My E-type got delivered here (Austin, Tx) late yesterday
afternoon from Dallas so now I can officially claim to
be a proud owner of a 1968 4.2L etype coupe. The primrose
yellow colour is kind of a turn off for me but my girlfriend
seems to like it quite a bit. Looking carefully at the car
I noticed not even one door ding on it and the interior being
24 years old look great. I'm the third owner, the first two
owners were these millionaire types in Dallas that kept the
car in pristine shape. It has 77K miles with the engine being
rebuilt 4000 miles ago. It's got new front end, shocks, tyres,
battery, hydrolics and bearings replaced on the differential.
The only thing that I can see it needs is a carburettor tuneup
and a way to seal the engine compartment connection to the passenger
compartment. The British somehow don't seem to mind a little heat
and oil smoke getting into the car because there has not been a
single British car I have driven that did not have this problem.
My Spitfire refuses to block that stuff out. Any fault in the car
becomes insignificant when you drive it. From the waves and thumbs up
from people, to the superb handling and the awesome 20-60 mph acceleration,
theres is not a thing I can complain about. People let you cut in front
of them, they stop to let you turn in front of unprotected left turns and
make efforts to cut through traffic to get a closer look. Those of you
that can afford it should really check this car out. It won't ever
lose value and you can actually enjoy your money a little bit more.
Besides what car nowadays has that perfectly tuned exhaust note that
wakes you up when you turn on the ignition and sounds so `evieel' (texas for
evil).
For the E-type experienced out there, do you any of y'all have any
advice for me on how to tune the triple SU's? Also is there a way to seal
up the hot air coming into the car for the engine? I'm afraid the
Bentley manual is not much help here. Also I need the names of some
mail order places to buy stuff from. What colours were offered on these
cars? and is it worthwhile putting webers in ($$$$$)? I'd appreciate
any replies.
Best Wishes
Zahid
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