Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times but having done multiple searches I just didn't find what I needed.

So I just became the 3rd owner of a '67 Jaguar MK2 in a slightly sorry state.

The car seems to have an interesting history, being originally owned from new by Janet Lee Auchincloss (aka Janet Lee Bouvier, a socialite and mother of Jackie Kennedy). She owned it for 20+ years before selling it to a guy in NY.

I do have some original paperwork (Jaguar Warranty and registration) showing it was sold to her by a dealer in Philadephia and confirming her address as being an address in DC which is confirmed by online searches of her history. However, I am trying to understand how original the car is.

Is there an idiots guide to working out whether the car is 'numbers matching' and to confirm original spec?

Are there places on the car I need to go look for multiple instances of VINs, ID numbers, tags to confirm trans/axle and more etc.

I am buying a Heritage certificate today to help me out but I am trying in the interim to decode the data plate. Is there a page which shows this as after 20 mins of searching I came up empty.

For example, the seller confirmed to me (yet to be confirmed) that the engine is the original one but how can I confirm this?

The car has 56k miles which I suspect to be original. The car hasn't run since 1996 and a newspaper article on the car from then states the mileage (which it still shows) and that the engine needed a rebuild, which it still does.

The car needs a lot of work but I am lucky to have a decent space in which to work along with a lift which makes things a LOT easier for my increasingly older bones.

Many thanks for any input
Paul

 

should be a vin plate in the engine bay,and there should be a number on the right as you open the bonnet/hood,on far right at the top,will be under the paint,

 

Many thanks, yes I have the numbers on the main data plate which I have sent to get the Heritage certificate. I did some more searching and think I have a list of locations now for the main components.

Seems the car is a 3.8S.

Once I get it up on the lift I will see how original it really is.

 

There should be numbers on the engine block, gearbox and rear differential as well as the body.

 

Thanks, yes I found the number on the body behind the rear bumper, the cylinder head and the engine block. Happily everything matches the data plate.

I will check the axle and transmission when I get it up in the air.

 

Paul,


There are many good Jaguar owners here but you should check this site out as it is specific to the 3.8s model and will give you a great resource to people focused on this one model,
THE INTERNATIONAL JAGUAR "S"-TYPE REGISTER FORUM - FORUM INDEX

 

Thanks Primaz I will check in over there also.

I have restoration manuals en route and ordered a Heritage certificate. Just trying to get everything documented and ensure the car is what I think it is before I tear it apart.

Will probably put some effort into starting the engine before I pull it apart too. Just to get an idea as to how it sounds and what might be wrong with it as the PO did say it would need a rebuild.

 

Wow, a car with connections to THE Kennedy's. That's what I call provenance.