Hello Jag world; and Daimler world too.

Yesterday I came across a 1967 Daimler Sovereign right hand drive in my small country town in Midwest America. The car body is in good shape, but the interior needs to be redone and the engine is missing both SU carburetors and is locked up. Owner states that car hasn't ran since the mid 1970s. I don’t know much about the Daimler Sovereign except that they are twins to the Jaguar 420 and are more rare than the Jaguar 420 seeing that 5,824 Daimler Sovereign was sold and 10,236 Jaguar 420 was sold. As far as value; is the Daimler Sovereign worth more than the Jaguar 420? Is it worth trying to unlock the engine or is it better to have the engine rebuilt, or just buy a rebuilt engine? Do anyone know how much it cost to rebuild or buy a rebuilt a 4.2-litre XK engine? No one in my area works on Jaguars this old so if you know a good shop in the US that works on engines please let me know. Also do anyone know the exact exterior and interior color?

Thanks

 

With the missing carbs the combustion chamber has been open to the elements, so that's why the engine is seized.
If you can rebuild it yourself, then that is the way to go, if not I can't help you with what to do.
There is no such thing as an inexpensive rebuild or an inexpensive rebuilt engine.

You car may have had triple carbs, so that will be sort of hard to find and expensive, so the cheaper you pay for the car the better.
The last time I checked, a triple carb arrangement all rebuilt and polished runs around 5 grand. (could be way off on that though).

See this thread to what you're may be up against on a seized engine.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...-206929/page5/

If you get it unseized so the engine rebuilder doesn't have to deal with that....

The problem with most machine shops is that they don't want to take the time to deal with a foreign engine and teach themselves the proper procedures on how to rebuild a Jag engine.
What can go wrong is getting the exhaust and intake valves mixed up, getting the firing order wrong, number one is at the back of the engine, not the front.
Installing the distributor shaft in the wrong position so it makes it impossible to time the ignition, one has to know that the rotor turns counter clock-wise.
Having the tools to set up the front upper timing chain _ how to lock the cams in place when it come time etc.
None of this stuff is complicated, but the engine rebuilder has to be made aware of these things so the engine goes back together correctly.

 

You can contact Coventry West in Atlanta to find out what levels of work they provide. Last time I contacted them, they knew all the typical XK engine issues and how to correct them. At that time, a full engine rebuild ran about 6,500$US, exclusive of freight and handling.

https://www.coventrywest.com/rebuild-department

 

Thanks JeffR1 for your reply. You states that the car may have had 3 carbs. I thought that only the Mark X / 420G and the XK came with 3 carbs. Did the Daimler Sovereign come with 3 carbs also?

 

Hi Marage95,
First off I am looking for a 420/Sovereign. I just want that out in the open.

Neither 420 or Sovereign are worth a lot of $$$. Some are asking crazy money for there car but they have been for sale for a long time, 4+ years for on a an another for 8+ years. Car collectors don't care about the 420/Sovereign, most of them would want a MK2, because of there racing history and they are better known.

One 420 sold recently on ebay for around $9k UDS - one owner, ~76,000 miles, LHD, Auto, worn but usable interior, no rust, great paint and running/driving.

A 36,000 mile 420, JCNA concourse winning car went for $16,000 this summer at a Mecum auction. About 4 years ago he was asking $40,000UDS for it. It was RHD, 4 spd OD trans (somewhat rare), wire wheels. I felt if it was LHD it might have gone for $1k or $2k more.

The main difference between 420 & Sovereign are the grille surround, seat material (different leather pattern) and badging. The sovereign had more standard features that could be ordered on the 420.

As JeffR1 stated, a Jaguar engine rebuild is expensive, a shop like Classic Jaguar in Texas will charge you somewhere in the neighborhood of $10K USD (this is the high end) to rebuild an engine. Even if you do it yourself and have a machine shop that knows what they are doing it won't be cheap.

If you do try to unstick the engine, you must understand that this is an interference engine. If a valve is stuck open and you rotate the crank you will bend a valve and possibly do other damage.

So these are somethings to think about.

Now you could get an engine out of a XJ6 and swap parts and install it in the 420. Then you have to go through the suspension, brakes, fuel and cooling system.

I hope this helps,

 

You are correct, the 420/Sovereign had 2 carbs, the MK X/420G had 3 carbs.

 

$6500 for a rebuilt engine, that's not too bad.

 

Thanks Bob_s, this was some excellent information. I will look into the XJ6 engine but only the Daimler valve covers will fit it. I would like for the engine to look as original as possible. I hate seeing Jaguars with Chevy or Ford engines in them. I wouldn't mess with the engine myself especially since it's missing the carbs and is locked up. I'm hoping that once the carbs are installed and the engine is unlocked it will run fine. But if not I will definitely consider the XJ6 engine. Also do any one know what type of octin gas it takes?

 

Octane rating of gas will depend on which pistons are fitted to the engine. Compression ratios of 7:1, 8:1 and 9:1 could be specified according to local fuel quality.

Just run the highest octane available until you have established this.

The Daimler Sovereign was a lovely car. All the options as standard & superior leather & wood than the 420. Best looking IMHO of the 420 era.

John Skinner can provide a complete upholstery kit for the interior.

https://www.john-skinner.co.uk/jaguar/s-type-420/

 

A man of proper taste I see. Good luck with the project and keep us posted.

 

Yes, the XJ6 4.2 is the same engine, but you may have to swap the oil pump/filter, the cam covers (the Daimler will fit) and other external parts.

Enjoy the project.