FEATURE : JAGUAR EGAL
A monster returns
The 7-litre Galaxy-engined Jaguar E-type , known as the Egal , raced in the 1960s by Chris Summers and Barrie Williams will be back on track in the near future after an absence of around half a century . Paul Lawrence reports .
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In the mid and late 1960s , the fearsome 500bhp plus one-off was a regular winner in club racing but was later sold to America and only returned to the UK a couple of years ago . Since then , Chris Keith-Lucas at CKL Developments has been restoring it to period specification and says there are plans to race it once more . The car was originally built by Geoff Richardson for owner Rob Beck and Williams recalled it being fitted with a Holman and Moody Galaxy marine engine , The E-type chassis came from a semi-lightweight car shunted by Beck at Castle Combe .
The result was a ferociously powerful car that ‘ Whizzo ’ Williams tamed with considerable success in club racing . However , as a one-off it never raced internationally and by the end of the 1960s was being beaten by Chevron B8s and Ginetta G12s .
After a couple of UK owners , including one who wanted to use it as a road car in North London , the project was sold to the US where it was used on the road before later starting a long restoration . Sadly , the owner passed away just before the work was complete . The family finished it off , and it was put up for sale .
Keith-Lucas saw it advertised for sale . “ I went over to New York and saw it over there and verified it . And then we brought it back ,” said Keith-Lucas , who secured its original registration of ‘ 590 DXR ’ on behalf of the current owner . “ In America it grew even wider than it really ought to have , but apart from that it is
very much the car and close inspection of it reveals all the old dings and dents .”
It was taken to the recent E-type 60th birthday celebrations at Shelsley Walsh and did some demonstration runs , with due regard for the Jaguar transmission , which was always a weak link in its heyday .
“ In period , they tried all sorts of American boxes and five speeds and things like that . And they broke and , in fact , they went back to the Moss fourspeed as being the most reliable box .
“ I wasn ’ t doing tyre-burning starts ,” said Keith-Lucas . “ That would twist the propshaft like a toffee wrapper . I ’ ve got
Whizzo ’ signals two laps to go
Barrie Williams the dyno figures where it has over 600 foot pounds of torque , so it ’ s really an absolute monster . We do have plans to run it . It is a complication because a car like this was never homologated . It did a huge amount of British club racing , but it didn ’ t do international events . So that limits what you can do , but there are a number of race organisers in this country who ’ d love to see it in their events .”
Egal memories
The late and much missed Barrie ‘ Whizzo ’ Williams talked about his memories of driving the Jaguar Egal . “ Chris Summers used to race the Egal , but he was always blowing it up . Geoff Richardson rang up one day and asked if I would like to drive it . I said I ’ d love to . I ’ d drive anything . I went over there and he gave me the keys to take it out on the road . He said to keep it a couple of days and see what I thought . So I drove back to Bromyard and my elk hound dog called Tom sat in the passenger seat . This car bellowed fire and flame .
“ Geoff entered me in