Rusted Junk Jaguar E-Type Turned Unique 1JZ Drift Machine!
This ‘restomod’ classic Jaguar might be the automotive definition of rags to riches.
The Jaguar E-Type is the kind of car that defines automotive culture. It sets standards among enthusiasts 60 years after its release. Just see one for yourself and it will fill you with emotion. It is without a doubt a beautiful car. Enzo Ferrari once called it “the most beautiful car ever made.” And that’s the guy who created the 250 GTO.
While we can’t praise the car enough, it is incredible to see how these vehicles have withstood the test of time. Most of the remaining E-Types are sold at auction and they rarely go for anything under $100,000. This goes for even the ones in less than stellar condition. We will say that the E-Type seen in this video isn’t one of the ones that went for auction. Hell, the way and state in which this car started, you could barely even consider it a car. Thanks to Hoonigan on YouTube, we get to learn the story behind this drift 1JZ Jaguar E-Type.
The man behind this crazy build is Charlie Seward, owner of Charlie’s Classic & Custom Body & Paint Shop. The shop had a 1JZ lying around in their space so they were looking for a RWD chassis to put it in. At the time, they only had a single “shell”, which was the Jaguar E-Type you see today. However, you need to understand that what Seward considered a “shell” wouldn’t even be considered scrap to a metal recycler.
However, at the time they had no money to purchase a project car like this. So they did what they do best and that was to restore the chassis to a functional condition. In the shop, Seward spends upwards of 1500 hours on bodywork and paint for his customers. When he says they restore vehicles to 100%, they mean it.
However, this E-Type was different. The Toyota 1Jz inline-six in the engine bay didn’t really matter as much. Seward stated that there’s no point in spending money on the engine if the chassis wouldn’t work for drifting. Thus, it’s a standard 1JZ with bolt-ons making around 420 HP. However, now that the chassis is settled, they plan to upgrade to a 2JZ and make over 1000 HP.
The team also plans on drag racing the E-Type in addition to drifting it. In its current setup, it ran an 11-second quarter-mile flat, which is solid for something with so little power. We could explain how there is a BMW E60 M5 rear subframe mounted the Jaguar or the BMW E39 330D transmission to row gears with, but would that make this any more magical? We didn’t think so. Not convinced on this build? Watch the first 10 seconds of the video you’ll probably change your mind very quickly.
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