The 'E' Type Forum

Hello fellow E-Type enthusiasts.

I am opening this post to seek help in identifying the owner of an E-Type having the body# R 1623.

I am indeed the owner of an early E-Type OTS manufactured in October 1961 that I believe to have been very well preserved in terms of originality, with matching numbers for the chassis, engine and gearbox.
But with a very odd body# (R 1623), stamped both on the body tag and on the RHS gusset of the bonnet, which does not match what is indicated on the ID plate and on the Jaguar Heritage Certificate!!!

It is well documented by E-Type experts like Porter, Clausager and Haddock, that for many 1961-1962 cars it was not unusual that the body number on the body tag was different from that number on the ID plate, due to the rather chaotic production process at the time. I attach e.g. a copy of such a statement in the book of A. D. Clausager “Factory-Original Jaguar E-Type”:
I believe that my car is one of these strange animals, hence my current request.
If anybody knows of such a car having body# R 1623, therefore not matching his own ID plate body#, please tell me.
Thanks for your help.

My '61 FHC was one of these - it had V1362 on the data plate but the body was V1374 and had never been any other colour than Gunmetal grey. 30 years ago Jag people told me it was due to damage on the line - they pulled the next gunmetal car in the queue forward while the original went back to the paint shop. I do not know if this story is true or not - but its plausible.

Barrie

Hi Barrie,
I am not surprised by what you say.

There is an interesting information on Jaglovers, from somebody working in a Jag restoration shop for nearly 50 years now, and who has kept a record of the data plate numbers of cars that came through the shop. Early on he noticed a few of the early 3.8 E’s had body number tags not matching the data plate and on those cars he wrote both numbers.
He noted a substantial number of errors and the numbers off.

Vehicles requiring modifications on the assembly line very probably may have had discrepancies in the vehicle/body numberings, the biggest the issue, the largest the numbers off.

https://forums.jag-lovers.com/t/wrong-b ... ars/421853

Why R 1623? Do you own R 1623 or have this body no tag?

My roadster 875521 is also 8 numbers off VIN plate R 1610 and body tag R 1602...

Cheers

Yes indeed, I do own an OTS with R 1623 on its body tag (and bonnet), as said in the first post.
Jaguar Heritage does not accept to tell me which car/owner has R 1623 on its ID plate.
Hence the reason of this thread in order to possibly identify that car with R 1623 on the ID plate.