tire have never been on  the ground

Engine and transmission now installed....

Carlos using a little modern technology to make sure the boot floor rails are perfectly laid out. I wonder what the ladies and gents at the Jaguar factory in 1964 would have thought about using lasers to help them install the luggage rails...

After trimming, new boot boards fit perfectly	Carlos marking the locations of the luggage runners
	All luggage runners now installed
	Rubber rail inserts now cut and installed

Installing chrome and interior trim....

Installing replated rear bumpers and lamp housings
	Rear luggage parcel shelf installed
Trial fitting boot boards prior to trimming
Door handles now installed

We have now received back your chrome plating....

	Rebuilt pedal box and KH servo installed
15862 original miles
	Dash has been completely rewired

Installing front and rear suspension systems...

Painting the bonnet, installing the engine frames...

Gerardo applying base coat to the bonnet	Finished article basking in the Texas sunshine
We are using as many replated original bolts as possible during the reassembly
	'
	Front frames now installed, front suspension up next
Nickel plated suspension going into place	Steering rack rebuilt and installed

Earlier today, we were honored to receive a visit from renowned Jaguar author, Dr. Tom Haddock. He loved your car's new Carmen Red paintwork and was also blown away by all the original factory documentation that survives with the car. For the record, Tom thinks you made absolutely the right decision to retain the original data plate.

Tom (on left) particularly liked your Carmen Red paintwork	Tom and I congratulating Gerardo Lopez, who painted your car last week

Thirty years ago I attended the National Classic Motor Show at the NEC (National Exhibition Center) in Birmingham, England. At that show I had a profound, life changing encounter with a 1967 Carmen Red E Type coupe. The car had been superbly restored and the quality of the bodywork and paint almost moved me to tears. It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. Now, three decades later, in the imortal words of Pink Floyd, I've got that feeling once again.

Yesterday evening Gerardo painted your car - and he absolutely nailed it. This is some of the best paintwork Classic Jaguar has ever done. I hope you like it.

	New data plate or original, which has nice patina?
Original factory crayon body number on firewall	Reproduced 48 years later

Gerardo has now cleaned up and painted the underside of your car, which looks just like the day it left the factory in 1964.

Carmen Red applied to the entire underside
	Floors are in perfect condition

Applying fresh Carmen Red at appropriate points throughout the cabin and boot compartment.

New seam sealer applied in boot compartment
Dash refinished in Carmen Red	Boot compartment now looks brand new - or better

Applying Carmen Red to the underside of the bonnet...

We have now rebuilt your carbs to 'new' condition...

After numerous test spray-outs, we have finally settled on a Carmen Red formula which I think is closest to the original. I did not care for the standard Glasurit, RM Diamont, DuPont or PPG formulas, all of which were either too 'pink' or too dark. The best Carmen Red we tested, with just the right amount of 'orange', was actually from Spies Hecker. The BASF laboratories are having the SH sample formula-matched to our RM Diamont paint system. It has been a lot of effort getting precisely the right color, but the finished result will be worth it in the end.

Lots of effort to find exactly the right Carmen Red	Scraping the old underseal off by hand before painting

We have now finished blocking the Slick Sand and your car has been primed with Glasurit high build primer. We have also carefully removed the service stickers from the driver's door shut face panel and will reinstall them once the painting process has been completed.

Service stickers were attached to the driver's shut face panel	They will be cleaned up and reinstalled after painting
Bonnet fit is fabulous - as good as it gets

Your IRS rebuild has now been completed and the front suspension has been Nickel plated and re-bushed...

Front suspension has been Nickel plated	Installing new OEM rubber bushings
New shocks have been painted Girling Blue	Original fasteners were black oxide plated
IRS rebuild now completed

Alec did a beautiful job of rebuilding and assembling your pedal box. The original Dunlop brake master cylinders have been re-sleeved and rebuilt, and he took care to use all original fasteners, re-plated with black oxide.

Lots of progress since our last report. We have been busy restoring and rebuilding various components, including the Trico brake reservoir

	Differential cover plate repainted
Upper steering column rebuilt	Fan motor rebuilt and detailed
IRS components ready for assembly	Heater box restored and reassembled
Suspension and brake components for Nickel plating
790 nuts and bolts being sent out for black oxide plating
Carb and fuel items being sent out for Nickel plating	The finished article
Original Dunlop master cylinders will be sleeved and rebuilt	Unusual to see the Trico label intact
The plan is to replicate Trico label, complete with overspray and slightly ineffective masking template	A tracing was made of the original label
Tank was blasted and painted	New Trico label is a pretty good facsimile of the original

Unfortunately, the gearbox internals have suffered from decades of immobility. In fact, anything above the level of the transmission oil has rusted quite badly. The only solution is to replace the gears, the shifter rail and the input shaft assembly with good used alternatives. The output flange also had some rust pitting right where the seal rides, so we decided to replace that as well, just to be safe.

Better (and more interesting) news with the flywheel and clutch. As previously reported, the flywheel for this E Type is the lightest factory unit we have ever seen. Furthermore, it had an unusual diaphragm style pressure plate installed at the factory, in conjunction with a 10 inch Borg & Beck clutch disc. This pressue plate provides a weight saving of almost 4 lbs over the more common spring type clutch typically fitted to 3.8 E Types.

With transmission disassmbled, news is not good	Gears are rusty after years without lube
	Selector rod in top cover is also rusty and will be replaced
Output flange was pitted where seal rides, so we replaced that too	Lightweight factory flywheel is in great shape
Unusually, the clutch bolts to the flywheel using these special shouldered bolts, installed from the engine side	Holes are not threaded. Lock nuts and washers are installed on the clutch side
Lightweight diaphragm clutch is an interesting factory item we have not seen before	Clutch is in perfect condition and will be re-used

Time to begin rebuilding the IRS and gearbox...

The transmission is very grimy	Matching numbers, as you would expect
	IRS is also in need of some TLC
	Shocks and springs will be replaced
IRS cage and other rear suspension components will be  powder coated	Rear brake components will be Nickel plated. Calipers will be sleeved in stainless prior to rebuild

The body has now been fully assembled with latching doors, bonnet and tailgate. Panel fit is perfect throughout.

The bodywork has now been completed and the car has been put into Slick Sand. The next stage will be to reinstall the doors and tailgate with a full compliment of slave rubber seals and latches. Once we are satisfied that the panel fit is absolutely perfect, the Slick Sand will be blocked with 120 and 180 grit - which is the last step before priming and painting.

With the bonnet stripped to bare metal, we were able to see that it was in perfect condition. Truly the best condition original bonnet we have ever seen.

	Glasurit sealer applied over bare  metal	Assembly underway

We decided to completely disassemble the bonnet to make sure all the hidden flanges were in perfect condition - which they were. The original engine frames are absolutely as new. The last photos in the sequence show John using the spot welder slide hammer to remove minor dents in the driver's door.

'
Stripping the underside of the bonnet	Bonnet now disassembled and will  be media blasted	Original engine frames are in perfect condition
Straightening driver's door skin	Metal finished door now ready  for primer

The following photogaphs show John fabricating and installing a replacement for the tornado damaged outer gutter rail, as well as the headliner side panel.

First John made sure the roof and gutter seam were straight		Fabricating a new gutter rail
Trial fitting new gutter rail	Tweaked inner headliner side  panel removed	Trial fitting replacement panel
Spot welding headliner side panel in place		Spot welding new gutter rail
Gutter rail was replaced from 'X' forward

The engine rebuild has now been completed...

		Freeze plugs installed
	Custom Cometic multi-layer head  gasket was used	Rebuild now complete

Final assembly of rebuilt engine...

Assembling the cylinder head	Tappet guide hold-down kit installed on exhaust side	Original oil pump had zero wear and was therefore re-used
ARP main and rod bolts		Installing new timing chains, guides and tensioners

Assembling the short block...

Assembling pistons and rods...

Crank has been ground .010" and .010" and machined for rear seal upgrade	Total Seal rings are cut to size	The prettiest Jaguar connecting rods you will ever see

With the body on one of the rotisserie jigs we cleaned up the underside of the floors and were amazed to find them in virtually the same condition they would have been 45 years ago. Darrell has now repaired the dent we found on the inside of the tailgate, and Carlos has repaired and cleaned up the original boot floor mat. There were a couple of small holes in the hardura mat that needed patching, but we felt it had such a nice patina overall that it would have been a shame to simply replace it. We will be replacing the head liner, moquette and carpets.

We also found some old Castrol service reminder stickers, similar to the ones stuck to the driver's door shut face panel. The plan is to start applying those again once we get the car back on the road - with a 45 year gap between services!

Underside of the floors is almost as clean as rest of the car	Darrell repairing the dented inner  panel of the tailgate	An invisible repair - literally
Original boot floor mat has nice patina and cleaned up very well	2 small patches were required, barely visible (marked X)	Almost 45 years since the last service  reminder sticker was applied

Time to strip the body to bare metal. We debated long and hard about whether to strip the engine frames and the firewall, and in the end decided that it was the right thing to do. The good news is that once we had removed all the paint we found that the damage caused during the 1979 tornado wasn't as bad as we had expected. It appears to have been limited to superficial dents in the roof above the driver's door and rear quarter light window, the left rear wing and the left side of the tailgate. Even better news is that we have confirmed that the car is absolutely 100% rust free. It is truly the most rust free original E Type that we have ever seen.

	This was the side damaged in the tornado of 1979	Paint removed using aircraft stripper
	Firewall will also be stripped
Damage beneath paint and bondo was minimal
Left side of tailgate apparently fell vicitim to the tornado		Outside of tailgate fell victim to collision shop..
Car deserves better than this bondo worm infestation	Darrell welded up all the collision shop holes	Top half sealed in epoxy primer
	Time to strip bottom half and firewall

The following photos show Kevin checking the main and rod bearing clearances, as well as measuring the deck height (required as part of the formula for calculating compression ratio). With a .040" composite head gasket, the actual compression ratio ended up at 9.5:1.

We are using Tri-Metal bearings by King	Torquing new ARP rod bolts
	Deck height is (negative) 005"

We have now completed the machine work on the cylinder which is ready for final assembly.

Surfacing cyl head deck surface	Preparing to cc combustion chamber
98 cubic centimeters	Head now ready for final assembly

We have now finished honing the cylinders to fit new forged pistons. The block has been surfaced, the rods have been rebuilt, and we are almost ready to assemble the engine.

Forged pistons being weighed	Pistons provide a significant weight saving over original cast version	Sanding front of head for cosmetic polishing
Rods have been rebuilt (crank is 4.2 from a different CJ rebuild)	ARP rod bolts being used	Setting up to hone cylinders
Inside of block painted with Glyptal		Almost ready for reassembly

With the new top hat cylinder sleeve installed, we then surfaced the deck of the block....

Cutting out the damaged sleeve with the boring bar	Water jackets behind old cylinder wall were remarkably unclogged
Measuring the new top hat sleeve	Sleeve installed, block about to be surfaced

Yesterday we completed the align hone on this engine and began the process of cutting out and replacing one cylinder sleeve.

Within .0001" across the entire block	We are using uprated CJ main bolts

After numerous hide food treatments, the seats are now looking great and the original leather is soft and supple.

I was talking with my friend Bill Terry about this engine the other day and he said the only time he had seen the rods and crank polished at the factory, the way they were on this engine, was in the D Type race cars. Neither of us have previously seen an E Type engine with this feature, although I suspect the lightweight cars of 1963 almost certainly received the same treatment.

One water jacket was corroded so it was welded	Jacket re-shaped on the mill, will be surfaced later	Pressure testing the head - OK
Special CJ magnesium bronze guides	Honing for correct stem to guide clearance
Intakes set at .001", exhausts at .0012"

The following photographs show the reconditioning of the original hide seat covers. I think you will agree, Carlos did an outstanding job. The hides were first deep cleaned using an alcohol solution, before being sanded, filled, sanded again, then re-dyed. The finished result is exactly what we were looking for. They don't look new, rather they look like 46 year old seats that are in remarkable condition for their age.

Original leather was dirty, dry and cracked		Unusual to see the seat adjustment handle bracket still present
After cleaning with alcohol, seats are sanded,  the cracks are filled, then sanded again	Finally the hide is re-dyed	Difference is remarkable
Seat back cushion frames were warped so we made new ones	Reinstalling the original, reconditioned  hide	The proverbial 'before and after' shot
	Moquette seat backs were dirty...	But cleaned up very nicely

With the block completely disassembled, we are able to get a good look at what the factory did for the extra 190 quid they charged in relation to their polishing of the crankshaft and connecting rods. We have never seen anything like this before. The rods must have looked like chrome when this engine was first put together, and the crankshaft clearly has a lot of man hours invested smoothing out any casting imperfections. Interestingly, more than a year before the introduction of the 4.2 model, the factory engine builders used what was to become a 4.2 style oil pump with the larger ID oil pick up pipe.

This engine really has a special feel to it.

We have now tested this factory ported and polished cylinder head on the flow bench, with somewhat surprising results. The (cfm) numbers on the intake side are virtually the same as numerous stock cylinder heads we have tested. The intake runners have certainly picked up some velocity, but not much in terms of actual flow. The exhaust runners, on the other hand, flow about 15 cfm more than we typically see in the stock 3.8 heads we test. Having the intake manifolds matched to the intake ports, which we know was done at the factory with this car, has no doubt provided further gains when compared to a stock E Type.

After much deliberation, we have decided to rebuild this cylinder head as close as possible to the original 'factory race' specification. In the interests of increased reliability and longevity, we will be upgrading to CJ stainless steel valves and CJ magnesium bronze guides, as well as installing intake valve seals and a tappet hold down kit on the exhaust side.
 
 

One water jacket has corrosion damage and will be welded and reshaped	Intake runners smoother than you would find in a stock engine	Flow testing the head
Flow results - exhaust	Flow results - intake

First up on this project will be a full engine rebuild. Although the car has only been driven 15,862 miles, the engine seized while the car was in storage during the years following the 1979 tornado. Following Sidney Seligson's death in 1999, someone apparently removed the cylinder head, presumably in an attempt to free up the pistons, but never completed the work. During our rebuild, it will be interesting to flow test the intake runners to see what sort of flow numbers the factory achieved with their race porting. I am undecided whether to build the engine to precisely the factory spec, or whether we should apply some of the lessons we have learned in the intervening 44 years of engine development. More on that later....

As delivered...
	Boot compartment is bone dry and absolutely rust free	The cleanest, most rust free original E Type we have ever seen
Spare wheel and tire are literally as new		Leather has only minimal wear and damage and should be saved
Service history on the door shut face panel
Aluminum radiator in perfect condition	Inlet manifolds were gas flowed at the factory
Tool kit is complete		Dunlop tire gauge still in its plastic wrapper
	Again, bone dry and totally rust free	Note rarely seen Trico markings on brake reservoir
Bonnet is perfect	This side was damaged when a branch hit the car during a tornado on 4/10/79	Original jack
Factory racing flywheel weighs just 13 lbs		Engine number stamped on flywheel
Fantastic documentation	Letter from the factory	Documentation showing the special ordered racing upgrades
Service book in unbelievable condition	Looks like it could have been stamped yesterday	A clue to the racing upgrades?