A thing of beauty
Alan Judd
When I was three my passion was a bulbous blue Austin J40 pedal car. When Henry Pearman was three his was a red F-Type Jaguar, but a real one. He used to see it parked in someone's drive whenever his father took him to the beach. Our different passions were prophetic: I still bumble around in the equivalents of aging pedal cars, while Henry — MD of Eagle ETypes — turns the cars he loves into something incomparably better than the one that dazzled his infant eye.
Following their 1961-1974 production run, you could pick up old E-Types for a few hundred pounds. Although they became one of the greatest automotive icons from day one of their appearance at the 1961 Geneva motor show (costing just over £2,000), people were frightened by their running and maintenance costs. Rightly: if you were poking around them during the Seventies, your screwdriver would very often poke through rust: you would become sadly familiar with oil leaks, rainwater, overheating, clutch plates, fuel pumps, all manner of electrical problems, and lights and brakes that didn't provide much of either.
Yet people of all classes and all pockets always loved them for their beauty and their performance. Although very few achieved the 150mph Jaguar claimed for them, many got close enough to feel like it. They went very well in straight lines. At a fraction of the price of their Aston Martin and Ferrari competition, they caught the me-too spirit of the Sixties — you may not have been able to afford one, but it was possible to imagine you might. They had — and have — glamour.
Towards the end of the Eighties, those still on the road became seriously collectable and prices were ludicrous. They've settled down now — you can pick one up for £15,000 or so, or £30,000 if you want something you can feel reasonably sure about — but you're still buying a cheaply built product using old technology.
Eagle realised that there's a market for more expensive, properly made E-Types that don't break down, leak or overheat, and that start, stop, turn corners and run as well as good modern cars. They realised, too, that this demanding market wanted originals, not E-Type replicas. What Henry Pearman and his small team of specialists do, therefore, is re-manufacture E-Types, starting with the original bulkhead (essential for maintaining the car's identity) and then replacing or improving virtually everything else. Engine (original but up
rated, higher-revving, with much more torque). gearbox (five-speed, made by Eagle). axle and suspension are dismantled and replaced or reconstructed, then mated with a new, corrosion-proofed monocoque body and panels. Heating, lighting, brakes, fuel supply and ignition make way for modern systems, the exhaust is altered and made from stainless steel, the cooling system sorted out, steering and tyres improved. They do what Jaguar should ideally have done had the car remained in production with sufficient investment.
It's a bespoke service: the car is built for the use you have in mind. If you want to race, it's tuned and set up for that; if — like the author John McLaren — you want something that will tolerate both London traffic and long continental journeys, then that's what it's designed for. The full works, with all the upgrades, costs upwards of £120,000. They build two a year and there's a five-year waiting list. Since no customer has yet been able to part with his Eagle EType, there's no discernible depreciation. And anyone who wanted to sell would find Eagle most keen to buy it back.
You can have less than the full works and still get a bespoke service on restored cars starting at about 137,500. You choose the upgrades to fit your budget and you get a reliable, warranted car. Their Sussex showroom, featuring virtually every model, is a sensual delight. I rather fell for a £37,500 Series 11 4.2 litre coupe, but others might be tempted by a Spartanly original Series 1 3.8, formerly owned by George Best. It looks in better nick than he does.
I couldn't find any oily rags in the spotless workshop, while in the stores all parts — new, old, reconditioned — are set out and polished like Grenadier Guards. It's an inspiring place and it kindled desire for the marque within my 140-loving breast, where previously there was only admiration. Just one disappointment: unremitting rain and salty roads meant I couldn't drive one this time — Henry Pearman is careful with cars intended for customers. Compromise was never the bedfellow of passion.
So, until the weather clears, I'll have to take Jeremy Clarkson's word for it that the Eagle E-Type is the Car of the Century. He and his film crew did 20,000 miles in the one they tested. I'll probably get about ten, between showers, but that should be enough. As the Russian (?) proverb has it, you need only a mouthful of seawater to know the taste of the ocean.
Eagle E-Types may be contacted at www.eaglegb.com or telephone 01825 830966, fax 01825 830872.
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