This Jaguar E-Type From Jay Leno's Garage Shows The Right Way To Restore A Car

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For a recent episode of "Jay Leno's Garage," Jay welcomed a beautifully restored 1967 Jaguar XK-E 4.2 Coupe to his garage, in which he has many cars. The Jag was restored and is owned by David Lane of Fastlane Rod Shop. While Lane had previously built hot rods for a living, he took a different approach when it came to this Jaguar. Avoiding any radical changes, Lane focused on refining and improving the way that all the parts worked and looked, from body to bumpers, to interior, to engine, and even the rear axle.

First off, that beautiful paint finish — Opalescent Silver Blue with a dark blue interior, both of which were original options offered by Jaguar back in the day. Lane modified the front and rear bumpers, removing the black rubber pads originally fitted by the factory, and the bumpers were moved to be flush with the body for a sleeker look. This XK-E also has glass headlight covers, which went away in 1968.

Inside, Lane upgraded some things, imagining what might have been, in his words, "...if the designers weren't held back by the accounting department." The dash really stands out. The gauges now have chrome bezels and domed glass. The dash panel is painted silver instead of being covered in vinyl, while the center panel housing switches and extra gauges is aluminum instead of vinyl, and it has an engine-turned appearance, while a set of rally stopwatches sits underneath it. The sill plates are also metal instead of vinyl.

A new take on the British classic

The Jaguar 4.2-liter engine with its triple SU carbs is original to the car and was rebuilt by Vintage Jag Works in Blackfoot, Idaho. It has a gold-painted head and remains stock, but an aluminum radiator and an upgraded fan were added to improve the cooling system. The headers have a porcelain finish, while the windshield washer reservoir, originally plastic, was upgraded to glass for a better appearance. Some under-hood items were also polished to make them pop more. New engine frames were added to extend the vehicle's useful life as a road car.

One more thing that Lane added to the build was a different rear axle gear ratio. Instead of the 3.54:1 gear ratio that all U.S.-bound XK-Es were built with in 1967, Lane switched to a 3.07:1 ratio, which provides more relaxed, lower-rpm freeway cruising than the original U.S. gear ratio. Fun fact — the 3.07 was available in other markets around the world as an option, but was never available in the U.S. 

David Lane's 1967 Jaguar XK-E is an interesting combination of originality, with just enough creativity and modernization to take this Jag up a notch. The changes Lane added could be considered as things that might have been done at the factory if cost were no object. Lane has built his own personal version of what a 1967 Jag E-type, one of the best Jaguars of all time, could and should be.