Barn-find E-type up for auction next month

By Chris Rowlands

| 28 Jun 2018

Classic & Sports Car – Barn-find E-type up for auction next month

Everyone loses things: from money to miscellany, misplacing your belongings is a pretty common occurrence. Losing a 1968 Jaguar E-type? That’s not so common.

It happened to this Series 1.5 model, though. Consigned to a garage around 40 years ago, it only emerged from storage this March – untouched since the day it went in.

Now it’s going to auction at Silverstone Auctions' Silverstone Classic Sale (21-22 July), in unrestored condition and with no reserve.

Wanted: one new, loving owner

That means one lucky bidder could bag a very promising project – well, let's hope it's that and not a painful headache. Let's find out more...

Built in 1968, this barn-find example is thought to be one of the few Series 1.5 E-types produced in right-hand-drive, FHC guise.

It certainly looks the part and its chassis number – 1E21920 – sits within the range of serials known to match that model, suggesting it’s the real deal.

The E-type is believed to have first been stabled with a Mr Sutherland of Knutsford, with several invoices from the period made out to him.

This sorry example of an iconic classic car has sat untouched for decades

Starting in November 1972, an early MoT certificate lists the car – then registered as HFF 879G – with a mileage of 17,268.

At that time it’s believed the E-type was stabled with a Mr Sutherland of Knutsford, with several invoices from the period made out to him.

By June 1976, another MoT certificate shows the E-type’s registration had been changed to LTU 77G and the mileage had risen to 55,760 – which is quite the distance in four years of ownership.

Shortly thereafter, the car was acquired by a Mr Sparks of Buckley, with his name appearing on a 1977 invoice and the car’s mileage recorded at 79,046 – and it’s here that the story gets a bit murky.

This may be a matching numbers car

It’s believed that, in the late-’70s, chassis 1E21920 was consigned to a garage. When the area around it was built up, access became difficult and the Jag was left to sit alone in its hidden stable.

It wasn’t until March of this year that the car emerged again, untouched, some 40 years later.

Towed out on the request of the owner’s widow, the E-type had a car park pass from Manchester airport in the glovebox and now recorded just 5735 miles on the clock.

Believed to in fact represent a mileage of 105,735, that total suggests the car had been driven for several years after the final 1977 invoice, before it was laid up at the end of the decade.

Its chassis number has been found on what’s believed to be the original chassis plate and front A-frame, while the engine number also matches the records held by the DVLA – suggesting this rusty E-type could well be a matching-numbers example. Enquiries about the veracity of the gearbox are ongoing.

This barn-find E-type will be sold at Silverstone Auctions' sale at the Silverstone Classic meeting next month.

This E-type is being sold without reserve

Fancy a more road-ready E-type? We've got plenty on our classic cars for sale pages!

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Chris Rowlands

Perennially on the road, Chris has to content himself with writing about classic cars instead of owning them – though he’s sure he’ll one day have the keys to an E-type. A regular contributor to Classic & Sports Car, his first love is motorsport.