Hi All,

Just a quick introduction - my name is Matthew Quirk and I'm fairly new to this site. My father owned a 69 Series 1.5 XKE convertible back in the 70's. Signal red with a back interior, he sadly sold it when I was born. To this day whenever I bring it up he gets a faraway look in his eyes and says he regrets he ever got rid of it. When I was little he would tell me stories of all the work he did on the car (cam swap, triple Webers, etc.) and just how much it was a piece of rolling art. I had to agree - the swooping lines, the gorgeous six, everything about it fascinated me. As I got older I decided that I would one day own one, if anything as a tribute to my dad and what he sacrificed in order to raise my brother and I.

Well, now that I've filled you in on the back-story, here are my questions. I've begun to save up money with the intent of purchasing an E-type in the next few years, but I want to educate myself on the car in the meantime. What would be good steps to take during this period? Additionally, what is a realistic price range for a 68-71 XKE convertible? I'm not looking for a concourse winner, just a rust free clean driver. Granted, I'm fairly young (23) but I have a good salary and can probably set aside 6-8K a year.

Any advice that could be offered would be most appreciated, and I thank you in advance.

Respectfully,

Matt

Submitted by nkasperski@min… on Wed, 04/05/2006 - 16:22

Hi Matt,

My personal advice would be to buy a car with all of the mechanicals already rebuilt and a proper paint job. That is unless you really want to do a full restoration. However, I would advise against it as you would almost certainly come out on the losing end financially. In other words, find someone else who opted to pay for all the work and buy the car at a discount. The worst think I could think of is spending thousands of dollars on a very beautiful, very expensive paperweight.

This unfortunately means you will have to pay more up front. You are probably looking at spending at least $30,000 to $35,000 for a decent series 1.5 or 2 roadster with recent paint and very good mechanicals. You might be able to buy a car for $35,000 that has had over $50,000 spent restoring it. Just try to make sure the work was done by reputable folks.

All of this being said, you are still going to want to spend money on the car. Replacing bulbs, gaskets, stickers for the engine compartment, lenses, missing tools, etc.

Nick - 64 OTS

Submitted by lhmtm@aol.com on Sun, 03/12/2006 - 15:05

Hi Matt,

There might be a possibility that you could actually find your dad's old XKE if you have the VIN#. Go to www.xkedata.com. Althought you don't want a concours car, the price you pay should be a function of originality and condition. I would suggest becoming a member of your local JCNA Club and getting a Series 2 Judging Manual. This will allow you to become familiar with what is and is not original. Many people believe there car to be original and correct, and therefore ask a certain price, when the car is worth much less. Ebay is a source to see what prices cars are selling, search XKE, then completed listings to see the actual selling price, Hemmings Motor News (www.hemmings.com) is also a good source.
One of the rarest Series 2 is the 1971 Roadster with air. My first XKE was a 1970 Series 2 Roadster, Primrose and Black.

Hope this helps a little. Good Luck. this sickness is will not go away with age.

Larry Harris