When I started cleaning the mud from last week off my car it was an absolutely beautiful Autumn day with a clear blue sky. By the time I had finished a heavy fog had rolled in and it was getting dark and damp! Never-the-less I took a chance that it would clear inland so set off to see a friend near Uckfield. Fortunately I was right and it was a lovely ride up there. Whilst waiting for the lights at Polegate a very friendly Ambulance driver who had his window down shouted across to see if I would swap my car for his Ambulance! He had always dreamed of owning an E-type so was quite envious!

Marie had not seen my car before and I had not seen her new home either, so we both appreciated a guided tour. We set off from her house and went past Glynndebourne, on up to the A27, along and then left up thorough Upper Dicker and back to her house. By then it was starting to get miserable so I set off with headlights blazing and by the time I arrived home I was driving through a thick cold fog!

End Mileage 80,928(58 miles)

Today is Richard's birthday and he will be 4yrs old! My brother Ashley, his wife Yulia and little Amelia and Richard are coming to tea at 3pm. Carey came down from Warninglid so we went for a lovely walk around the 'bowl' on the Downs before coming home to go for a spin in the E-type. It was a lovely day and reasonably warm for this time of year so we couldn't turn down this opportunity. It was beautiful driving around Beachy Head and Birling Gap and we headed over to Alfriston where we were hoping to drop in on our friends Des and Phyliss at 8 The Broadway, but as suspected they were out! I don't think they have seen the Jag yet but I know that they would certainly like to because they own 'Rory' their beloved green 1960's Sunbeam Alpine sports car!

From there we crossed over the A27 and headed up to the A21. Just north of Berwick all of a sudden the road became soaking wet with a heavy layer of mud! It went on for ages and even up the hill and down the other side. We could not work out where all the water and mud had come from, but I know where it ended up, yes that's right, all over my beautifully shinny car! Not a happy bunny! Despite this it was a lovely run and we were very pleased that we had done it but as soon as we got home we had to rush to get little Richard's birthday tea ready!

A fill up was required Shell Boship 80,858 51.44lts £60.64 (153 miles, 11.32 gallons, 13.52 mpg) before returning home.

End Mileage 80,870(34 miles)

Well in truth it wasn't the nicest day today, and we have been having a lot of cloudy and wet weather in the last week, but I had arranged to go and visit my very good friend Mark and his lovely wife Stephanie at their house in Surrey. I have been promising Mark that I would show him my E-type for ages, so today was the day. Had the roads been wet then I would not have taken it, but they weren't so all I needed was to wrap up warm. There was no way that I was going to spoil the lines of the car and put the hood up, so topless I went! I stopped at Warningly to collect Carey who was also dying to see Mark and Stephanie. As we drew up to their house, Mark was waiting on his drive with a big grin on his face... I think his first words were "Man, she's gorgeous!" which I took to mean the car and not Carey! Stephanie had heard the car arrive and came out and within a few minutes we had taken this photo of Mark in the car...

Carey drove Stephanie in the E-type to the pub and we followed in Mark's BMW. The Bell Inn is very local to them and is a great pub. We had a lovely Sunday roast with first class service. Mark had told me that this was Dame Judi Dench's local and he was right because there she was, with her family having lunch! When we left I drove Mark back in the E-type and Stephanie took Carey in the BMW. Shortly after we left M & S and I dropped Carey off at her place and returned back to Eastbourne. It was a lovely day seeing old friends and I'm sure that the Jag enjoyed all the admiration that it received! In return she purred all the way home never missing a beat!

End Mileage 80,836 (120 miles)

The sun was out and I had some free time so I set off towards Battle and once there headed up to a nice pub near Lamberhurst where I stopped for a while. Not being in any rush I headed back via Bells Yew Green which is in a lovely part of Sussex and hopped onto the A267 at Frant and came home that way with only one stop for fuel Shell Boship 80,705 41.74lts £49.63 (129 miles, 9.18 gallons, 14.05 mpg)

The car is on song and I just enjoyed a leisurely drive on a nice day, albeit that it was a bit cold and cloudy by the time I got home.

End Mileage 80,716 (75 miles)

I was outside my garage just finishing polishing my car when Colin, my next door neigbour from house 1 started admiring my car, well, that was all the excuse I needed to offer him a spin along the seafront! It was a lovely early Autumn afternoon and Colin commented how people noticed the car. We stopped at a Zebra Crossing to let a middle-aged lady across with her dog and she smiled and said "lovely car!". Even a simple little trip like this is an absolute joy to be driving this car... I love it :-)!

End Mileage 80,641 (6 miles)

The sun was out and as the days are drawing in I felt compelled to take one of the last opportunities to drive to work and back in the Jaguar. I know that it's not much of a journey, and I know that at 12 miles to the gallon it's not very sensible, but hey, live life!

End Mileage 80,641 (11 miles)

What a lovely day in Warninglid. Fortunately no rain overnight and the car was bathed in morning sunlight just begging to be driven! But before that could happen Carey and I went out on a very enjoyable 15 mile cycle ride around the lovely local country lanes. Once back at base we rushed to change and shoot out to a local Pub for a drink before Carey had to go off for her ‘Rock Choir’ rehearsal. I let her drive the E-type to the Royal Oak where some chap came up to us saying how lovely it looked and asking where I got it resprayed. He wasn’t actually asking that at all, what he really wanted to say is that he had a Series 1 E-type and that his ‘day car’ was the Aston Martin parked next to my Jag! We had a nice chat with all the usual pleasantries and banter to makes ourselves feel special! But time was getting short so we had to leave the pub to get Carey home and ready for her prior commitment. I said goodbye, filled up with fuel Shell Hickstead 80,576 47.62lts £58.05 (150 miles, 10.47 gallons, 14.32 mpg) and then went over to see David Friend in Burgess Hill who had been very keen to see my E-type ever since I got it.

David is a member of the Jack & Jill Windmills Society and works on the windmills as a volunteer, he is also a crack veteran rifle shot at Bisley National Rifle Association and has won many big competitions. He is a lovely chap and definitely a little eccentric! I took David for a little spin and he was very impressed with the condition of the car and love the sound of the engine. That as a bit of a surprise to me seeing how deaf he is!

David Friend has been an amazing marksman over the years and still shoots today as he approaches his 80's! In 2002 he scored a 223 points out of 225 points shooting over 1,000, 1,100 and 1,200 yards which is an English record!

The Pumpkin soup photo was take at a previous visit to David's house when he had invited me over with Carey, Norma her mother, Jane her sister and Hugo and Phoeby who are Jane's children. As you can see he had prepared a beautifully presented Pumpking soup that tasted devine especailly with his hand made crusty, nutty roles!

I left David just before 5pm and drove home in absolutely beautiful weather. It is such a privilege to drive a bit of our British Motoring History and I have had an enormously enjoyable 2 days with the car.

End Mileage 80,624 (63 miles)

The weather forecast was showing that it would be dry with sunny spells over this Saturday and Sunday, so having promised to visit my friend Ian in Bognor Regis this afternoon, and then Carey in Warninglid for a bike ride tomorrow, I decided to take a chance and use the E-type. Good Call!! The journey over to see Ian Oldfield, Neeve and their daughter Emily was enjoyable but largely uneventful, however it took me past the spot where the Hawker Hunter crashed at the Shoreham Air show on Saturday 22nd August which was a terrible reminder of a horrendous accident that is still very fresh in our minds. It was lovey to seen Ian and the family and we went for walk on the beach which is very near their house. Ian loved the car and I took this picture of him in his drive…

I left the Oldfield’s at just gone 6pm which was a bit worrying as I have a faulty head light switch on the car and I wasn’t confident that I would be able to put the lights on, but on the went with no problem. I headed for Warninglid using my inbuilt brain navigation system and observation of the sun, so got it all wrong, hence the slightly ‘odd’ route that I took! Never-the-less it was fabulous driving the E-type which is going like a dream and despite it getting dark by the time I got to Carey’s, it was still a really enjoyable experience. Carey and I went to the Bolney Stage in the Jag and had a brilliant meal. Leaving the Pub we drove back with the hood up and were quite impressed by the level of comfort it offers.

End Mileage 80,561 (123 miles)

It was a horrible start to the day but by mid morning it had cleared up to become a very pleasant Autumn day with lots of blue sky but quite a strong wind. I was at a loose end so couldn’t resist a drive out. I had no idea where I was going but found myself going around Beach Head and heading out to Seaford and driving along their seafront, which had a much bigger beach than I remembered! From there I found myself heading to Newhaven so diverted through Denton and up to Lewes. Once there I decided to drive through Ringmer as it is a pretty village and head up towards Chiddingly.

From there I went to Horam passed Taylor Automotive Engineering, and then down to Boship roundabout where I filled up with fuel Shell Boship 80,426 15.89lts £19.21 (41 miles, 3.5 gallons, 11.7 mpg)

Leaving the garage I went through Hailsham to Stone Cross and then back home via the seafront. It was an absolutely fabulous drive and in places very scenic. The car is going really well and I gave it it’s head on a couple of occasions!

End Mileage 80,438 (53 miles)

It was a lovely day today and as I was due to meet someone in Tenterden for lunch, I decided to drive over there in the E-type. It is only 35 miles, 40 if you go wrong as I did, but it still takes the best part of 1 ½ hours! Quite honestly time doesn’t matter if you’re enjoying the drive and that I certainly did as the car is going really well. Gone are the starting issues, and gone is the worry of breaking down now that everything is fixed.

I cleaned the car before I set off and cleaned it again when I got back so the car is looking magnificent! As usual I got a few waves and nods of approval en route and as I left the petrol station I had one very enthusiastic drive giving me the Thumbs up and following me back into Eastbourne. A fill up was required Pevensey Service Station 80,385 44.12lts £52.02 (143 miles, 9.70 gallons, 14.74 mpg) just before returning home.

End Mileage 80,385 (81 miles)

My Cousin Christopher Lions and his wife Kathy came down for the weekend and we were joined by Carey. Having walked up over Beachy Head in the morning we decided to take both the MG and the E-type for a spin. Chris and I went over in the Jag to Stone Cross to pick up the MG whilst Carey and Kathy followed in Carey’s Audi TT.

From there we set off in convoy to Battle with Carey in the E-type and Chris and I in the MG. Once there we had a little wonder around and then had tea and cake at ‘A Taste Of Battle’ tea rooms where we took these pictures…

After that we set off home and dropped the MG off at Stone Cross before retuning to Eastbourne. Chris and Kathy loved both the cars and said that they had had a wonderful day!

End Mileage 80,304 (43 miles)

Having just cleaned the car I decided to pop down to Halfords to buy a tee piece for the waste pipe so that I could finish plumbing in the garage de-humidifier. On the way home I dropped into Tesco Express in the Meads for a few bits and pieces. Not the most exciting trip to make but it was lovely driving down the seafront and as usual I got a few waves!

End Mileage 80,261 (10 miles)

Another glorious day… 2 on the trot! Carey came over as she was singing in Peacehaven and we went out for a run in the car. Stupidly I forgot to switch the Satmap on so I don’t have a map record of this journey. We drove to the Cooden Beach Hotel via Pevensey and along the A259 where we had a late lunch and a beer on a table right on the edge of the beach. It was fantastic weather although there was quite a strong wind.

After lunch we spent an hour on the beach enjoying the sun before setting off along the B2182 and up to the top of the hill on Del La Warr Parade where we stopped to take in the view down to Hastings. We then got a bit lost trying to get over towards Battle but eventually got onto the A269 Bexhill Road and went up through Ninfield, through Boreham Street and down Wartling Road where we filled up with petrol Pevensey Service Station 80,242 43.95lts £54.01. (117 miles, 9.67 gallons, 12.1 mpg)

From there we returned home via Pevensey Bay and the Eastbourne Sea Front. It was a really lovely run and a great way to spend an afternoon.

End Mileage 80,251 (44 miles)

Another lovely day today so just had to take the car for a run! First I popped into Halfords to buy a fuse as the clock had stopped working. A few minutes later, hey presto, its working again. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go as the point was simply to enjoy a drive. I ended up going up the A22 and diving off through Arlington, Upper Dicker, up to Golden Cross and down to the Yew Tree in Chalvington where I used to play cricket, but there was no home game.

From there I went trough some country roads that I have never been down before before getting onto the A27 and going to The Ram Pub in Firle where I met Hazel and Paul having a drink! I had been hoping to watch Firle playing cricket, but again there was no game. From there I headed back home along the A27 and popped into the Selmeston Cricket Club to see iE-type Jaguar OTS Series 3 GGB178N Journeys in 2015f they were playing, but they had just finished and I just caught Tim, the Captain who said they had had a good game and won.

As I drove back from there I happened to be going over the bridge that crosses the Cuckmere river just outside of Alfiston when a voice shouted “Adrian!” and I saw it was Pat and his wife Calleigh with their son Jake so I stopped for a chat. From there I retuned via Exceat, up over the downs and back to my garage. What a lovely run, and boy, am I lucky to own such a lovely car!

End Mileage 80,207 (42 miles)

A lovely day today so decided to take the car to work and then in the evening I drove the long way back through Pevensey just for the fun of it.

End Mileage 80,165 (19 miles)

My friend Tim came down from the West Country to stay for one night as he has a property in Seaford that he needed to visit. I wanted to show him the Jag as he has an XJ6 that he is fully restoring. We went for a quick spin over Beachy Head and stopped for dinner at the Beach Head Pub. After dinner we got back into the car and I found that the lights didn’t work! Fortunately it was not quite dark so we managed to get home. I think there may be a bad contact on the rocker switch.

End Mileage 80,146 (11 miles)

A beautiful day so I cleaned the car and decided to take it for a little spin around the town to dry off. I left the garage doors open and all my kit spread everywhere and set off. I thought that I would go the long way around the town and whilst heading out towards the Hospital the car suddenly conked out! Dead! I tried in vain to work out what had gone wrong and then called the rescue service. They turned up about 1.5 hours later. The man looked completely out of his depth when asked what was wrong but purely by chance he fiddled with the HT leads and the engine started. He had another little fiddle around the coil and suddenly the engine stopped. The problem was that the new choke cables which had been routed over the low tension leads on the coil, had dislodged one of the leads. It was a simple fix to reposition the coil in its bracket and all was well.

I got home, tidied away my cleaning gear and drove off up to the Vineyard Pub in Lamberhurst for a meal and then drove back home in the evening. Stopped for petrol Shell Boship 80,125 22.66lts 4.9845 gallons. (70 miles 14.04 mpg) then drove back to my flat. The car is going really well.

End Mileage 80,135 (74 miles)

A lovely summer’s day but with a few dark clouds looking like they are trying to spoil it. I was looking forward to turning the ignition key and the car gunning into life in double quick time, so with trepidation I pulled the choke out fully and fired her up. The engine whered a few times without catching so I pumped the accelerator twice and she burst into life. Not as easily as I had hoped but I think that the trick is to pump the accelerator. I’ll try it next time…

The idea was to pick up my Dad and go for lunch but he wasn’t quite ready so I took a little trip along the seafront, through town and then back along the seafront to Dad’s flat in St Emmanuel House, All Saints, Darley Road. This is the first time he has seen the car and he loved it! Many years ago back in the early 70’s he had driven a friend’s E-type and it had had a lasting impression. In those days the car was at the top of the motoring market, as it remains to day! However, now aged 90 he found getting in and out a tad more difficult!

We went up onto Beachy Head and over to the Tiger Inn for lunch and then came home trough Jevington and Polegate where I picked up some fuel Polegate Tesco Garage 80,055 11.77lts £14.82. (37 miles, 2.589 gallons, 14.29 mpg), from there we returned home via the town centre. He loved the ride and I certainly got his seal of approval for this extravagant purchase! I popped into Tesco Express in the Meads on my way home.

End Mileage 80,061 (24 miles)

What a delight to pick up my lovely car. Ashely, my brother, took me up to the Garage to collect her and it was the first time he had seen the car. He thought she looked lovely but I’m not sure the colour would be his first choice. Geoff went through all the things that he had done and a few others that could be put on the list of things to do in the future. The good news is that he said the car was in very good condition with no rust problems and that the oil leak from the rear axil was very slight for an E-type and nothing to worry about at this stage. He felt that the car was a good investment and whist he wasn’t a great fan of the V12’s he still appreciated the car.

I gunner the old girl into action, and as it was such a lovely evening I felt that the long way home was in order. So off I set south along Scrapers Hill through Muddles Green down to the A22 at Golden Cross. South down to the Boship Farm petrol station for a fill up Shell Boship 80,018 52.42lts £66 (131 miles, 11.53 gallons, 11.36mpg), then off on the A271 through Horsebridge, Herstmonceux, Windhill Mill and down Wartling Road to Pevensey. Through Pevensey Bay along the Eastbourne Road then up Princess Road to the seafront and along back to home. It was a simply lovely drive and I am looking forward to my next trip!

End Mileage 80,037 (13 miles)

Note: The car was with Geoff from 25/06/15 to 23/07/15. I ended up having quite a lot of work done, £4,832.28 worth to be precise! They replaced the choke cables, the upper ball joints, various hoses including all the coolant hoses with silicone lifetime hoses, the spark plugs and the alternator and stripped the carburettors and put in new service kits. They tuned the engine, serviced the grease points, repaired the hand-break knob and shimmed the steering wheel column which had excess movement. They drove 42 miles in the car during testing. See Invoice 09/07/15 See Invoice 23/07/15

My wonderful friend Mike Hayman, who introduced me to Geoff Taylor at Taylor Automotive Engineering in Chiddingly, followed me up to the garage to drop off the E-type. The most important thing is to sort out the erratic starting problem and replace the alternator so that I can have confidence driving the car (I still don’t know if the car is a him or a her, I’ve got to come up with a suitable name! The problem is that if it’s a ‘him’ then he is wearing a yellow dress, but if its a ‘her’ then she is a bit butch!). Any way, I felt confident that leaving the car with Geoff that it was in good hands and I just have to wait to see what he finds.

End Mileage 79,972 (15 miles)

I haven’t been able to take the car into the garage to sort out the starting but I did finally manage to get it going this evening and went for a round trip over Beachy Head, doing the usually loop past the light house, Belle Tout Lighthouse, Birling Gap and up to the East Dean crossroads. Turned right up the steep hill, over the top then right over Warren Hill and down through the Upper Dukes Drive bends, down onto the seafront and home to Chatsworth Gardens. All good fun and the car goes very well once it has started! Hopefully I will be able to take it in to the garage next Monday.

End Mileage 79,957 (11 miles)

(written by Carey)

Once again I get to drive the Jag (I’m starting to like this arrangement)! After Adrian (eventually) got the car to start, we set off in convoy to Middle Farm for a Classic Car jamboree.

It was a bit overcast and although the sun kept breaking through it wasn’t as nice a day as yesterday. Really anxious that the car was difficult to start, Adrian insisted that I should’t turn off the engine when we stopped at the Garage to buy a newspaper. He took FOREVER in the shop and I was embarrassed as I thought people would be thinking I was attention seeking sitting like a queen bee in this lovely car. Even a girl who arrived a a Porsche looked enviously over in my direction….. just saying!

There were probably more than 100 cars at the show, all makes and models, some fabulous, some not quite so. After a couple of hours wandering around it started to look like the heavens were about to open. We thought it best to bolt for home (and cover) and after 6 or more attempts, the Jag roared back into life. We’ve only got to go through this ‘starting’ angst one more time, and that’s going to be getting her fired up for her journey down to the garage tomorrow morning to sort out the problem!

End Mileage 79,946 (28 miles)

(written by Carey)

We set off from Eastbourne together for my 1st drive in the E type. I was really anxious not to do anything stupid and mindful that the car is Adrian’s absolute pride and joy I was probably driving a bit too cautiously. But once Adrian left me to drive on my own, I was much more relaxed and started to enjoy the ease of driving an automatic (1st time for that as well).

I followed Adrian who was now in the MG as we drove out of Stonecross & north up the A22 to Nutley. The E type just purred along, it’s an easy car to drive & I quickly became quite confident. I was aware of a few admiring glances as the deep throaty roar got attention before we came into view ….quite a head-turner!

In Nutley we stopped at the Classic Car garage where Adrian got the right screws to mend the soft top of the MG. Repairs done, we set off again, except the E type didn’t start 1st time, Adrian was anxious, but as it fired up on the 2nd attempt I was not worried at all. Little did I know that this had the potential to be a real problem, always so much less stressful to be a little naive in these situations.

We stopped briefly at the cricket on the outskirts of Nutley Village, and once again it took 2 attempts to fire up. We continued on to the Shell garage at Maresfield to fill up: Maresfield Service Station 79,887 47.83lts (132 miles, 10.52 gallons, 12.55mpg) We diverted off the A22 at Golden Cross to drive along the county lanes through Chalvington, Berwick, then crossed the A27, through Lullington and Littlington and then out to the Cuckmere. We just cruised up the long steep hill and then branched off on the coast road out to Birling Gap before dropping back down into Eastbourne.

It was a really lovely afternoon to drive in such a beautiful car and I think I looked a little bit like the cat who got the cream!

End Mileage 79,918 (65 miles)

Collected the car from JAGTechnic in Harvington Road near Lottbridge drove. Paid just over £400 for a report on the car which shows several things need to be done but probably the most urgent is to get the car to start! It is very temperamental and I think that there is a problem with the starter solenoid. I bought the car straight home along the seafront. See Invoice 12/06/15

79,853 (4 miles)

Note: Mileage whilst left at JAGTechnic 79,836 – 79,849 (13 miles)

What a lovely day! Colin came around for a cup of coffee and a look at the Jag. He liked it… very much! We decided to pop around to Noel’s house at 1 Dittons Road near the railway station and as Colin, Noel and I stood chatting on the street a friend of mine, Ian Fletcher Price drove by and stopped to ask to whom the car belonged. He didn’t believe that it was mine which was rather fun! Apparently he has the Series 2 in Primrose Yellow so I am sure that we will meet up for a drive out one day.

After leaving Noel we drove around the Meads and then up over Beachy Head to Friston where we popped in to see Melanie but she was not in. We then decided to go for lunch at the Eight Bells in Jevington and sat out in the garden enjoying a baguette and pint. When we left we headed back up to Melanie’s house, but she was still out, so drove around the estate and back over Beachy Head to home. I was delighted that Colin liked the car so much.

An hour or so later my friend Mike came over to look at the car. We had a little poodle up and down the seafront and then we drove in convoy to JAGtechnic Ltd where I left the car for them to look at the electrical problems and to give me a price to sort things out.

End Mileage 79,836 (35 miles)

I was invited down for coffee at Chris and Rena’s who live just down the road from Carey in Slaugham Lane next to the School. The car was a beast to start and I was convinced that I would flatten the battery and have to call out the recovery service! In the end she fired up and was as good as gold when warm. Chris is going through the mill with his health at the moment but it was lovely to see them again. It has been ages! They both seemed to approve of the car and Chris loves engines and all things mechanical so the first thing that he wanted to do is look under the bonnet!

From there I went back to Carey’s for a short while and then we decided to go off for lunch at the Chequers Pub in Slaugham. It was a lovely day so we sat outside and shared a Pizza washed down with a pint of Harvey’s. After lunch we went over to Carey’s sister, Jane to see her and the two children Hugo (18) and Phoebe (16) in Haywards Heath. We didn’t stay long as the two children were hard at work preparing for exams!

From there we went over to see Norma, Carey’s mother in Burgess Hill where we had tea. Norma is great fun and all of Carey’s family are wonderful. After tea it was back to Warninglid via a fuel stop Ansty Service Station 79,755 37.69lts, but not for very long. No sooner had we got home when Ken and Andrea invited us over for a BBQ up at his house where we met up with David and Gillian, Terry and Pam, Susan, Christian, and Vivian. It was a lovely bash, as always because they are excellent hosts, but I had to leave at 7:30pm to get back to Eastbourne before it got dark, on account that my charging system is not working properly. The drive back to was easy and uneventful.

End Mileage 79,801 (74 miles)

What excitement, this evening, at 8pm Carey and I collected my Series 3 E-type Jaguar from Ferry Avenue, Egham Hythe, near Staines TW18 3LP. It looks beautiful and is in excellent condition considering how long ago it was restored. I then followed Carey in her Audi TT from there to Warninglid. By the time we arrived I had discovered a few faults, the major one being that the battery was not charing properly and there are a few electrical issues such as the instrument lights not working. Nothing major but I will have to get them fixed.

End Mileage 79,727 (50 miles)