We are currently negotiating to purchase a 1960 MK2 VIN Car No. 125475DN

Using several VIN decoders it seems the car would have come with a 2.4L engine. The engine number on the Vin plate starts with a BG which again says it was a 2.4.

The seller is advertising the car as a 3.8L, so it must have been replaced. We have asked for a photo of the engine serial number which we believe is stamped between the two cam covers at the front. If the engine plate is missing how can we determine the engine size?

Here are the photos supplied by the seller. I have other photos of the engine bay so can one tell by looking at the engine what size it is?

Help
Thanks
jjsandsms

 

Hi, the number stamped between the cam covers valley is not the engine number but the cylinder head number and compression ratio.

the engine number would be near the back of the block above the Oil filter head, and on the same side towards the front of the block there will be a JAGUAR 3.8 / 3.4 / 2.4 stamping, a lot more visible than the number.

Being a 1960 early car, chances are the engine was replaced.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, but can you tell from the actual photo of the car we are considering if the engine is a 2.4 or a 3.4/3.8 just by looking at the photo?

Thanks

jjsandsms

 

sure looks like a 3.4 or 3.8, and a very good job of it.

 

here are a couple of more actual photos of engine bay to help ID the engine. Dealer is trying to locate the engine ID plate above the oil filter.

 

there is no ID plate above the oil filter, the number is "punched" on the edge of the block that meets with the sump, near the oil filter head assembly, actually closer to the Starter. But if what you want to know is the displacement, look on the side of the block where it will have the liters shown.

 

The size of the block should be on the side of the block as per the photo under the carbs alongside the distributor. Difficult to see when the engine is in the engine bay but with a decent torch and a rubber neck you should be able to make it out. It will read JAGUAR 3 1/2 LITRE as mine below or 3.8 or 2.4.





The actual engine number is also difficult to read as again it is stamped into the metal of the block just above the oil filter housing underneath the carbs below the embossed JAGUAR name.
Here is my engine number which starts with 7B which designates it as an S Type engine. the numbers 10211 which means in S Type code is a 3.4 and lastly an 8 meaning it has 8:1 compression pistons.

 

It looks as those the cam covers have been replaced with a very generous amount of sealant. It's not necessarily a problem, but a good idea to ask why.

Since the engine has been changed, the car is not matching numbers and strictly is a 2.4 with a different engine. Nothing wrong with that, but worth mentioning in discussing the price.

As the engine is swapped, the rear axle should have been changed to match. The ratio should be 3.54 or 3.77 for manual with overdrive. The ratio is given on a tag attached to a diff cover bolt. It appears as a ratio of integers. Originally the 3.8 had a LSD.

Also the overdrive used with the 3.8 engine has stronger springs and a higher hydraulic pressure than that of the 2.4. Make sure it's been swapped or upgraded.

 

The number stamped between the cam covers is the engine number & CR. Repeated above the oil filter housing on the block. The 2.4 Diff needs up-rating torque wise if a 3.8 engine has been fitted. If they don't match it usually means the head has been changed likely due to corrosion. (from a donor engine)

 

Visually you can tell the difference between a 2.4 engine and a 3.4 / 3.8 by the height the engine sits in the engine bay. The 2.4 had a shorter block so sits lower in the engine bay compared to the taller 3.4 / 3.8 engine. Below are a couple of photos as comparison.
At the front of the engine the filler cap spout on the radiator sits above the cam cover on the 2.4 compared with 3.4 shown where it sits half way up the cam cover. At at the back the 2.4 cam covers are a lot lower against the firewall than the 3.4. Tried to show this with the three following photos. Looking at the photos you have shown it definitely looks like a taller block from the position of the radiator filler cap in relation to the cam covers.


2.4 Engine bay.

3.4 Engine bay

 

If there is no number stamped between the cam covers it means that the original head has been replaced with a new head. I have run across this in an XK120 and a MK8.

 

Absolutely correct Bill as usual.

 

I have no paperwork to suggest this has happened to mine (change of head) but I do not have a number on my head just on the side of the engine block.

 

Rob ~ some heads slipped through without the engine number repeated somehow. I've seen a couple like that from import production. It was more common on 4.2 engines. Who knows how or why. Our SA built Engines were religiously stamped in both places. Any 3.4 in SA is an import via Rhodesia or whatever. We only built and sold 3.8's & 4.2's here.

 

I'm not sure when, probably late 1960s, possibly early 1970s, Jaguar stopped putting the engine number on the head. I'm fairly sure series XJ6 cars don't have it; the series 3 in my workshop certainly doesn't. As the engine under consideration has already swapped cars and looks as though it has had some work, it may well not have it's original head.

Anyway, from the photos, it looks like a tall block and hence 3.4 litres or bigger.

 

I knew I had it some where. Genuine Mk2 Engines. Of course your engine could have come from another model as well (e.g. S Type). If so give it to us & we will see if we can trace it.






e.g.. all S Type engine numbers start with 1B or P1B if fitted with Power Steering (with the stamps they use the 1 looks like a 7)


240, 340 Range.




Credit James Taylor.

 

... with the one minor exception that the very rare, special order 3.8 litre 340 cars had engine numbers with the prefixes EE and SE (not from the S-type sequence).

 

Glyn sorry to correct you but this should read "S Type Chassis numbers start with a 1B or P1B" All S type engine numbers do start with a 7 and are 7B. Your engine number is 7B60908-8 for instance.

See my post #7 and your post #9.

 

Thanks for that Peter and Cass. One never knows which scribe to believe. The so called 1's on the Register certainly look like 7's in reality. Pleased you cleared that up. My chassis number on the bonnet slam panel also looks like a 7 and not a 1.

 

My info on the 3.8 340 comes from the owner of one who has researched the cars with JDHT. It's also in agreement with Bernard Viart (see link below) who produced a long list of engine numbers and head types

https://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-lovers...y/engines.html