There is no doubt that restoring an E-Type, or any car for that matter, is a labor of love and something which can take years, plenty of time and a fairly substantial amount of money. In most cases, the owner ends up on the loosing end of the deal having spent more than the car is worth which is why the number one advice given to those considering buying their own E-Type is "have the patience to wait for best one you can get for your budget". And as we all know, the number two piece of advice being... "multiply any time and cost estimate by 3"

And that's assuming the restoration is done on a convertible as, with the possible exception of some of the very early coupes, the ragtops are more valuable then their fixed head brothers. If restoring an OTS to 100 points Concours condition is an act of love, restoring a coupe is an act of blind love... and restoring a 2+2 has to be an act of madness. When is the last time a 2+2 had been sacred North American Champion... and with a triple 100 score ? Of course, I personally have a soft spot for Series 3 2+2 as I have one and believe that they are among the most undervalued Jaguars : terrific drivers, comfortable, practical and beautiful (even though I've heard FHC owners calling 2+2 "pregnant coupes") ... but to restore one to North American Champion status ?

I first saw Glenn and Mary Henson's Signal Red 71 2+2 at one of the South Carolina Concours and the level of perfection and preparation of this car was clearly unique. When I finally got a chance to sit down with Glenn and talk about his car, the story turned out to be simply amazing not just because he did all the work himself, including body and paint, but because of what he started with.

Most people will try to find a project which at least has something solid about it... very little rust or body damage, a complete drivetrain, or anything which will appear to make the project less costly. Glenn didn't choose this logic approach, it's almost like he went out of his way to find the most hopeless case : a beat up daily driver which had received a serious hit in the back , distorting the shell, with a V8 lump under the bonnet...

At the time, in 1992,Glenn was a member of the Seattle club and after purchasing the car from a California junkyard, he brought it home to Washington State and proceeded with disassembly and considering options to repair the heavy damage to the rear of the shell. Glenn purchased a second car, which had burned in a garage during a California wild fire ,so that he could use the rear panels and in effect graft portion of the rear onto his car. A good portion of the rear right side, all the way to the B post, was cut off including the floor panels just behind the rear suspension assembly . Panels from the donor car were carefully disassembled and welded on, first the inner panels and then outer skins .

With the panel work completed, paint was next. The car had been repainted before and was originally tan. Glenn picked Signal Red and painted the car in his garage in Seattle using a Sears compressor with Acrylic Urethane from PPG, a two part paint with hardener which dries fast and is easy to use for do-it-yourselfers. It makes it easy to sand out runs and mistakes or to do spot repairs.

Up front, the picture was a little brighter except for the lesser V8 engine. The critical engine rail frames were found in good condition and the bonnet was fairly solid and straight. In order for the restored car to be completely correct, the replacement engine had to be as close as possible from the original unit as may details change over the course of a model year. Glenn was able to find an engine within a few hundred serial numbers from his car at Jaguar Heaven, a well known dismantler in California. They had just received a complete car with a solid engine which included all of the accessories and ancillaries. An original 4 speed gearbox was bought from V12 expert Stew Jones in Connecticut; the original radiator was in good condition and reused but a complete new wiring harness was installed.

Mechanically, the engine and gear box were in excellent shape and didn't need to be rebuilt. Externally of course, it was a different story as the pictures below show, the work is flawless and correct down to the last nut, bolt and clamp. All the labels and markings are where they should be, just like when the car left Coventry 31 years ago. The rear suspension was fully rebuilt, including the differential, and new Dayton wheels were installed. All the brightwork was plated by Art Brass in Seattle.

In 1997 just as the major components where being fitted to the car, including drivetrain and suspensions, Glenn and Mary moved nearly across the entire continent from Washington state to Ohio. The E-Type was pushed into the moving van, still a shell missing interior, glass, wiring, instrument, etc... all of that packed and stored in multiple boxes... Once in Ohio and after the dust settled, Glenn completed the reassembly over the following two years.

Start of a very successful Concours season : Columbia SC April 2001

The large bits in a restoration are the easy part, the most difficult aspect is all the little details which will make the difference between a local car and a national champion and through careful research Glenn was able to make this car into a 100 point contender. His research included buying virtually every book available to obtain as many details as he could. Of course JCNA and its clubs were another source of information, with the 1990 Series 3 E-Type Originality Guide ( now available online ) and also through the many tech sessions organized by the Seattle Club. Shows and Concours were an opportunity for pictures and note taking, especially from an original car only 100 serial numbers apart owned by Ralph Parks of Detroit.

The interior was redone using a kit from Bass in Vancouver, a well known supplier of Jaguar interior kits. Glenn had met them during a tech session organized by the Seattle Club and the installation process went smoothly with the help of a few phone consultation...

Another very interesting aspect of this story is the fact that Glenn had no prior experience with Jaguar restorations. His previous projects included partial restoration of a 75 Corvette (which only had 400 miles on the clock !) and VW chassis, GT40 bodied, Corvair powered kit... Yet he was able to jump in the deep end of the pool and revive, restore and bring a V12 E-Type all the way to the top and multiple 100 points scores. On its Concours debut, at Colombus Ohio in July 2000, Glenn forgot to get a jack and scored a 98.5. He still finished the 2000 season third in the North American standings with a 99.89 average just behind one the best cars and past champion, Terry Love's 99.97 OTS (professionally restored by Stew Jones).

Competition in 2001 was tough with many excellent cars shown in D07. The bi-annual Championship Challenge, held in Franklin Tn. in July, was in many ways a true test with judges coming from all over the country and fierce competition. Glenn's E-Type placed second in class with a 99.930 ( a top 5 score overall ! ), just behind the best of show 100 pts Terry Love's 74 OTS. At the end of the year Glenn's Coupe finished tied for First ( with St Louis member Mitch Mitchell for his 74 OTS ) with three perfect 100 points scores.

Labor of love, blind love or madness ? You decide... but one thing is sure, all of us Jaguar enthusiasts are lucky that some have the skills and dedication to bring a car out of the junkyard and restore it for all of us to enjoy at the next Concours, especailly when they do it all themselves !

The gallery below contains a number of high resolution pictures of the car, including many engine compartment details. All were taken at the Charleston SC Concours in May 2002.

Discuss the content of this article in the E-type forum.

Click on the navigation links below to view all 22 pictures in the gallery.
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All pictures by Pascal Gademer except restoration pictures by owner Glenn Henson.

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Charleston SC Concours, May 2002. Glenn Henson ( left) and George Keller (right) at work...

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About the author - Pascal Gademer is the webmaster and newsletter editor of the South Florida Jaguar Club and webmaster for JCNA. Owner of a restored and upgraded (for reliability and performance) 1972 series 3 E-type 2+2, he doesn't miss an opportunity to drive his E-type to various events (Concours, rallies,..) often regardless of distances. His daily driver his another Silver Coupe, a 2000 XKR.

Posted 6/19/2002

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