Review Build: Heller Jaguar Type E 3L8

Vehicle History

The 1965 Jaguar Type E Coupe (Series 1, 4.2-liter Fixed Head Coupé) built on Jaguar’s racing heritage by pairing dramatic styling with advanced engineering and a refined driving experience. Developed from lessons learned with the Le Mans–winning D-Type, the E-Type featured a lightweight monocoque center section with a tubular front subframe, allowing for excellent rigidity and balance. Power came from Jaguar’s legendary 4.2-liter XK inline-six, producing about 265 horsepower with improved low-end torque over the earlier 3.8, enabling strong acceleration and a top speed approaching 150 mph.

Inside, the 1965 update brought a more comfortable and usable cabin, with redesigned bucket seats, improved ventilation, better sound insulation and a full array of aircraft-inspired gauges set into an aluminum dashboard. Underneath, the car showcased one of its most advanced features: fully independent suspension at all four corners, including Jaguar’s sophisticated rear setup with inboard disc brakes, twin coil-over shocks and lower unsprung weight - delivering a rare blend of ride comfort, cornering stability and high-speed confidence that helped define the E-Type as both a true sports car and a capable grand tourer.

Kit Overview

I'll be honest - I've never built a Heller kit before. However, I've seen quite a few reviews with people saying how great the build went and, well, I got sucked in! I also noticed that Heller does offer a more eclectic range of kits - cars we don't get to see much from other manufacturers here in the States.

Having always loved the Jaguar Type E look and design, this was a shoe-in for a first time Heller build and, while I did have a few build issues, the overall assembly was enjoyable.

:: Chassis, Suspension and Engine

The engine is a nice build - good detail and nice fitment. The chrome is brilliant and, after a little bit of Tamiya's Panel Liner, really looks awesome. There's not much engine compartment detail which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm ok with that. You get the idea I suppose.

Both the chassis and suspension on the Jag are quite simple, very much like the real car. However, detailing the one-piece main chassis was actually quite complex - it's double-sided, the bottom being the under side of the car and the top being the interior floor - but also incorporates a lot of the engine mounting/front suspension. If you're big into detailing, there's a LOT of masking that has to be done (with multiple paint applications) to get it right. Then there's the assembly of the engine mounting 'structure'. The square tubing ties into the firewall - all easy enough - but I had a hard time getting everything to line up properly. I finally figured it out (or so I thought) but, when it came to some final assembly steps, things were a bit out of alignment.

The suspension was also a little tricky, requiring some 'tack-welding' of parts into place to get other parts aligned. Again, not necessarily hard, but definitely tricky. Everything seems to rely on ALL the parts being aligned right and, when you only have 2 hands to hold things (and needing a 3rd to apply the glue), it can be challenge.

:: Interior
The interior on the Type E is quite sparse as well - a center console, minimal dashboard with some stickers for the radio and gauges and a wood-trimmed steering wheel. There's also a set of pedals - and that's about it.

However, for some silly reason, I forgot to take pictures of the interior before attaching the upper bodywork, so there's nothing to show. Awesome. Just know that it's very basic and easily assembled (aside from the massive-amount of masking to paint everything on the main chassis).

:: Exterior
The final assembly consists of the single-piece upper body and front hood, which can be painted without any issues. A bit of chrome paint pen (or Bare Metal Foil) can be used on the front windshield trim, however the light covers, rear window and side windows can be trimmed off the car. The inner door panels are attached to the side windows - a one-piece clear assembly - so those need to be masked and painted (as well as trimmed with foil for that chrome look).

The biggest issue I had was at this point - attaching the body and hood to the car. The main body went on ok - a little fighting but not too bad. However, when trying to fit the front hood in place, I ran into a few fitment issues. Remember when I talked about the engine/chassis structure above? Well, if that's off at all, the front hood won't lower in place correctly and sits all catawampus. I finally got it to fit, but it required some trimming, sanding and, in the very end, a tiny tack of glue to keep it in place.

Finally, additional detailing is pretty straightforward - some paint on the rear lights (red, orange, white), assembly of the bumpers and exhaust - all simple as far as the overall build goes.

:: Final Thoughts
On the whole, the Heller Jaguar Type E was an enjoyable build, even with the few issues I encountered. The parts are well molded and the chrome is brilliant - I would just be ready for a bit more hand finishing to get everything to line up correctly. It is a bit on the light side for overall detail, but I think the original car had a similar feel - simple and elegant.