E-Type found in pieces to be given new lease of life

One of the first 500 E-Types Jaguar produced has been found in pieces in France and is to be brought back to life by world-class restorers Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth.

Chassis No. 875256 is one of the very early 3.8 left hand drive, open two seater, outside bonnet lock models with all matching numbers.

The car was delivered new to the Belgium Motor Company dealership in Brussels in July 1961, and was subsequently sold to ‘Societe de Civel Immeubles en Afrique.’ It resurfaced in France in 2015, and records show that the car was taken to France from Luxembourg in 1975.

Despite being in parts, the car is very complete.  It was bought by the previous owner to be restored. He first gave it to French restorers who started to work on the car, but shortly after the owner took it away and kept it safe in his garage in Grigny in the southern suburbs of Paris.

“Chassis No. 875256 is literally in boxes in our workshops awaiting a much needed nut and bolt restoration. It will be a challenging project but all the factory parts are there and our skilled fabricators and technicians will do all they can to save as much as the original car as possible,” said David Barzilay, Chairman of CMC “It will roll out of our workshops just like it left Browns Lane in 1961.”

He added: “We are currently delving through the car’s history files to find out more about its life. These early E-Types are sought after by collectors and investors alike, and the fact that they keep on resurfacing after years in the dark is still amazing.”

CMC is famous for having restored some of the most historic E-Types, including Lofty England’s Chassis No. 4, the Lindner-Nöcker Lightweight and 1VHP, the first RHD Coupe off the production line and the first of only four outside bonnet lock cars.

In 2016 and after 2,956hrs, they completed the restoration of E-Type Chassis No. 15, which was also found in France in a very sorry state. This was the fifteenth right-hand drive fixed-head coupe E-Type to leave Jaguar’s production line in 1961 and the press car that turned heads at the Scottish Motor Show that year.