HISTORY
With just three owners in 57 years, this 1966 E-Type FHC remains in a unique unrestored and original condition
IT’S NOT known why the first owner ofthis 1966 E-Type kept the car for almost 30years. Iguess he just liked it. Certainly the pile of receipts that comes with the car, cataloguing all the work he had done from the early 1980s until the late 1990s, backs up this theory.
Yetthe one thing he never did washaveitrestored. And sincethe subsequent ownersdidn’teither,it has resulted in alargely original, low mileage car with apatina overly restored examples can often miss out on.
On 2May 1966 aFrederickElstone from Potters Bar,Hertfordshire, took delivery of an E-Type coupe in dark blue with red upholstery (chassis number 1E21286) from the prestigious Jaguar main agent, Henlys of London. According to the surviving sales receipt the basic priceincluding £35115s 5d of purchase taxwas £203215s 5d. On top ofthis was £315s for 14gallons of Shell fuel, £2 15s6dfor the registration plates and over £75 of extras whichincluded a heated rear scream, underbody protection, Radiomobile radio plus an aerial that was positioned on the offside front wing.
Addthe £7 15s6ddelivery charges and £1710s registration feeand the totalpricewas £213718s 2d. However, Mr Elstone received £1000 in part exchange forhis existing E-Type 3.8 FHC, registration 6750MD.
When Mr Elstone retired to Thurlestone, asmall Devon village 21 miles east of Plymouth in 1980, he took the now 14-year-old car with him. Forthe rest of his ownership, the E-Type wasmaintained by his local garage, Blight Engineering.
The sheaf of neatly typed, A5-sized receipts reveal a car that was clearly welllooked after and why it never fell into disrepair as many classic Jaguars did during this time. From annual servicing to brake pad renewal, MOTs to a new flywheel, there wasn’t much Mr Elstone didn’t ask Blight Engineering to do to his pride and joy.
This includes replacing a broken camshaft in early 1982 and agearboxrebuild two yearslater.Although Blight Engineering removed and stripped the transmission, the boxwas sent to Birmingham forForward Engineering to perform the rebuild. It was then refittedbyBlight Engineering eight months later all of whichcost Mr Elstone £755, the equivalent of three grand today.
There’s another Blight Engineering receipt from January 1986 to have damage to the door repaired. It can’t have been serious though, since it cost the princely sum of £4.60. More body repairs were to come in December 1991 when the bonnet and doors were removed to have several rusty sections removed, repaired and repainted. This work was by a local accident repair centre and cost Mr Elstone over �
