ID Plate

[marcus]

Greetings.

In my quest for a series 3 2+2 manual, I may have found a car which ticks just about all the boxes but I have a question about the ID plate at the top of the scuttle behind the engine.

As it is a late 1973 model, the plate says "Jaguar Cars British Leyland UK LTD" (correct according to Factory Original Jaguar E-Type book).

It has the Car No. and next to this the Engine No. stamped on the plate but both the Body No.and Gearbox No. entries are missing.

The vendor assures me that this is all that you would expect to see, but in my (limited) experience I'm sure that I have seen numbers for body and gearbox on other cars.

Also, the smaller plate that is fixed just below the ID plate is missing.

I have been assured that the car and engine Nos. are matching, but obviously I would check this.

Advice appreciated, thank you.

[MarkE]

I haven't seen a plate where the body number and gearbox number are missing, but I haven't made an exhaustive study of the plates either!

This is my plate, on a December 1972 car, imported from Southern California. I believe that the small plate below the main plate (Made In England) was only fitted to cars exported, and I'm sure you would be able to get a replacement.

[AussieEtype]

I agree with Mark - my Series 3 has all numbers on the plate and being a UK car it does not have the small plate under the main plate.

Garry

[marcus]

Thank you Garry and Mark.

I think the lack of a small plate under the main ID plate is not really a problem for me. Firstly it's a UK car and ought not to have a "Made In England" plate anyway. Also I'm not sure whether it should have the other type of plate referring to seat belt anchorages. I'm sure someone will offer an explanation. However there are the appropriate rivet holes in the scuttle for some sort of plate.

However, I'm still puzzled as to why the main ID plate has both body and gearbox numbers missing.

[AussieEtype]

However, I'm still puzzled as to why the main ID plate has both body and gearbox numbers missing.

Because it has been replaced at some stage.

The other plate should be the one talking about seat belt anchorages etc

[marcus]

Now I understand thank you.

So I guess once a plate has been removed and lost/discarded and unless a note is taken of the gearbox and body number, these would be difficult to obtain. Whereas the car and engine number are accessible from the V5.

[AussieEtype]

You could try getting a Heritage Certificate which should have all the numbers http://www.jaguarheritage.org/Products/ ... icate.aspx

You could try and see if your car is listed on XK Data and get information from there http://www.xkedata.com/

On your firewall on the passenger side in the engine bay there is a plate that covers the large rectangular hole where the pedal box would be on a left hand drive vehicle. (if you have supplementary ventilation it may come through here). On the outer side of this opening the body number will be stamped - may be hard to read due to the thickness of the paint.

Also - there is a tag that has a number on it (not sure if it is car or body number) that is pop rivetted at the rear of the car behind the stainless number plate panel finisher - should be on the drivers side. Unfortunately it was aluminium and on many UK cars it has corroded off due to bi-metallic corrosion but you never know it could still be there. Mine was gone before my car was 10 years old.

I hope this helps.

Garry

[christopher storey]

A heritage certificate will NOT give you the missing numbers. The JHT will only confirm numbers which you give to them. This is to prevent people "creating" cars with apparently original matching numbers

[marcus]

Thank you Garry and Christopher for your input.

As this issue concerns a car that I don't own, I now have the feeling that I'd rather continue my search for a series 3, than make an offer on this one.

After all, there are plenty of cars out there, it's a case of waiting for the right one.

Marcus

[Pim]

Well, you could ask the seller to obtain a Certificate to confirm the numbers.

[marcus]

I have just spoken to the man himself, Anders Ditlev Clausager at the Jaguar Heritage Archive, regarding missing numbers on ID plates.

My earlier post concerns a car where the Body and Gearbox numbers are missing from the data plate and the implications on the authenticity of the car. However, I'd imagine that the body number of a car is unlikely to have been replaced, unlike the gearbox number.

He did say that if I were to send him the V5 which proves ownership, then he would supply the missing body and gearbox numbers and thereby issue a heritage certificate.

Interestingly!

[Pim]

Yes, quite. Change in policy?

[PeterCrespin]

He did say that if I were to send him the V5 which proves ownership, then he would supply the missing body and gearbox numbers and thereby issue a heritage certificate.

Interestingly!

One of the clearest, boldest statements on V5s as I recall is precisely that they do NOT prove ownership. They are issued to the registered keeper.

Pete

[bicknj]

Hi just saw this thread and thought I'd respond re: Heritage Cert
My car also has the a) smaller plate and b) the missing gearbox, body numbers
I wasn't too bothered about this as I was buying the car as a driver, rather than show car/investment and got it for a good price.
Mine is an older restoration and I read somewhere that the smaller plates were introduced after the intial run of S2 cars, which made me feel better about that bit.
I also assumed the numbers did not match for the missing two stamps, which in fairness is the restorer showing some honesty IMO.
When I applied for a heritage cert, it came back with the chassis and engine numbers confirmed, as per the v5, stamp and component. However, it also confirms the other two numbers but is prefixed with the word "originally" - which although clearly a caveat for JH, I think is a nice compromise....... i.e. I get to know the original numbers and it is clear for any potential owner/buyer that these components have been replaced in the past and can "haggle" accordingly.