There could easily be a trend occurring with my staff cars that goes along desired car A, bought car B. Ownership of my 1964 3.8 E-type coupe began like most these days, by browsing on the web. But this was ten years ago and it’s hard to believe but buying cars off the web was a new concept.
At the time I was mature student funding my course by servicing cars at weekend and drinking at student bar prices. When the letter came offering a student loan I nearly threw it in the bin as I didn’t need a loan but the bit about zero interest grabbed my eye. I could get ten grand interest free and back then interest rates were pretty high. So I took the loan and started looking at cars I’d always dreamed of owning. E-types came top of the list but....
I ....didn’t want a restoration so with the power of the burgeoning web I looked to the US for a rust free car. Slowly I became accoustmed to the idea of a LHD car so when an American spec early coupe came up for sale in the UK it seemed an easier option than importing one myself. The car was within budget so I drove down to see it. I fell in love immediately. As the garage door opened up I could hardly believe my eyes, the perfect barn find. Dusty as hell but competely original it looked like it had been parked twenty years ago and just left to stand. Not surprising really, it had.
I’d already bought it from six yards away. I didn’t care it was so rusty I couldn’t sit in it, I didn’t care the engine was seized, I didn’t even care that we couldn’t move it out into the day light because the brakes were seized. I had to have it.
Fast forward ten years and I’m still restoring it. It was the rustiest car I’ve ever bought needing sills, floors, bulkheads, transmission tunnel basically anything with two foot of the ground was left like frilly lace. But I’ve loved doing it.
At the moment it looks finished but it’s not. Mechanically everything is rebuilt and in place the body shells painted and 80% fitted up, but it’s the last 20% that takes the time and as I’m enjoying it some much I don’t want to rush it.
