48 |JaguarWorld/July 2019
CLASSICDRIVE
S2E-TYPE
hadthefinancesandengineeringcapacity
allowed.Althoughthebrakingeffortwas
improvedbyharnessingavacuumservo,
thesamesmallcalipersremained,sooverall
efficiencywasunchanged.
AstheSixtiesrolledby,theworldwoke
uptobasicrequirements,suchasauniform
bumperheight,hazardousobstructionsand
arealisationthatharmfulemissionswere
causingproblems.Jaguarreactedagain,in
itslethargicfashion.CertainUSStates,such
asCalifornia,demandedimmediateaction
that,bynecessity,renderedsomeremedies
aslittlemorethanknee-jerkanswers.
Ratherthancreateanewmodel,Jaguar
soldieredon,bringinginthisorthatpart
forthedemandingmarkets.
Jaguar’sraftofobligatorychanges
beganinJuly 1967 whentheglasscovers
wereremovedfromtheheadlights.There
thenfollowedareviseddashboardwhere
rockerswitchesreplacedtheoriginaltoggle
switchesthathadproventobedangerous
duringanaccident.ByJune 19 68,thedoor
casingsweresmoothedoff(forsimilar
reasons)byflushinginthedoorhandles
andslimmingdownthewindowwinder.
Withmorechangesontheway,Jaguar
deemedittherighttimetointroducea
newmodelthat,withcunningnaming
philosophy,itcalledtheSeries2.
Americahadeffectivelydeclaredwar
onthemotorindustry,andalthough
everythingitsetabouttochangemade
completesense,therewaslittlewarning.
Somemanufacturerswouldnevermeetthe
stringentstandards,andmodelssuchasthe
AustinHealey3000,withitsdependency
ontheUSmarket,wentoutofproduction
altogether.BMCpinneditshopeonthe
3.0-litreMGC.Morganpulledoutofthe
USmarketaltogether.But,alongwithMG
andTriumph,Jaguarplayedthegame.
Loweringengineemissionstoan
acceptableleveldecimatedthepower
output,andJaguarandMGwereespecially
affected.Apairof1.75ininglorious
Strombergcarburettorsreplacedthe
magnificenttriple2inpolishedSUs;
dependingoncompressionratio,upto
30bhpor40bhpwaslost,droppingthe
maximumspeedfromtheclaimed 14 6mph
to 12 6mph.Allothermarketsremained
withtheoriginaltripleSUcarburettors.
Themostobviousrevisionrelatedto
thebumperheightandlighting.Bumpers
notonlybecamefullwidth,frontandrear,
butalsolargeside/indicatorlightunits
hungbeneaththebumperblades.Those
svelteheadlightglasscovershadalready
beendismissed,butnowtheheadlights
weretobemovedfurtherforwardtoaid
lighteffectivenessbyallowingthebeamto
protrudewithouthindrance.The2+2had
alessbrutalscreenangle,cleanedbytwo
wipersinsteadofthree.But,whatofthe
improvementsandhowdidtheyhelpthe
E-typetoevolveintoabettercar?
Aspartofaradicaloverhaulofthe
marginalcoolingsystem,over-heating
wouldbecomeathingofthepast.The
bonnetovalmouthgrew,andawider
openingbeneaththebumperallowed
morecoolingairtoflowovera(revised)
cross-flowradiator.Thatwasthenbacked
upbyapairofelectriccoolingfanshoused
inangledcowls,whichmeantthatthesystemwouldalsobeabletocopewiththe
demandsofoptionalair-conditioning.
Asecondsignificantchangecamewhen
theoriginal,small,Dunlopsquare-pad
caliperswerefinallypensionedofftobe
replacedbyextremelyefficientGirling
three-cylinder(twosmallontheoutside,
onelargeontheinner)calipers.These
broughtastoppingcapacitythatprevious
ownerscouldonlydreamof.
Fronttorsionbarswereofalarger
diameter,aspreviouslyusedon2+2models
(the2+2’supgradedtorsionbarswerelater
standardisedonallmodels).Thenetresult
wasacarnotthatdissimilartotheoriginal,
butfarmoreefficientandbettertodrive.TheownerofthisE-typeisJohnHooper,
whosayshislongestmemoriesareofJaguars.
Hisfatherboughtcarsthroughafriend’s
dealership(WilfWadhamofJaguardealer,
WadhamStringer)andhehadaMkX,
whichwasswiftlyfollowedbya1 96 1E-type,
thatwaslaterjoinedbyaSeries1Daimler
Double-Six.ItwasonthelattercarthatJohn
undertookhisfirstwheelchange,aged 10 ,
andhestillremembershowheavyitwas.
Family,businessandmotocrosskeptthe
Jaguarsatbayforafewyears,untilJohn
boughthimselfanXJ40.Ifnothingelse,
itservedtorekindlehisinterestinthe
marqueand,afterdiggingoutphotographs
ofhisfather’sE-type(whichsurvivesin
Wales),hedeterminedtohaveonefor
himself.Hefoundwhatseemedtobethe
rightcar,butthe4.2-litrefixedheadhas
turnedintoalengthyrestorationproject.TOP:There’sadentortwo,butnorust
ABOVE:Cantheseopenheadlightsandwrap-
aroundbumpersreallyaffectvaluessomuch?Side
repeatersareanotherUSrequirement
Lookingfora
ride?Butonly
oneatatime