64 E-TYPE JAGUAR

When I finished my stint with Hughes Aircraft in Alaska in 1961 I had acquired a new 1960 Austin Healy from a shop in Anchorage. The car came back down the Alcan Highway on a truck and I picked it up at Seattle and drove it to Southern California. I was really a "Jaguar Man" since I had bought my first specimen at the University of Illinois in 1958....a 120 roadster. The E-Type Jaguar was fresh on the market and I had the itch for one. I bought a silver roadster from Thrall Motors (Fullerton) and rolled it right off the show room floor in early 1963. It was a series one model...headstone seats, 3.8 liter engine, crash gearbox and headlight covers. That car was stolen out of the Rockwell/Anaheim parking lot some time in the early 70s and never heard from again.

I always had a yen for another 120 or E-type and when the opportunity arose to buy the 64 Series One E-Type that belonged to the parents of the local Jaguar garage owner, I couldn't resist. That was in about 1985. I drove it frequently for a while but stored it when a health problem arose. The lady eventually moved that was keeping the car in her garage and I had to get it rolling again. That was in the summer of 2000. The car received a complete hydraulic system rebuild...including the clutch and is back on the road again. It has fresh paint and leather and a new white top. Runs nice. And like the bakery truck....it hauls buns.