In my garage

Posted 14 February, 2021 Ellen Morgan

Alan Baker’s love affair with sleek ’60s Jaguars knows no bounds. Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the famous E-Type, Alan chats about his passion-project-turned-business as he takes us on a personal video tour of his treasure-filled garage.   Enzo Ferrari famously once said the Jaguar E-Type is the most beautiful car ever made. Alan Baker couldn’t agree more. “It’s the shape, it’s the sound, the view when you look over the bonnet… there are all these things that come together as a potpourri of how a British car should be,” Alan says, describing his love for his pride and joy – a primrose yellow Series 1, 3.8L Fixed Head Jaguar E-Type Coupe.

Watch our video to see more of Alan’s E-Type Jag and his intriguing garage collections:

      With a self-confessed love for all vintage vehicles, Alan says it’s the famed 1961 British sports car that stole his heart. “As a small boy, my mother bought me a Matchbox E-Type and I loved it. “It’s incredibly unique. It’s a bit like a Coke bottle in silhouette – even if you don’t drink Coke, you know it’s a Coke bottle. You can immediately recognise an E-Type for what it is.”   After watching his father restore vintage treasures growing up, Alan later took on the hobby himself, purchasing his first classic fixer-upper – a Hudson – in 1980. He then happened upon a Mk II Jaguar, and finally his beloved E-Type in 1988. As with many love stories, he discovered his prized British beauty when he least expected it – in a vintage car warehouse in St Marys. “I knew I had to have it,” he says. “It was pretty rusty and had been abandoned for years, originally sold to a gentleman in Long Beach, California, in November 1964.   “In 1967, it went to Arizona… it was in a custody battle after that, then left 20 years abandoned in a paddock, and I’m the third owner.” Alan spent 15 years carefully rebuilding the E-Type, from the floor and the doors to the bonnet and the mechanics. He’s won state and national awards for the car, including the coveted Concours d’Etat from the Jaguar Club of Australia, which recognises exceptional vintage quality.   Word caught on and he’s since built a successful business restoring Jaguar cars for other Adelaide enthusiasts. He’s also a proud member of the Jaguar Drivers Club of South Australia, which boasts an impressive 950 members. This year, the club is hosting a celebration for the E-Type’s 60th anniversary, which could see up to 100 of the popular cars congregate from across the state. “It’s been voted the best sports car in the world, so they’re celebrating it all over the world… it should be pretty impressive,” says Alan.