Celebrating 60 years of the E-Type - SNG Barratt by nooboo

CELEBRATING

60 years OF THE E-TYPE

L I M I T E D

E D I T I O N

Electric

Power Steering Take the strain out of steering with the EZ Electric Power Steering System for E-Type, XK and more.

The EZ Electric Power Steering unit is truly speed sensitive and adjustable, unlike most hydraulic systems, steering light at low speeds and not becoming lighter at higher speeds. And you won’t spoil the original look or authenticity of your classic either. The power steering unit is hidden beneath the dashboard and fits onto the original mounting points so your classic can be fully restored at any time.

CH O OS E F ROM OV E R 3 0 0 , 0 00 PAR TS AND AC C ESSOR I ES FR OM THE WORLD’S L ARGEST INDE P E NDE NT M A NUFAC TU R ER AND SU PPLI ER OF C LASSI C JAG U AR PARTS

W W W. S N G B A R R A T T. C O M

S NG B AR R ATT G LOB AL B R ANC HES The Heritage Building Stourbridge Road, Bridgnorth Shropshire WV15 6AP United Kingdom T: +44 (0)1746 765 432 E: sales.uk@sngbarratt.com

62 Chemin du Bois d'Alier Zone Des Berthilliers Charnay-lès-Mâcon, 71850 France T: +33 385 201 420 E: france@sngbarratt.com

Sneeuwhaas 4 5236NX 's-Hertogenbosch The Netherlands T: +31(0)73-2064090 E: sales.nl@sngbarratt.com

92 Londonderry Turnpike Manchester, New Hampshire, 03104 United States T: +1 800 452 4787 (Toll free) T: +1 603 622 1050 E: sales.usa@sngbarratt.com

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

Features PAGE 4

Our love for the E-Type Discover how the 1961 masterpiece got SNG Barratt up and running. 13

PAGE 8

E-Type Restoration Buying an E-type for restoration can be a very rewarding experience. PAGE 13

6-Cylinder Engine Upgrades What constitutes an upgrade? And is it homage or is it sacrilege?

PAGE 18

E-Type Series 3 It’s hard to believe that the production version of the V12 engine turns 50 years old this year. PAGE 25

Driving Improvement Find out what we discovered on the road as an E-type owner and parts manufacturer. PAGE 30 25

What Next?

With the push towards electric cars, how will this impact the classic car industry?

E-Type our love for the

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, to think that we would be here to celebrate 60 years of the E-type and to be able to say that this iconic Jaguar is still going strong, would be almost inconceivable.

he final Series 3 cars had been a tough sell for Jaguar and some of the, now much prized, earlier cars were being dismantled for their components. Jaguar had all but given up on the parts supply, thinking that this relic of the swinging 60s would be forgotten, along with the mini-skirts and flares. Yet, it was into this period that SNG Barratt was founded, initially from the garage, garden and kitchen table of the home of Stephen and Hazel Barratt in rural Shropshire. Stephen had owned an E-type and, on struggling to find the parts he needed to keep the car running, had purchased another car as a donor vehicle. Once he had taken off the parts that he needed from the donor, he put an advert in a local newspaper offering the rest of the parts for sale. The phone started ringing and never stopped.

Eventually, in the early 1980s, they decided to take the plunge, packing in their day jobs, buying a small warehouse outside Wolverhampton and taking on a couple of people to help out as SNG Barratt was formed. As parts from donor cars and scrap yards became ever

Stephen Barratt - Joint co-founder

scarcer, Stephen and his small team started to source E-type parts for themselves, either finding the original manufacturers from within a growing network of contacts and suppliers within the West Midlands area or by re-manufacturing them from scratch if needed. Amongst the earliest parts to be re-tooled were the boot springs and the exhaust manifolds, both of which are still manufactured by the company today and, in the case of the manifolds, were retooled for a second time in early 2020.

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

The years that followed were hard but exciting times, with Stephen and his wife Hazel building up the business in their spare time as both had full-time jobs. Weekends were spent at scrap yards, while their young children became accustomed to the hustle and bustle of a Jaguar Spares Day or the Beulieu autojumble.

The 1990s was a time when the company really set down the roots that put them into the position they are today. During this period, SNG Barratt purchased local manufacturing and assembly firm SOVY, a parts supplier to Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley, Aston Martin, Bristol and other British car firms. The existing SOVY range, including brake and clutch fluid bottles, were continued alongside a raft of new lines from a growing in-house assembly team specialising in low volume, high mix production. These parts included washer bottles, mirrors, exterior lighting, switchgear, ignition systems, wiper motors, all of which contribute to the many 1000s of parts that are still made at SNG Barratt HQ today.

being invested in tooling and production runs. To most manufacturers at the time, this would have been a drop in the ocean, but to a fledgling SNG Barratt, this meant tying up large sums of money in many years’ worth of stock. Were there errors along the way? Of course. No business owner would tell you otherwise. Anyone who got their hands on an SNG Barratt version of the USA spec E-type Series 3 rubber over-rider in the early 1990s would also attest to the fact that not everything was perfect. With that particular example however, the fact that we got those parts so horribly wrong may just have encouraged owners of those cars to remove the original monstrosities and fit a Euro-spec bumper instead! Every cloud… As the popularity of the E-type remained strong all over the world, opportunities to expand SNG Barratt into other territories lead to the opening of new branches in the USA, Holland and France. During this time, Stephen and Hazel’s son, Julian Barratt, joined the team full-time after many a school holiday spent assembling light units, wax oiling manifolds and manning the phone lines.

The location of these headquarters changed in the late 1990s. The old Wolverhampton site was taken over by the government, making way for the construction of a new motorway and so the company moved to a new site in Bridgnorth, which also had room to grow. It was around this time that SNG Barratt introduced fabrication work when a couple of welders joined the team and started making products that were not available elsewhere. As the scope of work grew, the new premises allowed the in-house fabrication team to expand from simple welding and brazing jobs to small press work and cutting/forming operations. The early years of SNG Barratt proved to be the simple building blocks that allowed the company to grow, but it was the E-type’s enduring popularity that proved equally as important in the development of the business. And growth didn’t just come along without risk. In hindsight, the reintroduction of many of the parts at the time was a huge risk that caused many a sleepless night. After all, the company at that time was just a handful of people with a few big ideas who were trying to create a range of parts that were originally manufactured by Jaguar, a huge operation with 1000s of staff that would dwarf the resources available to the Bridgnorthbased team. Every time a “green light” was given to bring a product back to market, it would mean thousands of pounds 5

Exhausts & Manifolds While it’s important to get everything under the bonnet looking good and running smoothly, you’ll be wasting your time tuning the engine if you don’t have an exhaust and manifold solution that’s up to the job and capable of moving those unwanted gases out of the engine. SNG Barratt manufacture a range of superior quality cast manifolds with an enamel finish for the 6-cylinder E-type and V12, which runs even closer to the ground and is prone to cracking. And for the past 20 years, we have recommended and supplied Bell stainless-steel exhaust systems to our global customers. Furthermore, these high-quality exhausts are guaranteed for as long as you own the car.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

E-Type S2

Complete Stainless Steel System

BSSJR015

BSSJR016

BSSJR017

E-Type S3

Complete Stainless Steel System Twin Outlet

BSSJR021

Complete Stainless Steel System Quad Outlet

BSSJR020

Complete Stainless Steel System 2+2 models

BSSJR018

Big Bore System

BSSJR215

BSSJR216

Manifolds

C18397/C18396

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

BSSJR019

C18397/C18396

C39109/C39110

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

As the company moved into the 2000s, SNG Barratt introduced catalogues to showcase the huge range of products that were available, having previously relied upon price lists or simply word-of-mouth. The first was a 300-page classic called “The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Catalogue”, which is still used as a reference guide today by some members of the sales teams, despite being long out of print. This was followed by a range of more specialised catalogues including a special edition for the E-type 50th anniversary in 2011. And despite SNG Barratt distributing this catalogue for free at the time, this gold-coloured special issue has since become something of a collector’s item on eBay, selling for good money too! The 50th anniversary in 2011 also saw the arrival of 50EE at SNG Barratt, an E-type Series 1 Roadster that the company decided to restore as part of the celebrations. It was intended to be used as a show-car to demonstrate the parts we could offer, but over the years that followed, the car became much more important to us than a simple marketing tool, covering 1000’s of miles road-testing numerous new products and now an integral member of the SNG Barratt family. Today, we own many different Jaguar models that are used for road-testing new products.

This is an important part of the SNG Barratt DNA where we continually strive to understand the challenges faced by owners of Jaguar classic cars in the modern world and ensure the latest advances in technology and modern engineering are applied to our parts.

Today, SNG Barratt continues to be run by Julian Barratt. The company has come a long way since those early days of clearing parts off the kitchen table so dinner could be served. With a team of over one hundred people supplying tens of thousands of parts all over the world, the company is dedicated to keeping Jaguars on the road. In-house production combines time-honoured manufacturing skills with new technologies, such as 3D printing and scanning, to keep the quality and availability of parts as high as possible for customers far and wide, ranging from enthusiasts in their garage to large OEM manufacturers such as JLR and Aston Martin.

SNG Barratt is a company that was founded on the E-Type While the business now supplies classic and modern Jaguar parts right up to the current F-type, it is the 1961 masterpiece that got us off the ground and will always hold a special place in our hearts. The classic car movement owes so much to the E-type and the E-type, on its 60th anniversary, owes a lot to the people at SNG Barratt.

Julian Barratt CEO

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

E-Type

Restoratio

ion

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

FOR THE CAUTIOUS BUT BRAVE

n a perfect world, the prospective E-type owner would have a bank balance heaving with bitcoin to facilitate the purchase of a fully restored, road-legal, turn-key car that could then be driven into the sunset on day one of ownership. For most potential owners, this is never going to be an option and, thankfully, there are several other routes to ownership. Buying a classic which is driveable but requires a little TLC can be an easier way into the E-type experience. Purchasing a car in this form has the advantage of allowing the new owner to take to the road straight away, adding improvements as time and budget allows, but there are many shiny E-types waiting to entrap a new owner into a spiral of disappointment. X-ray vision would be an advantage to see below fresh paint and inside polished cam covers. So, this may be a good way of becoming an E-type owner and saving money, but it’s also far too easy to be swept away in the excitement of the moment and get lumbered with a car which ultimately ends up needing a total restoration. If there is any doubt, take an expert on your buying trip who knows the right questions to ask and where to poke the newly painted body shell. Buying an E-type for restoration can be a very rewarding experience and will allow the owner to tailor the build to their own specification. Maybe the owner has a favourite colour combination of body and trim and might want to add a few upgrades to make the car more suitable to their own style of driving? It also means that the owner will have full control of the build. There is no short cut to properly restoring an E-type and a certain level of skill is required if all of the work is to be attempted by the owner. Most owner/restorers will distribute various elements of the process amongst trusted specialists. A full E-type restoration will absorb more than two thousand man hours, so the owner will need to be realistic about how much of their own time they can set aside and at just what date on the calendar the project would need to be complete.

It is vitally important that all of the costings and a project plan is made before the first rusty bolt is removed. The E-type owning community is very lucky in the fact that nearly every part is available for all models, so no car is ‘un-restorable.’ The SNG Barratt website or their sales team can give accurate pricing for all parts required to bring the car to life. When working out costing and hours for a first-time restorer, take the figures carefully calculated, then multiply by two! Ten years ago, at SNG Barratt Group, we took on a full restoration project as an experiment to create a car using parts from our own stores and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the E-type. We chose the nastiest basket-case we could find, a 1965 Series One OTS. It was bad… very bad! It had all of the issues one would find in a vehicle requiring total restoration, but it was a complete car. Buying a car in this state leaves nothing to the imagination. All of the issues are on show, but a complete car means that all of those hard to find items are present and potentially restorable. The car was the perfect example of what can be expected when commencing on the journey of a full restoration. The car, which had already been assessed as ‘bad’ turned out to be even worse than initially thought. It is a rare thing indeed if a restorer is presented with the pleasant surprise of a body shell which is better than expected. The body shell in any restoration will often absorb most of the time and cost of the re-build, so the treatment of the shell needs to be approached with a cool head and decisions need to be made early in the reconstruction process on how much of the rusty metal can be economically saved and how much should be replaced with completely new panels. Our E-type body was in dire straits; the stripping process revealed a body fighting a life and death struggle with gravity. All the outer panels exhibited major areas of corrosion with layers of previous poor repairs revealed as the remaining paint was removed. The sills and floor sections, which at first glance looked solid-ish, were in fact paper thin and holed.

The E-Type as a restoration project is well within the scope of an enthusiastic home restorer with a certain level of mechanical expertise.

With a shell in such a poor state, making patch panels would have absorbed enormous amounts of time and would have led to an unsatisfactory outcome. Unless the restorer has access to some sophisticated metal working equipment, it is always more economical to replace complete panels or sections if available. Luckily, in the case of any E-type, nearly every panel is available as a full ‘original equipment’ sized pressing or as a substantial repair panel. One third of the E-type’s shell is bonnet, so very careful consideration needs to be given to the choice between rebuilding a rotten/damaged bonnet and the purchase of a completely new assembly. The ready availability of new front ends can again dramatically reduce man hour input. We took the least painful option and passed the car’s remains plus a full set of replacement panels to a specialist welder. Restoration of the mechanical parts of the E-type are a little more straightforward. It can be assumed that all bushes, bearings and seals will need replacing and are readily available, so these can be considered a fixed cost. There are numerous upgrades available for suspension and steering for the E-type such as Polybush replacement polyurethane bushes, Gaz adjustable dampers and springs and even electric power steering kits to give the rebuilt classic a 21st Century edge. All replacement engine parts are also available including brand new engine blocks (at a price), so it’s a simple choice between a home rebuild or a trip to a specialist.

It’s the same story with gearboxes and rear axles; they all require specialist knowledge but are not beyond the scope of an experienced home restorer. Many upgrades are available here too, such as Weber carburettor conversions, race proven cable throttle kits, free-flowing exhaust systems, more powerful starters and alternators and modern five-speed gearbox conversions. Bright-work is another straight choice between new and reprocessed original parts. The availability and quality of reproduced chrome now means it is often far more cost effective to replace with new than to attempt to repair and re-chrome original items. Soft trim is another area where the home restorer can benefit from the relatively simple construction of the E-type: comprehensive trim kits are available in a range of colours which allow the home restorer to re-trim the car in its original colour or to allow the owner to make their own choice. To sum up, the E-type as a restoration project is well within the scope of an enthusiastic home restorer with a certain level of mechanical expertise. Careful budgeting and time management is required, but a project of this scale can be taken on, safe in the knowledge that parts availability will never be an issue. Author: Peter Stant

Braking When it comes to driving your classic Jaguar on the roads today, we all know that the power coming from the 6-cylinder or V12 engine is more than enough to keep up with modern traffic. But when it comes to stopping your pride and joy, original braking systems may not be enough to save you from running into the back of a fellow road user who is used to shorter stopping distances. We offer a range of uprated solutions including 4-pot caliper conversion kits that will revolutionise your braking, improve feel and efficiency and reduce overheating and fade.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

Front Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Cast Iron

SBS9086/1

Front Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Aluminium

SBS9086A/1

Front Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Black Aluminium

SBS9086AB/1

Front Vented Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Cast Iron

E-Type S2

E-Type S3

SBS9293A/1 SBS9293/1

Front Vented Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Aluminium

SBS9093A/1

Front Vented Brake Calliper Conversion Kit Black Aluminium

SBS9093AB/1

Front & Rear Greenstuff Brake Pads

10821U

SBS9293A

Front Greenstuff Brake Pads

JLM9515U

Rear Greenstuff Brake Pads

JLM1513U

C23484TG

C27024TG

C32764TG

C26779TG

Grooved Front Discs

C23484TG

Grooved Rear Discs Handbrake Compensator

C22955U

Stainless Steel Braided Front Brake Hose

JLM9702SS/1

Stainless Steel Braided Rear Brake Hose SWB

C30753SS/1

C30754SS/1

C30754SS/1 SBS1506

Stainless Steel Braided Rear Brake Hose 2+2 Easy Bleed Kit

SBS1507

SBS1506

Brake Light Switch

C16062U

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

JLM9702SS/1

6-Cylinder Engine Upgrades

So, what constitutes an upgrade? And is it homage or is it sacrilege?

In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? It’s your car and your own choice. What’s more is that most upgrades, if not all, are completely reversible, but why would you? In our experience, once upgrades are carried out and the benefits enjoyed, downgrades are rare. That said, a very important consideration to take into account with all upgrades or improvements is, are they really necessary? For example, if your engine is continually overheating, you don’t necessarily need to fit a bigger radiator, you just need to find out why it’s overheating and fix this first.

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

o why do any of this at all? Well, whilst all of this stuff worked just the way that it should when the cars rolled off the production line back in the day, we have to remember that they were conceived in a different era when, for example, there was much less traffic on the roads. The numbers are simply incomparable to today where the chance of being stuck in mile after mile of heavy traffic is exponentially higher. So, is the ability to dial in a more powerful and, crucially, more controllable electric cooling fan a good idea? Absolutely. Additionally, upgrades such as these have been designed and engineered with a keen eye to sympathetic and historically respectful fit and function. This way, they become part of the machine and work in harmony with it as opposed to looking like the Mr. Fusion that appeared rather garishly planted on top of a well-known time-travelling DeLorean.

Our range of superior quality and aesthetically pleasing aluminium radiators, with or without integral modern fan options, aluminium water pumps and coolant header, are a very popular and visually enhancing upgrade. And our cloth-wrapped silicon cooling hoses that closely resemble standard hoses, offer significantly improved integrity as temperatures rise under the bonnet on a warm day in a traffic jam. Some upgraded parts offer an improved driving experience. Take our Mangoletsi throttle cable conversion, for instance; it’s a precision engineered, well thought out, race-developed twin cable system that reduces free play to zero and drastically reduces lost motion and friction. It contains a fully adjustable pedal and housing and even allows for the placement of the pedal pad to be located just where the driver requires it to be. Throttle response is instant while the cleverly designed and patented adjuster allows the rate of throttle opening to be fine-tuned using just one screw. The standard, soldered brass carburettor floats are prone to developing holes over time which results in them filling with fuel and sinking to the bottom of the chamber leading to fuel overflow. The StayUp® float is resistant to modern ethanolbased fuels and has a military spec closed cell construction, making it puncture proof.

With the carburettor functionality and throttle performance now optimised, our ITG/Mangoletsi air filter assembly significantly simplifies and declutters the original air intake set up. When correctly set up and tuned with UO needles, it can offer an increase in power output. We achieved an increase of 11.5 BHP or a 5% increase when fitted to our own Series One 4.2. With most of us having a modern and hopefully reliable daily drive that has long service intervals (some might argue, too long), I suspect that many of us have forgotten things like the need for checking the contact points, lubricating the distributor or cleaning and gapping the spark plugs every 3000 miles. Now I know that there will be folks out there that will argue that this is a therapeutic exercise, it’s part of owning a classic and the system works just fine. This may be true, but modern technology does offer a perfectly packaged, compact alternative to this classic ritual with the 123 Ignition distributor from SNG Barratt. All moving parts such as the points and centrifugal advance mechanism can now be controlled by the electronics inside. Different advance curves can be applied through a selection of internal pre-sets to optimize the dwell angle throughout the rev range, maximising performance and efficiency. These settings can be easily adjusted on the distributor itself, or via USB or even a Bluetooth interface depending on the model you choose. If you would prefer to keep the standard points and condenser system, the Lucas “Sport Coil” offers a period correct performance upgrade along with modern silicone plug leads for extra protection against moisture ingress.

The straight six dual overhead cam engine designed by Jaguar’s Chief Engineer, William Heynes has certainly stood the test of time.

Just being produced and used in various forms and many different vehicles from the late 1940’s to the early 1990’s, is tribute indeed to the excellent design and engineering. Admittedly, by the end of production, the design was getting old, but that kind of lifespan is rare in modern times. However, maintained appropriately, these long stroke engines produce excellent torque from very low revs and are also extremely reliable. As well-engineered and accurately assembled from quality parts as these engines were, they were still built to a price, if William Lyon’s reputation stands under any scrutiny! In other words, they weren’t intended to last forever. Detailed maintenance intervals, as defined by the factory, were essential to the longevity of the unit. That said, it is probably fair to say that its design life was not meant to exceed mileage much over six digits. In an ideal world, with all required work carried out on schedule, pretty much any component could either be reworked, repaired or replaced, and many wellkept examples can be stripped to find only minimal wear on essential areas such as the bores and crankshaft etc. It’s certainly not rare to see a mild rebore to the first oversize or a crank regrind that offers a fresh lease of life. In some cases, even standard pistons and bearings can be used. However, this isn’t always the case as many worn engines are kept running until something really breaks or the engine overheats, and the cylinder head warps, or the oil pressure gets so low that the engine seizes.

Generally, if a cylinder head warps, a machine shop will be able to fix it. It’s the same after corrosion has taken hold, it can normally be welded and resurfaced. That said, there is only a finite amount of material that can actually be removed, and it is often the case that an oversize gasket will be needed to compensate. We offer a number of solutions for thicker gaskets in addition to composite materials that offer superior sealing of the combustion chambers and oil and water galleries. Another common issue is where the steel tappet bucket guides come loose in the aluminium cylinder head and need to be retained by other means to prevent noise and excess wear. Our tappet hold-down kits offer a neat and simple to install solution whereby retaining plates are fitted and held in place with appropriately sized self-tapping setscrews, a job easily carried out at home without the need to employ a mechanic or machine shop. Oil is supplied to the head via a rigid oil feed pipe from the block, which can crack at the banjos over time. A flexible stainless steel braided hose upgrade with swaged fittings and s/s banjos is an ideal and easily installed item.

As well-engineered and accurately assembled from quality parts as these engines were, they were still built to a price, if William Lyon’s reputation stands under any scrutiny!

Engine There are few greater pleasures in life than sitting behind the wheel of an E-type and listening to the symphony being generated by William Haynes’ creation under the bonnet and performed right in front of your eyes. Whether you enjoy the purr of the 6-cylinder or the roar of the V12, keep your cat looking good under the hood and running smoothly with a range of improved engine parts from SNG Barratt. The oil filter conversion makes lighter work of an oil change, the tappit hold-down kit resolves an inherent problem with the original while new camshaft covers and chrome hardware will add the finishing touches.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

E-Type S2

E-Type S3

Chrome Hardware Set

CR1050

N/A

Camshaft Covers

C25469P*

N/A

Tappet Hold Down Kit

SBS9219

N/A

Oil Filter Conversion

OFK17/1

OFK18/3

OFK18/3,OFK19/1

OFK21

Rear Oil Seal Conversion

C19687/2

N/A

Upper Timing Chain

C2256U

C29590

Lower Timing Chain

C2255U

C29590

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

The hefty crankshaft has a large rope-type oil seal at the rear or flywheel end, and employs a standard rubber lip seal at the front or timing chain end. Often installed incorrectly, without the proper sizing tool (or not soaked in oil first, or even just old and tired), the crank seals, both front and rear, will fail at some point. Leaking oil from the crank rear seal can soak and cause the clutch to fail if the front is leaking too. But hey, if your Jaguar is leaking oil, it’s only marking its territory, right or just helping to keep your garage floor lubricated? A conversion kit is available to install a rubber lip seal at the rear of the crank and replace the rope seal set up. However, since this requires some simple but nonetheless essential machining, the crankshaft will need to be removed in order to carry this out. At the timing chain end, the front crank seal can be replaced by an uprated Teflon seal which will offer significantly improved sealing for years to come. The good news about this “Dowty” seal upgrade is that it doesn’t require any machining or, indeed, any specialist tools to install. An ideal time to include this particular improvement would be when doing a timing chain job. Uprated “Iwis” duplex chains with split chamfered rollers offer a superb quality improvement that won’t break the bank either. If its convenience you seek, a spin-on oil filter conversion has to be near the top of the list in terms of ease of installation and practical advantage. Take the hassle out a filter change with modern filtration technology and no mess on the shop floor.

Finally, why not go for a compact uprated starter motor that requires far less current to crank the engine over? They offer over 200% more cranking power, are considerably lighter than the beefy heavyweight original units and are easy to replace. So, that’s it and you’ll end up choosing what to do next. You may also choose to do nothing and conclude the engineers back in the day made a pretty good job first time around, but remember they were working with limitations, road conditions have changed significantly and modern technology can be used in perfect harmony to support these beautiful old cars as they continue to age. Either way, we hope you get the drive you are looking. Author: Tony Lee

Series E-Type

It’s hard to believe that the production version of the V12 engine turns 50 years old this year.

riginally conceived as a racing car engine in the sixties, the 1971 Series 3 E-type was the first Jaguar to receive this shiny new power plant, followed by the XJ12 saloon shortly afterwards.

By the time that it was finally retired in 1997, it had seen over a quarter century of service in 5.3 and 6.0 production car form in various models as well as the DOHC 7.4 litre 750 horsepower variants powering Le Mans winning XJR’s of the eighties and early nineties. Listening to those monsters howling down the Mulsanne straight with the throttles wide open remains one of the most vivid and exciting memories of the 24-hour races I attended thirty something years ago. To be fair, all of the machinery there sounded good, but the V12 Jaguar’s and the Mazda 787B’s with their screaming rotary engines, were on a completely different level for me. It’s been argued that the Series 3 E-type, with its big displacement and additional flares and bulges, was the least pure of the E-type line and less of a sports car that its predecessors, leaning more towards a GT perhaps. It’s worth remembering too that Jaguar was now a part of British Leyland and quality and reliability were at an all-time low. If you also consider the fuel crises of the decade, the odds of its success were seemingly stacked against it.

However, they say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as such, I have to say that personally, I love it - always have, always will. As a car-mad child of the 1970’s growing up in the Midlands with a father who had spent a lifetime in the British motor industry, it was hard not to be in complete awe of the Series 3, especially in roadster form. What a machine the V12 powered E-type was and still is! Even by today’s lofty standards, the ability to effortlessly waft along behind 5.3 litres of rotating luxuriousness remains a treat and an experience that is not oft repeated. Perhaps one of our most popular and appealing upgrades for the Series 3 focuses on weaknesses in the original Lucas Opus (Oscillating Pick Up System) electronic ignition. Whist an innovation in itself, it was also the first production electronic ignition system that Jaguar had ever fitted. In fact, its origins were from the Formula One of the day, but it wasn’t without issues as time passed. The Vee mounted and iconic looking finned transistorized amplifier unit was prone to heatsoak issues that would cause it to break down and the ferrite rodded nylon rotor and pick-up assembly proved quite fragile as the heat cycles increased. Attempts were made to remedy this issue by relocating the amplifier to the front engine frame where increased air flow could keep it cool, potentially at least, but whilst this helped, it didn’t entirely eradicate the problem.

For the past 20 years, SNG Barratt has been producing and selling a solution that is manufactured in-house. A number of non-standard solutions had been on the market for a while and, while their function was fine, their form was not universally appreciated as the modern looking components were radically different to the original setup and were much less visually appealing. For the past 20 years, SNG Barratt has been producing and selling a solution that is manufactured in-house and utilises later and more reliable electronics that have been engineered to fit within the original components. As such, our set up looks entirely original but is not affected by heat. It also represents excellent value for money as it encompasses a distributor with cap, an amplifier, a ballast resistor and a new coil; essentially a refresh for the entire ignition system in one package.

Ignition & Starting Our uprated starter motors are significantly lighter than the original and offer better cranking with less electrical draw. For a more reliable spark, replace your old points-based distributor with the all-electronic 123 Ignition distributor which looks like the original, but contains no mechanical parts that will wear over time. 123 systems come with 16 different settings and USB/Bluetooth connectivity for advance curve set up via a laptop or phone. Complete your set up with new silicone plug leads and a Lucas classic sports coil suitable for 6-cylinder standard and electronic distributor set-ups.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

E-Type S2

123 Ignition Distributor - Negative Earth Cars

123IGN

123 Ignition Distributor with USB Tuning Lead

123IGN/3

123 Ignition Distributor with Bluetooth Tuning Functionality

123IGN/4

123 Ignition Distributor - Positive Earth Cars

123IGN-POS

SNG Barratt Ignition Conversion System

E-Type S3

DAB113HE

Sports Coil

DLB105

Uprated Starter Motor (37.5mm pinion)

C12679U

Uprated Starter Motor (29mm pinion)

C22256U

DLB105

C22256U

Uprated Starter Motor (V12 Later Type)

C36693U

Uprated Starter Motor (V12 Earlier Type)

C34956U

Silicone Plug Lead Set

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

JLM332S

V12 engine cars were the first E’s to receive power assisted steering as standard. It worked well, perhaps a little too well as it’s fair to say, the steering is very light. That’s good for parking and low speed manoeuvring but at higher speeds, when the car is also experiencing a little aerodynamic lift, slightly heavier steering would aid feedback and make the car feel more planted. A comprehensive kit to address this exact matter is available. It is comprised of a brand-new rack that has been adapted from a modern production car. It uses the standard E-type power steering pump and is supplied with appropriate mounting brackets, high/low pressure hoses, track rod ends and the required hardware. The system offers greatly improved feel and is fully reversible should you so wish. Braking systems became more robust as the years passed and models changed, and by the time the Series 3 went into production, the E-type boasted vented discs and three pot brake callipers at the front with a more powerful vacuum servo/booster unit than previous models. From a practical standpoint, the stopping power was more than adequate, although the extra weight saw some changes in suspension components which was largely down to comfort rather than performance. An err to the more compliant ride seemed apparent.

That said, the softer ride of the S3 can be firmed up with stiffer torsion bars, adjustable shock absorbers and polyurethane suspension bushes. All front and rear wishbone rubbers as well as the anti-roll bar, radius arm and subframe mountings can be specified in poly, as can the steering rack mountings. GAZ and Koni shock absorbers can be adjusted for bump and rebound so the driver can dial in their own personal settings as they see fit. Rear shock absorbers can also be supplied with adjustable spring platforms for further enhancement. More regulatory pressure than ever before now faced the Series 3, especially in the USA, Jaguar’s biggest market. In order to maintain compliance with Federal regulations, notable and visual differences existed as well as the ever more complicated emission control requirements. Many of the air pumps, gulp valves and other parts of the thermostatic vacuum emission systems can be removed. You can even use a conversion kit to replace the Stromberg CD175 carburettors with more adjustable and, arguably, better looking SU HIF44 carburettors. A comprehensive kit including the carbs, linkage, air filter adaptors, pipework and instructions of parts is available to order from SNG Barratt.

With the exception of the Series One 3.8 litre cars which were fitted with an in tank and submersed fuel pump, all other E-types used a remote mounted SU diaphragm/armature style pump. Mechanical contact breaker points formed a fundamental part of the trigger mechanism which, when energized, caused the attraction and then retraction of a spring-loaded diaphragm, which in turn pumped fuel. This was all good in theory, but the points would often get stuck together, either by a combination of time and wear caused by arcing or just through lack of use. This would cause the pump to stop, shortly followed by the engine, as the float chambers rapidly emptied of fuel. If you were lucky, a quick “by the roadside” tap of the cast iron fuel pump body would momentarily free the points and get the pump functioning again. Replacing the points is easy enough, but not by the side of the road or in the dark on your journey home. V12 cars used a double-ended version of this same SU pump. So, does that mean twice the problem or double the protection? Well, neither really. If the fuel supply stops or the pressure drops, you will still have a problem either way. The good news is that there is a neat, affordable modern solution to the problem in the form of an electronic triggered mechanism that replaces the points entirely. The pump still functions in the same way, looks identical from the outside and is even made by SU, the original manufacturer. As uncertain as the long-term future of the internal combustion engine is, this one for sure has earned its place in history with merit. Author: Tony Lee

If you happen to be a lucky owner,

drive it & enjoy it as often as you can and I bet the v12 makes you smile!

Suspension After completing the restoration of our Series 1, we discovered the dampers had too much movement. We worked with GAZ to produce a range of E-type shock absorbers with shorter movement that improved safety without compromising performance. The adjustable reaction plate that we fitted during the car’s restoration gave us the precise geometry to make finer adjustments to the handling. For our perfect set up, we included a faster steering rack, Polybush polyurethane bushes, an uprated anti-roll bar and other suspension essentials.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

E-Type S2

E-Type S3

Polybush Kits

SU3006PB

SU3007PB

Steering Rack Mounts

C20087/ C20087U

C34172/C34172U

Radius Arm Bushes

MHC3160AAU/ MHC3170AAU

Shock Absorber Front

C20011

C35592

Shock Absorber Rear

C25951

C32061

Torsion Bar

SBS9007/ SBS9009

Adjustable Reaction Plate

C19179ADJ

Steering Tie Rod End

C25447U

Front And Rear Anti-Roll Bar

SBS1090

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

Driving

improvement

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

In terms of body shape, no car is more iconic than the E-Type.

remember listening to a talk by Ian Callum at the launch of the XK in 2006 when he spoke of the “pure freedom” designers enjoyed with the E-type compared to the restraints facing designers of modern cars today. New car designs are governed by light positioning, crash tests and other safety requirements. We also understand so much more about aerodynamics these days and designers of modern cars are guided as much by the science of what slips through the air as they are by stylistic preferences. Callum’s argument was that, if you were to put forward the design of an E-type as a proposal for a new car today, the changes you would have to make, to ensure the car conformed to modern regulations, would be so severe that it would be barely recognizable once you were finished.

It’s not just the shape of the outside of the E-type that makes it so special. For me, personally, what goes on inside the car is even more important. While the view down the bonnet is incomparable, these cars were designed for the journey and not just the arrival. When I speak to friends who are unconnected to the classic car scene and I try to explain how driving an E-type is different to operating most modern cars, the word I use most often is “event”. Climbing into the driving seat, past the paintwork and the chrome, then positioning yourself into the soft leather of the seat is an event. Placing a hand on the wooden steering wheel while pressing the ignition and hearing the XK engine crackle into life ahead of you is an event. Approaching a slightly damp roundabout would be nothing in a modern car, but in an E-type, as you drop a couple of gears, hear the revs rise and ready yourself for the slippery road ahead, it’s an event. I have to be honest and say that it was not always an event. When we first restored our Series 1 4.2 E-type (50EE) back in 2010, the finished car was a thing of absolute beauty and a crowd would gather everywhere it went. Yet, to drive 50EE back then, I have to be honest and admit I was expecting more. I vividly recall a day, not long after we completed the car when I drove it from our headquarters in Bridgnorth to an event in Suffolk that no longer takes place called the Woodbridge Speed Trials, where a selection of cars drove up and down a runway to see what top speed they could achieve. The drive to the event was around 3 hours and was interspersed with rain showers; while the E-type didn’t miss a beat all day, I just didn’t enjoy the drive. The car had been built and restored correctly, but it just wasn’t quite “sorted.” Since that day back in 2011, I have gone on to drive thousands of miles in 50EE including hundreds of trips up Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb. The car now drives and handles superbly well, and I relish every opportunity to get behind the wheel.

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

How did you improve your E-Type Series 1 after it’s restoration?

You won’t get far if you aren’t in control of the pedals. The single biggest change, that made the most difference to my enjoyment of driving 50EE, was the throttle cable conversion that we helped to design alongside Mangoletsi. The clear advantages of this kit are due in part to the aircraft specification rose joints, but in terms of driving the car I would highlight the control, comfort and power advantages this throttle conversion delivers:

Control The original E-type linkage system was badly set up and led to the feeling that the throttle was either on or off, the cause of some nervous moments, especially on wet “A” roads. Once we introduced the Mangoletsi kit with its dual cable action, there was a smooth sensation that allowed you to accurately control the throttle and decide whether you wanted 10% of the throttle or full-on pedal to the metal.

Comfort Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis may have made history 60 years ago with his dash to Geneva and he clearly excelled in his work, but tall he was not. The early experiences I had in 50EE highlighted the fact that the position of the pedals was designed for someone closer in stature to Norman than myself. The flexibility offered by the Mangoletsi system to make vertical or horizontal adjustments to the pedals made a huge difference to the driving experience and overall comfort I could now enjoy on short trips or longer journeys. One of the first things we looked at was the steering. We fitted a 15-inch steering wheel to our car and discovered it gave the perfect balance between lightness of operation you would associate with a larger 16-inch wheel combined with the direct feel you get from a smaller wheel that requires you to take your hands off the wheel less. We also teamed up our 15-inch wheel choice with a quick release boss that meant getting in and out of the car was significantly easier. When you drive any car, you only have a handful of touch points, so making sure the steering wheel and other points of contact work for you is an important contributor to the overall driving experience.

Power The introduction of the Mangoletsi throttle immediately offered a feeling of more available power under the right foot. The arrival of the acceleration was now instant which gave me more opportunity to sit back and enjoy the symphony being generated by William Haynes’ creation under the bonnet and performed right in front of my eyes. The ultimate drive should appeal to all of the senses and with everything in now tune, 50EE never disappointed.

Cooling On a hot summer’s day, the sight of a classic car by the side of the road with its bonnet up and steam rising from the front end is one that evokes sympathy in all of us. Especially when you consider the easy maintenance and small improvement jobs you can do to prevent your classic from ever being in that situation. Modern traffic jams are a different proposition to the lighter traffic of the past and present significant challenges to classic cars that can be easily overcome with more efficient cooling solutions.

Description

E-Type S1 3.8

E-Type S1 4.2

E-Type S2

E-Type S3

Silicone Hose Kit

HK006SCW

HK008SCW

HK010SCW

HK009S C35629A/1 MANUAL , C35630A/1 AUTO

Aluminium Radiator

C16770A/1

C24252A/1

C28274A/1 MANUAL, C28098A/1 AUTO

Aluminium Radiator & Cowl

C16770A/2

C24252A/2

C28274A/2 MANUAL

Aluminium Expansion Tank

EARLY C16998A LATE C21512A

C24570A

Alloy Water Pump

C15694A

C25091A

EARLY C31144A

Cooling Fan Upgrade

SBS1221/ SBS1221-POS

SBS1221

SBS1300

For more information visit

sngbarratt.com

C33016A/1

SBS9592

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

Once the car was up to speed, I obviously had to slow down from time to time, so we fitted a 4-pot caliper kit conversion to 50EE. While the original piston/cylinder assembly was pretty good at stopping the car back in the ‘60’s, modern traffic can stop on a sixpence so the added security of being able to stop before heading into the back of a fellow road user was more than appealing. 50EE in now fitted with EBC brake pads that offer many advantages including the control of dust and bite from new but for me, the biggest advantage of these pads was the feel. If you are used to hopping in and out of multiple cars, especially jumping between classic and modern cars, the sensation of knowing how hard you can press the brakes before they lock up is really important on a classic car. The EBC range of brake pads offers that perfect balance of performance and feel. With vast improvements now made to our E-type, we turned our attention to the only four parts of the car that actually make contact with the road. When we restored 50EE, we made the mistake of fitting a set of tyres that had too much grip! It might sound counter-intuitive, but the E-type wasn’t designed for the huge grip offered up by the modern tyre and I found the handling of the car on modern tyres both wayward and unpredictable. Once we fitted a set of tyres that were closer to the original, the car became more enjoyable to operate. Over the past 10 years, owning and driving 50EE has led us on to develop a complete range of uprated parts for the E-type that improve performance and deliver a better driving experience. We have focused on all aspects of the car including the suspension where we have radically improved the car's road handling. 50EE now runs on Polybush polyurethane bushes, GAZ adjustable dampers and uprated torsion bars. Polybush bushes are a must in my opinion as they provide excellent handling over a prolonged period and are not affected in the same way as rubber bushes.

When a car has to sit in the same position for any length of time, such as a classic car in a garage over the winter, a rubber bush can deform and cause handling issues once its back on the road. SNG Barratt offers a range of great dampers and the choice you make is down to your individual price point and what you want to do with the car. What we liked about the GAZ range for 50EE was the flexibility to make adjustments. The rear dampers even include an adjustable spring collar that allows ride height changes in situ which is perfect if you are planning to load up the car with a (small) suitcase or a few spares for a drive around the coast of Britain. We have now done this twice in 50EE as part of the Prostate Cancer supporting RBCD events. As a final point on the suspension, do make sure you know what you are doing when setting up the ride height, camber and caster. I can’t advise further because, frankly, I don’t, but the technicians at SNG Barratt spent time ensuring the wheels were correctly aligned way and the difference it made to the handling was phenomenal. So, what’s next for 50EE, 10 years after the restoration? Well, we are set to install the EZ electric power steering conversion kit which I have tried on other cars. It provides an excellent balance between low-speed manoeuvrability and higher speed handling, so I am excited to try out the car once this has been fitted. Additionally, as I write, we are working on another exciting project that should be a market first for the E-type too; I can’t say anymore at the moment, but an eagleeyed observer may consider one of the few parts I have failed to mention that you actually touch when driving one of these legendary cars. Author: Julian Barratt

SNG Barratt Group - Celebrating 60 Years Of The E-Type

What next?

ith the years ahead set to be dominated by electric cars, many classic part suppliers and manufacturers are looking at ways to help owners maintain their cars whilst supporting the movement for cleaner motoring. That said, many car owners and garages still fear the loss of the combustion engine and impact of evolving legislation on the classic car industry. This is a really interesting area for SNG Barratt, and we are already working on a number of ideas and channels. I am involved in an alliance called the HVCA which is all about keeping the classic car scene alive for the years to come. One key area of focus for the alliance is to dispel some of myths surrounding classic cars and the perception that a modern electric car is “greener” than a classic. In reality, the environmental impact from the production, transportation and other resources used in manufacturing and maintaining brand new electric cars is significantly higher than keeping our classics on the road. Classic cars cover very few miles each year, so the impact is very low. In short, we need to ensure we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and we look after this important British industry. Julian Barratt CEO

As the unique experience of owning a classic continues to grow in popularity and the next generation of modern classics appear on our roads, it is evident the classic car industry is clearly thriving despite fast changing legislation and a global push for zero emission transport.

The KONI Classic line makes modern damper technology available for classic cars

Hepolite pistons for 6-cylinder and V12 engines combine modern technology with classic parts for improved performance.

These superior quality dampers are available in traditional red or historic black.

Manufactured from modern alloys for tighter tolerances and tin plated for reduced friction. Hepolite pistons will keep your E-type on the road.

Lights Bulbs

We are proud to be exclusive suppliers and manufacturers of Lucas classic car parts.

C EX

LUSIVEL

Ignition Coils Distributor Caps Ignition Amplifiers Pick Up Modules Windscreen Washer Bottles Switches Relays/Flasher Units Alternators Auxiliary Air Valves Fuseboxes Handbrake Warning Switches

THENTIC

Interior Mirrors

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