Jaguar e type by World Classics

Submitted by Phil Insull

I once stood for some considerable time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed waiting for Roy Salvadori to autograph my Top Slot Jaguar e type lightweight's box. So it can be said I like the e-type and the lightweight versions in particular. When Sean asked me to build the latest release from World Classics I was pleased to find out that it was a lightweight e-type. Upon opening the box I thought funny it doesn't look much like the earlier Top Slot version, and then I realised that this new kit is not based on the same car as the Briggs-Cunningham version. Somewhat strangely perhaps World Classics have chosen to produce a resin kit version of the fastback version of the e-type more normally referred to as the “Low Drag”. The car depicted was one of only two originals produced (There have been subsequent replica versions) and this particular car registered 4868WK powered by Jaguars 3.8 litre engine was supplied to German Jaguar imported Peter Lindner to race in 1964. Peter entered the car at Le Mans in 1964 where the car apparently ran quite well, however it was destined to have a very short frontline racing career as sadly Lindner crashed the car a month later on the high speed banked curves at Monthlery and died from his injuries. The car was subsequently impounded by the French Authorities and was not released for many years. It was eventually bought and sent to Jaguar specialists Lynx where it used as the basis for an exact replica of the original. The wrecked version now resides at the Internationally renowned Rosso Bianco Collection in Germany along with the replica, which can be seen at events such as Goodwood.

The World Classic kit of this car comprises of a resin body shell, side stub exhausts, and fuel cap and upper driver figure, along with clear lexan windows, interior, bonnet wind deflector and headlight covers. The final pieces are four button type plastic front headlight lenses. To complete the kit Sean provided a MRRC Ferrari 275 chassis, Mabuchi motor and leads, MRRC grey magnet, and front guide, along with Hornby front and rear axles, and Carrera Jaguar D-type wheels and tyres.

The first dry fit shows that this kit needs a fair bit of work to complete, the chassis requires extensive trimming down to the side ridges and from the back. The front body mounting post on the shell also needs cutting down to accommodate the front post on the chassis. The windscreen, headlight covers and interior all require trimming to make them fit reasonably well, and the Hornby axles require chopping to enable the wheels to rotate freely inside the wheel arches. The final assembled version of mine has a front track of 40mm and a rear of 45mm. A criticism at this point is that no matter what I tried I could not get the windscreen glass to fit properly, the moulding seems to be marginally to big to cement inside the car without twisting slightly.

Once lined up and ensuring the car dry fits together and runs freely drill the body holes for the three mounting screws. Next it is time to paint the kit, the body was rubbed down with 1200 wet n dry and sprayed with Plastikote grey primer but what colour was the car? The picture from World Classics show the car as a pale grey colour, but I found a reference stating the car was simply aluminium finish, a visit to both Lynx and Rosso Bianco web sites could shed no light on the exact colour so I went with my own opinion based on some old black and white photo's that the car was aluminium in colour. Three thin coats of Plastikote Aluminium spray were applied, followed by gunmetal for the exhausts and grille, black for the screen surrounds and chrome for the fuel cap and door handles and clear orange for the indicators. The interior was painted predominantly black with the driver done in pale blue with white helmet. Once dry the interior was fitted, and body screwed onto the chassis via the three mounting holes. Fit the button headlights and the lexan covers, and the novel lexan wind deflector halfway down the bonnet on the driver's side. Finally apply the decals with decal-fix and a hair dryer. I have had some bad experiences in lacquering metallic paint so I took the risk not to do this one.

The finished result looks quite attractive but is considerably more difficult to construct than the Top Slot kit and is of course a less well-known version of the car. A very nice touch is the rivet detail on the rear bodywork, but this does mean you need to be careful when rubbing the car down for painting. The car runs quite well certainly on a par with the Top Slot kit and Carrera D-type but as with all resin kits I doubt you would want to use it for serious competition. In conclusion a pretty decent kit but not one perhaps for the total novice builder, I'm no pro-builder but I have done quite a few to my own satisfaction and this is not amongst the easy ones. Certainly it would make an unusual addition to anybody's collection particularly if you've got a few other e-type versions, all in all an interesting kit of a fairly unique Jaguar.

Footnote

The chassis used on the review car was a Ferrari 275P which requires the front body post reducing in length. It is not necessary to do this if a MRRC Chaparral chassis is used.

Ninco wire spoked wheels can be used in place of the Carrera D-type wheels.