The Bonnet Is On It! 1963 Jaguar XKE Series 1 FHC. Ultra Rare Color

This Jaguar XKE FHC Series 1 has been a truly rewarding project car. The guys at the shop are making progress every day. Now that the bonnet is on, they can put the bumpers and lights in. All that will be left is the interior. Looking forward to getting the car on the road again!
Claret was only offered as a standard colour from 1961-2. According to Clausager (former archivist at Jaguar, so speaking with some authority), only 4 cars were painted in this colour. Ultra rare.

[@fredshockey4270]

For me this is one of the most beautiful car that i have seen in my life. If anyone has seen Harold and Maude that's the Jag i want. They simply beautiful.

[@lotusbobsgarage]

Not sure I want to travel on an E Type hearse, but love the effort

[@fredshockey4270]

@@lotusbobsgarage Thank you for your message back to me. The Jag in Harold and Maude is an acquired taste and i know in the last 5 or so years someone built another one. It can be found on U Tube. Still a beautiful Jaguar. And very rare.

[@johndavey72]

In England this colour was better known as Opalescent Dark Red. As you say a rare colour on any Jaguar but particularly an 'e"type . Was that it's origimal colour ? Probably . I fitted an English Heritage bonnet on an accident damaged "e" some 12 years ago ... my goodness ! It needed a lot of fettling to get it to an acceptable standard . I'm restoring my '66 2+2 and have restored the original bonnet ...easier said than done !!! But nearly there ! Well done and congratulations !!

[@lotusbobsgarage]

Jaguar Heritage says this car is claret and it really is true. Never have I ever seen an E Type in claret. Although it was silver and red when I got it, as shown in other videos, during the disassembly and restoration I saw the claret paint. In 1962 this was a color (colour) available on the brochures, but according to Anders Clausager, Jaguar Heritage archivist, claret was special and only applied to 4 cars. I would imagine that Opalescent Dark Red is pretty close, but I reckon if you put two cars side by side, you'd see a difference. Especially because claret is not opalescent. I am very happy to have found an expert restoration shop that was able to fit the new bonnet and do all the paint work. I do mechanical work and feel like I am very good at it, but do not do any coach work or paint.
Thank you for your comments and I hope you are a subscriber. I will be uploading more videos as time passes.

[@robth4148]

We need audio to known went right and what didn´t

[@lotusbobsgarage]

I will re release this with narration. Did you check out my video about bonnet support?