The 'E' Type Forum

Hi All,

I'm importing a Series 3 from the US and will need to get a V5 when it arrives. I know where the numbers are for DVLA on my Series 1. Can anyone shed some light on the positions on a Series 3 for the numbers required for a V5? Many thanks.

Bernie

I am familiar with the S3 but have no idea what a V5 is. In any event, guesses follow:

The VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is located in three locations:
(A) on a metal tab (about 3/4" by 1.5") inserted between the windshield and the left A-Pillar inside the cabin (about eye level when seated in the LHD driver's seat); it's visible/readable from the outside of the car.
(B) stamped into the body shell immediately above the point at which the engine left side-frame attaches to the fire wall (very near the heater box)
(C) on a stamped metal plate (about 2x8 inches) affixed to the fire wall just offset from the center-line of the car (see attached photo (**)). This plate will also display the numbers for the engine, transmission, and body.
Depending on the YOM, the VIN will start with a UC (1971-72), UD (1973) or UE (1974), then 1S. The next digit will be a 2 (if an export OTS) or a 7 (if an export 2+2) and then followed by the 4-digit sequence-of-build number (mine is UC1S20954). If your Jag was built with an automatic transmission, the VIN will have a suffix of "BW" (for Borg Warner).

The Engine Nr (to confirm the one stamped as above) is stamped into the the block in the Vee on a flat surface above the join between engine and trans just visible looking down into the transmission tunnel.

The Trans Nr is on the transmission but I can't recall where exactly on the manual nor automatic.

The Body Nr is stamped into the body shell on the vertical vehicle face between the bumperettes and below the rear bumper. To access it you need to remove the rear license plate (no big deal) and the brushed aluminum plinth behind the plate (PITA to remove (*)). Part number for this plinth is BD37649 which fits the US style license plate size. You can replace it with BD38883 which accommodates the UK size/style plate.

Hope this helps -- Craig

(*) the plinth is held in place with 4x screws along its bottom and 2x rivets, one each in the upper corners.
The much wider UK-style plinth is secured by the same 2x rivets in the upper corners but 7x rivets along the bottom face. This change, if you choose to do it, will also require a different mounting bracket for the license plate. The single US style bracket (BD35672 - held in place with 6x rivets) is replaced by 2x small wide-spread UK-only brackets (RH: BD38880 + LH: BD38881 -- each held in place with 2x rivets)

(**) the 8" wide plate is visible just to the right of the bonnet safety latch. The VIN is stamped either above or below the opening for the pedal box, which is below and (in the photo) left of the heater box opening.

Thanks Craig thats very comprehensive

Is there a data plate like on a series 1 and 2 that contains all of the information in one place?

The number on the car is:

UD1S22092BW

but i cant find it on the XKE data website.

Not like S1/2 ....but data plate with all numbers as in C of Craigs details above and in the photo he posted.. Steve

Thanks Steve its been a long day!

Im guessing not every E-type is on the XKE data website. My VIN number (above) looks about right for a 1973 though.

Do the V12 engine numbers look like this a 7SxxxxxLA as again I cant locate it with that either on the XKE website.

Hi Bernie..yes 7S this may help http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-lovers/lib ... umbers.htm do you have a S3 manual....all this info will be in there.....its also in the Knowledge base if you have a look.. Steve

You said "Im guessing not every E-type is on the XKE data website."

Right you are. The web site is maintained by Roger Los as a personal endeavor (for at least 2 decades now). It is undoubtedly is the most comprehensive data available on the existing numbers of E-Types. If you click on the STATS tab on his site, you will see a table which Roger updates with each "new" E-Type added to his data base. Note that the database typically contains 25-30% of the totals.

The numbers for the Series III are extracted below ("Data" refers to the number of E-types in his database)

LHD RHD TOTAL
Jaguar XKE Data Built % Data Built % Data Built %

Series 3 3185 11301 28.2% 1064 3986 26.7% 4249 15287 27.8%
Open Two Seater 1841 6119 30.1% 534 1871 28.5% 2375 7990 29.7%
Two Plus Two 1344 5182 25.9% 530 2115 25.1% 1874 7297 25.7%

(EDIT - this table looks good when I built and in the "edit" function but the spacing I painstakingly used to align the columns is stripped away when I post it.
Go here http://www.xkedata.com/stats/ to see the actual table.)

If/When you add the data/info about your Series III , that will add another data point and be one more step toward the unachievable goal of total accumulation. Same same for your Series I.

Craig