I was driving through Tavistock in Devon last week when I spotted the front end of an S Type on someone’s driveway and thought it rude not to stop and have a chat.
The owner, Steve, deals in Triumph Heralds and Spitfires but judging by the state of his work shop and yard he is more of a hoarder. He also has a Mk X and a 420 tucked away which have both seen better days and will never see the road again.
The S Type started life as a 3.4 MOD and is chassis number 1B1534DN. I have seen the Heritage certificate which shows the car started out as Opalescent green with suede green interior but as the pictures show it is now Old English white with a red leather interior. The engine has been swapped out for a 3.8 E Type block with a Moss box with a stainless steel exhaust. The rear axle has a power lock diff from a Mk X to allow for larger discs and the front brakes are four pot Cooper craft and it’s sat on wire wheels. Some would say these are the good bits on the car but it changes the originality of the car drastically and reduces the price. The previous owner also cut two large holes in the bonnet/hood and fitted two replica Coombes grills which are only riveted in and look terrible. He did add a Coombes sticker to the back window so that makes it better. The body work is showing its age. The bottoms of the doors are suffering as are the normal places on the wings. The bonnet and boot both have rust but Steve says he has replacements in his workshop. The car needs a full respray. The chrome is presentable and might clean up although there are some nasty rust patches on the bumpers that will only get bigger. The sills look sound but I was unable to get right underneath. The inside would need the full treatment of headlining, carpets, wood treated, all new rubber seals and some repairs to the driver’s seat. He also has a pristine set of blue leather interior in his attic from the 420 which would fit. The car is fitted with a full Webasto sun roof which I quite like but it looks like the seals have gone on this hence the headlining looking like a Petri dish of penicillin.
Manufactured on the 2nd of July 1964 it is the 38th 3.4 RHD to be made according to an E mail dated August 2013 from David Reilly which I found in the paperwork with the car. The car has an MOT which expires on the 7th of June 2018. The car is running but the clutch has stuck as its not been driven for some time. Since the last MOT the car has only driven 50 miles and the 65117 on the clock looks original.
When I asked Steve what he was doing with the vehicle he asked if I wanted to buy it and gave me a price of £7000 which in its present condition and with all the unoriginal parts is about £4000 too much in my view although the private plate is possibly worth £1000. As Steve is a hoarder it will still be parked on his driveway in a year’s time and perhaps the price will come down unfortunately the condition will deteriorate more as well but if it has to be replaced now another year will not change that. Better than a parts car but needs some work to get it back up on the road looking good. In my opinion as the running gear is sound you would be looking at putting £6000 into it if you did the work yourself to have a nice but unoriginal car. Anyone interested in the mean time PM me as I have Steve’s details.
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I was driving through Tavistock in Devon last week when I spotted the front end of an S Type on someone’s driveway and thought it rude not to stop and have a chat.
The owner, Steve, deals in Triumph Heralds and Spitfires but judging by the state of his work shop and yard he is more of a hoarder. He also has a Mk X and a 420 tucked away which have both seen better days and will never see the road again.
The S Type started life as a 3.4 MOD and is chassis number 1B1534DN. I have seen the Heritage certificate which shows the car started out as Opalescent green with suede green interior but as the pictures show it is now Old English white with a red leather interior. The engine has been swapped out for a 3.8 E Type block with a Moss box with a stainless steel exhaust. The rear axle has a power lock diff from a Mk X to allow for larger discs and the front brakes are four pot Cooper craft and it’s sat on wire wheels. Some would say these are the good bits on the car but it changes the originality of the car drastically and reduces the price. The previous owner also cut two large holes in the bonnet/hood and fitted two replica Coombes grills which are only riveted in and look terrible. He did add a Coombes sticker to the back window so that makes it better. The body work is showing its age. The bottoms of the doors are suffering as are the normal places on the wings. The bonnet and boot both have rust but Steve says he has replacements in his workshop. The car needs a full respray. The chrome is presentable and might clean up although there are some nasty rust patches on the bumpers that will only get bigger. The sills look sound but I was unable to get right underneath. The inside would need the full treatment of headlining, carpets, wood treated, all new rubber seals and some repairs to the driver’s seat. He also has a pristine set of blue leather interior in his attic from the 420 which would fit. The car is fitted with a full Webasto sun roof which I quite like but it looks like the seals have gone on this hence the headlining looking like a Petri dish of penicillin.
Manufactured on the 2nd of July 1964 it is the 38th 3.4 RHD to be made according to an E mail dated August 2013 from David Reilly which I found in the paperwork with the car. The car has an MOT which expires on the 7th of June 2018. The car is running but the clutch has stuck as its not been driven for some time. Since the last MOT the car has only driven 50 miles and the 65117 on the clock looks original.
When I asked Steve what he was doing with the vehicle he asked if I wanted to buy it and gave me a price of £7000 which in its present condition and with all the unoriginal parts is about £4000 too much in my view although the private plate is possibly worth £1000. As Steve is a hoarder it will still be parked on his driveway in a year’s time and perhaps the price will come down unfortunately the condition will deteriorate more as well but if it has to be replaced now another year will not change that. Better than a parts car but needs some work to get it back up on the road looking good. In my opinion as the running gear is sound you would be looking at putting £6000 into it if you did the work yourself to have a nice but unoriginal car. Anyone interested in the mean time PM me as I have Steve’s details.
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