Owned by Vic from Aurora, ON.
Having previously owned 3 MGBs, British sports cars were already in my blood, so when I spotted a silver blue S1E-Type on St. Catherine Street in Montreal in 1971 I was “hooked, line and sinker”. Had to get one! A work friend’s Dad was selling his XK150 for $1500.00, and , as tempting that was, I passed as my heart was sold on the E-Type.
Several months later, I saw an E-Type for sale, in a private advertisement, in the Montreal Gazette. I couldn’t believe it! Friends said that I was nuts to buy it BUT I did anyway. What a thrill driving it, and has been to this very day. The sheer design is so beautiful and beyond words.
I am the third owner of the car, the previous two gents knew each other. Initially the car was delivered to a location in the UK for pickup and the new owner wanted to drive around Britain and France then have it shipped to Canada. This was a feature that Jaguar offered at the time. A couple of years later it was sold to the second owner who, at 25,000 miles sold it to me with a caveat that it never be driven in the winter, to which I promised, and it never has seen snow. I put 49,000 more miles on it, driving it to work every day then storing it for the winter.
It comes complete with an original factory hardtop in black, original chrome wires shod with Dunlop optional radials, original seats, Ansa exhaust system and period Blaupunkt Montreal AM FM radio. I’ve done improvements to the cooling with a multi-bladed fan, and separate fan for super hot days. HD radiator, original thermostat and Kevlar hoses complete and it runs great. Powertrain is original with matching numbers. I store it in a Carcoon for max protection. My “Jaggie Baggie”.
This acquisition was made possible thanks to my lovely wife Ann, fiancé at the time, agreeing to delay our wedding two years so as to pay off the car loan. We took the car on our honeymoon through Nova Scotia and the Northeast U.S. It was the time of our lives driving through the twisty turns and rolling country side in the White Mountains of Vermont. Sunny summer weather, top down, burbling exhaust note! What a blast! She loved the car near as much as me. We drove it several times to Nova Scotia on visits. On one summer occasion the electric fan motor quit, a replacement was several days away and we were returning to Montreal the next morning. So, a late evening departure and a shorter- trip time (you know what I mean) we arrived in Montreal, without incident. Amazing, 700 miles and no fan. Subsequently, a new fan motor bought, installed and “Bob’s your Uncle”.
All in All, two of the Best Moves that I have ever made… Marrying my Wife, Ann and buying the Jaguar.
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