1964 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Series 1 with 2,805 miles from new

• #1E 1064 is a Series 1 4.2-litre, RHD, OTS from late 1964, registered TC22
• Finished in Opalescent Maroon with grey leather and a black soft-top
• Suffered a sideways impact at 3-months old and 2,805 miles at Snetterton race circuit
• The damage was mainly cosmetic but was not repaired by owner Tom Casson
• Subsequently sold, re-registered as DYG 465B and repaired with a brand new factory bonnet. Repairs stalled and nothing further happened
• When the owner passed away in 2016, it was offered by ACA (still with 2,805 miles) and sold for £115,000
• Our vendors don’t have time for a full restoration project and consequently the car is available, very sensibly guided

From the accompanying Heritage Certificate, we can see that #1E 1064 is a Series 1 4.2-litre, Open two-seater in right-hand drive. Finished in Opalescent Maroon with Grey leather and a Black soft-top, the date of manufacture is listed as 15th December 1964 and it was dispatched on the last day of the year to Jaguar Distributors of Leeds, onwards to Somerset Road Garages and registered TC22 before being collected by its first owner, Tom Casson of Barkisland Hall.

From the fascinating History File that's with the car, it appears that Mr Casson enjoyed an unfortunate relationship with driving and the law in his earlier years (more later) and, in 1965, that enjoyment of driving and speed evidently continued as illustrated by the fact that the E-Type covered 2,805 miles in the first three months of his ownership and the Jag’s demise took place at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk during a race for (presumably) production cars when it left the circuit sustaining substantial damage to the left-hand side. It would appear that no attempt was made to repair the car and it certainly didn’t turn a wheel in Tom Casson’s ownership again. It’s not clear at what point he sold the car, but we understand from the file that DYG 465B, as it was now registered, was in its second owner's hands for 40 years before he passed away and although some repairs were carried out (floor pan, rear wing and sill) and a brand new factory bonnet fitted, it still hadn’t turned a wheel since Snetterton in ‘65.

The car was subsequently offered for sale by Anglia Car Auctions on behalf of the last owner’s widow and despite being guided at £50-£70,000, changed hands at a remarkable £116,600. Our vendors are classic car specialists and, with the substantial growth in business resulting from last year’s Lockdown, they have decided to concentrate on other projects and we are delighted to offer this remarkable Jaguar for sale. Still showing only 2,805 miles, the car sits really well and although in need of a total restoration, it doesn’t feel ‘down at heel’, so hopefully will be a straightforward project. This ‘Sleeping Beauty’ from Coventry awaits a Handsome Prince’.

The box containing the vehicle's history is surprisingly full for a car that was only used for three months. It contains the original ‘Green’ Log Book, the Heritage Certificate, an old V5, a few photographs and the catalogue from the ACA Sale in 2016 with the relevant invoice and some press cuttings about the sale. However, the majority of the contents relate to Tom Casson (5/07/1918 - 9/12/1992) and his family. Someone in the past has gone to a great deal of trouble to find out as much as possible about the young Yorkshire millionaire ‘playboy’, the first owner of TC 22 and have commissioned two substantial genealogical reports about “Tom Casson of Barkisland Hall” and “Cassons and Heskeths” (he was twice married to the much-acclaimed young actress, Audrey Hesketh). The file contains Birth and Death Certificates, photographs of Barkisland Hall and Audrey Hesketh, Wills, property and financial dealings of the wool merchant family, his wartime Army career and imprisonment as a Japanese prisoner of war and a number of newspaper cuttings about an incident in 1940 when he appeared before Manchester Assizes accused of killing a 17-year old cyclist who was on her way to work at 6.15 in the morning. The rich and handsome 21-year old bachelor had been at a party after the Grand National and claims he must have fallen asleep at the wheel. He failed to stop and drove home immediately taking the car to the family garage and asking them to repair it as quickly as possible. The details are in the report but the result was that he was sent to prison for 18 months and banned from driving for 10 years. Taking into account his seven previous court appearances for dangerous driving (at 21) the Judge summed up by saying “Your record as a motorist is shocking. You are one of those who bring scandal on the name of motorists, breaking every rule. I would add that you are not fit to drive a car in your present state of mind, perhaps in ten years time you may be different”. Whether he calmed down in motoring terms we cannot know but chucking his brand new E-Type into the tyre wall at Snetterton 25 years later suggests probably not.

There is much more about this man’s life and loves in the file but that’s not relevant here, however, it is difficult to stand quietly next to TC 22 without getting a feel of the man’s aura. Having never been driven since Tom Casson jumped out of it and headed for the bar all those years ago, you just feel he’s not too far away and this resting Jaguar is a ‘portal’ to a different world, a world of money and wild parties and actresses and motor racing and glamour.