1969 Jaguar E-Type Coupe
H
e also owns a 1974 roadster wrapped around a V-12 engine, but this inline-six model is
actually more coveted by many Jaguar fans. It’s a Series 2 example, which – despite
losing a few of the original car’s design cues, like the covered headlights and sleeker
lenses for the tail lamps and turn signals – still retains that classic look of purely chrome bumpers all
around, cutting through an open grille.
While the Series 3 has double the cylinder count, the power numbers are remarkably similar, with
fewer than 30 horses between them. And with the earlier car’s lighter weight, the performance gap is
suitably narrow.
That’s for the stock setup, though. The coupe had been restored specifically to run the
Copperstate 1000, a rally that cuts windy paths around Arizona, so its performance envelope resides
above that of the factory setup. The straight-six enjoyed upgrades like more aggressive Weber carbs
and a light-weight flywheel. The increased power heads to the wheels through a 5-speed manual – as
opposed to the original 4-speed. And the suspension was uprated to handle the rally’s challenging
course.
While Tymkiw wasn’t able to make the event, he still enjoys the fruits of the build, which further
developed a car so dotingly restored by its only previous owner, who’d owned it for 37 years, until he
passed away.
“It was a love affair with that car,” Tymkiw says.
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