2005-10-29 16:27:39 | Ben writes:

I beleive this car raced in 1968 its registered 280 TOO

If anyone has any info please email.

2006-12-18 15:47:51 | Lofty writes:

Jaguar E type 3.8 Litre

Built: 11th April 1963

Body: Fixed Head Coupe, Right hand drive, opalescent silver blue, dark blue interior

Chassis number: 861151

Engine number: RA 1755-9

Body number: V5680

Gearbox number: EB9913 JS

Distributed: Henleys Limited, London

Dealer: Pollards, Chelmsford

Dispatched: 29th April 1963


OWNERSHIP HISTORY


First owner

B Massey, Stock, near Ingatestone, Essex.

No other details known. What was the registration number?

First Recorded Keeper

Peter J Stone
274 Richmond Road
Hackney
London
E8 3QW

Peter Stone registered the car 280 TOO on 7th May 1982 and declared it in manufactured 1962 (this explains the non suffix number). At this time the car was still blue and it was not taxed.

On 17th March 1983 he applied to have the colour recorded on the log book changed to Red, he stated that the colour change occurred earlier on 1st January 1983.



Second Recorded Keeper

Mr Robert Albert Powley
97 Drummond Road
Romford
RM01 1RL

Robert Powley bought the car from Peter Stone on 11th September 1986 and DVLA history says he disposed of the car on 5th March 2005.

Third Recorded Keeper

Mr Frederick Kauter
31 Tomswood Hill
Ilford
IG06 2HL

The car was registered to Fred on 5th March 2005 and he disposed of the car via ebay to Dean someone, Dean never registered the car or indeed saw it.

I spoke to Fred when he listed it on ebay but I only bid to £6000 and it went to Dean for £6600

Dean had it collected by a storage company who looked after it for a few months. Dean decided to sell as he had too many cars, Dean listed it on ebay, it did attract a few bids and I went to view it, subsequently I offered Dean £6000 and as no one else was viewing he stopped the auction and agreed to let me have it.

I subsequently spoke to Fred who said he had pictures of it racing in 1967 but he could not find them, I wrote to him but nothing forth coming. Fred told me that he ran a body shop and there was a unpaid bill for £10,000 for repairs and paint work that was unpaid, he claimed to have been through ‘a legal process’ to take possession of the car. I think in reality he registered the car in his name and sold it.

Fourth Recorded Keeper (current)

Ben Curtis
22 Westfield Common
Hamble
Southampton
SO31 4LB

Ben Curtis acquired the car on 16th November 2005. The car was missing may parts including most of the engine and ancilliaries and there was no interior, I have sourced a dark blue interior and rebuilt the engine which still has the original block although a different head. I am returning the car to its original blue colour.

2014-01-03 18:45:02 | pauls writes:

The Jan 2014 Jaguar Driver magazine reports the car is now owned by Philip Gillibrand of the JDC.

2014-05-05 03:36:19 | Alister Thompson writes:

I purchased the car from my friend Ben Curtis in May 2013 who offered to sell the car to me in order that he could focus on another project.

After more than 30 years off the road, the car is now undergoing a full nut and bolt restoration which commenced in September 2013. The car will be restored to its original colour of opalescent silver blue and dark blue interior. The works are anticipated to be completed by summer 2015.

The first 20 years of the car's history (between 1963 and 1983) is unknown. Any information on the history of the car, especially during this time would be gratefully received.

2015-01-10 04:32:30 | Alister Thompson writes:

Philip Gillibrand of the JDC is the magazine's e-type correspondent and the article referred to above was actually submitted by me.

The latest photo posted shows the car as at December 2014. Once stripped back to a shell and sandblasted the corrosion was quite considerable and new floors, sills, boot floor, rear quarters, 'A' panels, chassis legs and doors have all now been fitted. The main bulkhead and bonnet were mercifully fine.

The reference to the previous unpaid garage bill above for £10,000 (which is a considerable amount of money even today) makes sense as the bonnet of the car is not original and had always been red so it's likely that the bonnet was replaced and the car painted red all at the same time. Evidence of a (poorly repaired) rear offside shunt were also found but no trace of this is now evident in the restored shell as all parts have been replaced.

I have still been unable to trace anything further on the history of the car and any clues or tips where to look, or any information at all, would be very much appreciated.

2015-01-10 11:03:53 | pauls writes:

Alister, thanks for providing what you know. History has to start some place.

2019-05-11 03:39:46 | Peter Shaw writes:

Hi. Good to see the E type in such fine fettle. I was born in Stock and would have seen your car frequently (as youngsters we would look out for E types from the smoky top deck of the bus on the way to school). As you state the first owner was B? Massey, this was most probably Mr Roger Massey, the vet who is mentioned in this article

www.peterinson.net/roger-massey-and-the-barren-pig/

by Peter Inson, who I worked with when I first left school! All these serendipitous findings came from looking for Jaguar dealers which existed in Chelmsford in 1960 when my own Mark 2 was produced.

Regards,

Peter Shaw.

2019-05-20 01:34:52 | Alister Thompson writes:

Hi Peter. Thank you so much for your post which is hugely appreciated. Your memory is certainly right and you are definitely thinking of the same car. I've located the original hand written records from Chelmsford archives when the registration number was first allocated and it is indeed Roger Massey who first owned the car. I never knew anything about him so it's great to know he was a vet all those years ago. The Jaguar heritage certificate states B Massey as the first owner but this could easily be an original typo. My email is alisterthompson@hotmail.com if you remember anything else or would like to get in touch.

The latest picture shows 280 TOO last month - the car is now finally Taxed and MOT'd for the first time since April 1984 and being fully road tested. It is due for completion early June 2019. I will post some final pictures of the completed car then.

2019-10-28 09:24:05 | Peter Ralph writes:

280too was owned by a friend, from ,I believe ,1965. We along with four other friends, in the other cars shown in the photos, drove down from Hainault in Essex to Greece in 1966 ,at the time of the 1966 World Cup. On the way through Germany we had 155 showing on the clock. Accurate? I think he owned the car for another year or so, but not sure. I believe it had the longest axle ratio available .The rear brakes were always a bit iffy, and in heavy rain it could dump water onto your leg from where the door met the rear of the bonnet.

2020-12-05 11:26:05 | Anonymous writes:

I read with interest regarding Rogers Massey and his e type Jaguar registered 280 TOO I remember it well, my parents knew Roger and his wife and the car you refer to was certainly his and he bought it new in the early 1960’s when they were first manufactured and was the first owner.

Roger never had the car long, unfortunately it went into a garage in New Street Chelmsford near the Wheatsheaf PH (Kennings I believe) for a service where my uncle worked and the lad working on it was draining petrol from it and managed to set the vehicle alight from an adjacent heater, so it was pushed out into New Street well alight to wait for the Fire Brigade to arrive.

I was always under the assumption that the car was written off, but obviously not.

Roger Massey was a nice person I found even at a much younger age, unfortunately he died very young in the early 1970’s he would have been in his very early 50’s.

Graham