If Jaguar can do it..how about GM?
05-21-2018, 09:33 PM
#41
Instructor
I think William and Kate drove away in a vintage Aston-Martin, a DB6 convertible if memory serves. Very classy.
Last edited by Jim Rosenthal; 05-22-2018 at 07:30 AM.
05-22-2018, 12:59 AM
#42
Drifting
Compare the suspension systems of the 2 cars and the relative sophistication of the Jag setup is indisputable.
05-22-2018, 07:45 AM
#43
Instructor
No question the Jaguar was a better design, but the quality of the Corvette was better. You could, if you wished, use a C2 as a daily driver, and by the standards of the time, it was fine. An S1 E-type as a daily driver, well,not so reliable. Lucas electrics, overheating, using too much oil between changes, etc. It's true that the Jaguar engine was DOHC, but because of its long stroke (it is undersquare) in stock form its rev ceiling is about the same as the SBC.
I have a '65 E-type, which I love. It is a very fine car and a great deal of fun to drive. Some of the improvements we have made to it, are legit criticisms of the original- better brakes, remote rear brake bleeders (they are nearly impossible to bleed otherwise), improved cooling system, single-wire alternator, better shock/coil units. We installed stainless pipes in the dash where the water circulates to the heater core. My biggest criticism of the E-type is that for a few pounds more per vehicle, Jaguar could have installed better electrics, better instruments, made the car easier to service, etc etc. At the time Jaguar were a small independent company and every single sale was important to them- and most of those sales were here in the USA. So they skimped on quality on things which turned out to be a huge annoyance to the owners of early E-types. (I forgot to mention the 3.8 version's transmission- no synchro on first, feels like you are driving a tractor) Things got better with the 4.2 version, and improved more over the years, but Jaguar never had the kind of reliability and simplicity that Corvettes did. And Jaguar did not build a FI car until very late in the game- as a matter of fact, not until Corvette had d/c'ed FI altogether.
What the E-type has going for it, in addition to it's fine handling and performance, is its looks. No less a person than Enzo Ferrari pronounced it the most beautiful car he'd ever seen. But the '63 SWC is also one of the most beautiful designs ever, and if I had been intelligent enough to buy one early on, before they became unobtainium, I would have it today. If it is not a beautiful a design as the E-type, it is damn close.
I have a '65 E-type, which I love. It is a very fine car and a great deal of fun to drive. Some of the improvements we have made to it, are legit criticisms of the original- better brakes, remote rear brake bleeders (they are nearly impossible to bleed otherwise), improved cooling system, single-wire alternator, better shock/coil units. We installed stainless pipes in the dash where the water circulates to the heater core. My biggest criticism of the E-type is that for a few pounds more per vehicle, Jaguar could have installed better electrics, better instruments, made the car easier to service, etc etc. At the time Jaguar were a small independent company and every single sale was important to them- and most of those sales were here in the USA. So they skimped on quality on things which turned out to be a huge annoyance to the owners of early E-types. (I forgot to mention the 3.8 version's transmission- no synchro on first, feels like you are driving a tractor) Things got better with the 4.2 version, and improved more over the years, but Jaguar never had the kind of reliability and simplicity that Corvettes did. And Jaguar did not build a FI car until very late in the game- as a matter of fact, not until Corvette had d/c'ed FI altogether.
What the E-type has going for it, in addition to it's fine handling and performance, is its looks. No less a person than Enzo Ferrari pronounced it the most beautiful car he'd ever seen. But the '63 SWC is also one of the most beautiful designs ever, and if I had been intelligent enough to buy one early on, before they became unobtainium, I would have it today. If it is not a beautiful a design as the E-type, it is damn close.