NINE LIVES

IT’S ONE THING TO REVIVE A CAR, BUT QUITE ANOTHER TO GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE OF A CONCOURS RESTO

This was a bit of an unusual exercise for me.

I’m a toolmaker by trade and my two previous restorations (the 56 Chev Bel Air and C1 Corvette we featured last year - Ed) were very much hands-on. However a critical decision fairly early on with this car changed the whole course of events.

Let me roll back a bit. One of the decisions I faced with the E-type was how high a standard should I shoot for. These things are in big demand internationally and they’re worth a lot of money if they’re done right. So you can’t just go and pick one up for 60 grand, give it a lick and a promise and expect it to fetch top dollar.

I’ve been watching prices for the last four years or so and the rises have been alarming. I’m a car nut and I’m not wealthy, but you’re seeing E-types that were an absolute pile of crap selling for $20,000 four years ago in the USA, going for more like $50,000 now. And that’s before you fix them – all you’re really buying is VIN plates

This one is a 1967 Series 1 4.2. That means it’s running the 4.2 litre straight six and, in this case is still running the complete original drive train: engine, gearbox and diff.

In some ways for me, it closes a long circle. When I was in my 20s (I’m now 66), I was working as a toolmaker for