Dawn Patrol by Tim Hoechst and Jeff Olson

Thanks to Jeff's careful planning, eight Jaguar E-types set out for an early morning adventure escorted by a Bentley Turbo R. Our eight cars include Series I, I1/z, II & III. We have left-hand drive and right-hand • drive. Open two-seaters and a Fixed Head • Coupe. All of them are beauties. It's a' regular potpourri of E-type history.

We started at 7am at the coffee shoe formerly known as the Wired Monkey, | at  the  intersection  of  Route  7 J Georgetown  Pike.  After  heading  a through Leesburg, we moved north l Route 15 to the river. We had a 'spirited'! through some beautiful farmland,  small1 towns and wooded curves. We travelled* through  Virginia,  Maryland  and  West Virginia before heading south from Harper's Ferry. Because we were running out of time (and Jaguars), we cut the last loop out of our trip and headed straight back on Route 7. We were back at the Tavern by 10:40. The weather was perfect (albeit a bit brisk in the morning). The foliage was marvellous and the roads were just right for the E-types.

Despite the fact that we lost two of the Jags to mechanical failures along the way, we had a tremendous journey. We enjoyed getting to know each other and now we can look forward to our Spring trip. David summed it up best at the end of the day,

"We spent the morning doing exactly what we bought our cars to do."

Of the eight E-types that started out, my dark blue 74 OTS was the first to go (writes Jeff). I realized that I was losing the clutch (the hydraulic fluid) within the first mile or so, but since I was the one who had mapped out the three-state, approximately 150-mile, back country road circuit, I felt obligated to lead for as long as possible. I guess I made it about 75 miles with first and third gears available (second, which really would have been useful on those roads, simply would not engage; fourth was a moot point), with one stop at about 50 miles to refill the master cylinder with some hydraulic fluid borrowed from our 'chase car', a Bentley Turbo R. Not exactly the proper stuff for the Jag, but it bought me another 25 miles or so before a four-way stop sign in the center of a small town along the Potomac River

(Shephardstown, West Virginia) brought an end to my morning. We pushed the car to the curb, put up the top (hood), I jumped into the passenger's seat of the Bentley, and the chase car became the lead car for the rest of the trip (deftly driven at a brisk pace by Dave Kinney, who is, among many other things, a regular contributor to Octane). About 40 miles later, the water pump pulley on one of the red Series II OTSs simply decided it didn't want to continue on and so it left, apparently almost taking out another Series II right behind it. We pushed that one to the side in Hillsboro, Virginia, put up the hood, the owner hopped into another E and we proceeded on (shortening the remainder of the course in the hope of avoiding further attrition; 25% seemed more than adequate).

After we all had a late breakfast in a pub of sorts back home in Great Falls, I hitched a ride to my house, picked up another car, and headed back to West Virginia, calling for the flat-bed along the way. The Jag was parked behind my mechanic's shop by 4:30pm and I brought it home five days later, none the worse for wear (albeit $850 poorer, but that included an oil and filter change in addition to the new master and slave cylinders and hydraulic line). Regarding the red Series II, I understand from its owner that it took a bit longer to collect it, but that it was at its shop later that same evening.

Undaunted (or simply a slow learner), I am already mapping out an even more arduous circuit for Dawn Patrol II in the Spring.

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