A Jaguar E-Type is being restored from a pile of bits

We’ve seen enough classic cars with telephone number prices now to know the recipe for raking in Scrooge McDuck amounts of coin. No matter if the motor you’re flogging is rusty or worn out. It just needs to be rare, have a cool story behind it, and ideally be quite pretty. Which is why the market for the classic SsangYong Rodius hasn’t taken off just yet.

Here’s something that hits the bullseye: one of the first 500 Jaguar E-Types ever produced. It’s a 3.8-litre two-seat roadster with the exposed bonnet locks, and all the numbers match. Check check and check for the tax haven fund. 

The slight, niggling catch is, as you might have spotted, it’s not quite in one piece. In fact, Lego kits arrive more intact than this E-Type. The 1961 Jag, which was first registered in Belgium and was then imported via Luxembourg to France back in 1975 is in need of a nut and bolt restoration. All the components are there, but the previous owner simply had them box-stored in his garage for decades. Now they’re ready to be gloriously reunited. Feeling brave?

Luckily, some experts are going to look after this critical process of lovingly resurrecting a slice of British sports car history, rather than a willing amateur in a shed. Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth, Shropshire are taking on the task, having spent 2,956 man-hours restoring E-Type chassis number 15 in 2016. 

David Barzilay, Chairman of CMC has promised: “It will be a challenging project but all the factory parts are there and our skilled fabricators and technicians will do all they can to save as much as the original car as possible. It will roll out of our workshops just like it left Browns Lane in 1961.”

He added: “We are currently delving through the car’s history files to find out more about its life. These early E-Types are sought after by collectors and investors alike, and the fact that they keep on resurfacing after years in the dark is still amazing.”

Best of luck with the job, CMC. Whatever the value when it’s finished, you can’t put as price on something this beautiful, can you?