I have a 1967 Jaguar that has the 340 badge on it but the numbers in the engine lend more to a MarkII. Car#P180699BW, Body# EO66669 and engine #KJ1011208. The car is all original with no rust. Does anyone know if this is a MarkII rebadged as 340? Also, any ideas on the value for selling?

Thank you for your time,
Corinne

 

Confusing topic, several threads in the archives. Just search 'real 340' or similar. Interesting reading.

As I recall (and I stand ready to be corrected) there were the actual 340 cars and then there were Mk2 cars that were re-badged as "340" for the North American market

This has some info as well

The Mk2/340 Project - a footnote in Jaguar history

Cheers
DD

 

Not a bad article and he almost has it correct. In Dougdale's book "Jaguar in America" ( he was in charge of sales) he states this was a US decision to have a small entry sedan. The cars were never "rebadged" but produced for the US with the 340 script. While the small badges are interchangable the MK 2 had both a MK2 script as well as a displacement badge 2.4, 3.4 or 3.8. Removing the MK 2 badge from the boot lid and replacing it would not solve the issue of the displacement script! All original MK2/340 cars that came to the US show NO sign of the boot lid being filled for those redundant holes. Further any thought to all of that body work being done at the port/distributor/ or dealer is simply a myth or lack of understanding. The US 340s all carry a MK 2 vin and not the vin sequence of the later ROW 340. One issue that causes confusion is the factory build ledgers carry all US 340s as MK2 which is proper for vins and technical reasons but not for the simple badge and marketing reasons. Remember NO 340s (small bumpers) were imported to the US as they did not meet DOT or NHTSA requirements for 1968 (first year). Jaguar was already phasing out all other sedan models with the XJ6. They were not about to spend $$$ retooling the MK2 for the US market. One other item referring back to Dougdale is the fact they (US MARKET) wanted a clear line of models---So the MK10 became the 420G--the 'S' was dropped and the 420 continued for a short while the MK2 became the 340 (US only) and the one car that was absolutely not allowed to be touched was the E-Type which did soldier on for 7 more years. Hope this helps but as Doug said it has been done to death!

 

Thank you George and Doug. All very interesting and VERY confusing. Here is a picture of the car. It was bought at Whittlesey Motors Torrance, CA November 4th 1967.

 

Perhaps condensed to this:

The **USA Market** 340 cars were built as lower-spec Mk2s, carried Mk2 serial numbers, but had "340" badges.

The **world market** 340 cars were built as 340s, carried 340 serial numbers, and 340 badges.

George, is that a fair summation?

Cheers
DD

 

Sounds very right--the main point I try to make is that US 340s were NEVER re-badged! They were badged 340 at the factory--for the US market! My son has one that was optioned with everything including AC but oddly enough w/o rear window heater?

Doug one more point--while the US was getting those 340s the ROW was still getting MK2s!!!!!!!!!!! That does not help does it?

The Red car must have been optioned with the wire wheels--they were not standard. Funny thing about my son's car is it was so heavily optioned the cost was more than a standard 420. Not sure why the orig owned did that but glad now he did!

 

a 340, or 380, would have had the slim bumpers of the S type and 420, no?

this car has the older MK-2 bumpers. Unless they were refitted...(maybe to make it look more MK-2 ??).

 

I'll have a go at this one.

The 340 would not pass the new vehicle criteria is the USA, but the MK2 could still be imported as it was manufactured before the cut off date, so Jaguar "badged" the Mk2's as 340's so they could continue to export to the US.

Some would say the Mk2 was "re-badged" the 340, even JDHT used the term "rebadged" !

But to be completely grammatically correct, as George has said it was a Mk2 badged as a 340 at the factory. This is why they carry the Mk2 chassis numbers etc. so badged or re-badged is just kind of how people perceive it, the fact is it was a Mk2 with a 340 boot lid and 340 badge from the factory just for the US market, so they all had the wide bumpers.

I think that either covers it or confuses it more !

George, when exactly did the US get the 340 ? I thought the 340 went everywhere at the same time, but that the US were getting Mk2's in 340 clothing ?

 

Here's a quote from George in another discussion which details some more info.

 

Tilly good enough except the 340 name was a US market request. Also on my old post I now know that US 340s are in fact in the MK2 log books and Jht has no record of the US 340 so it is reported as a MK2. The easiest way to determine is look in the boot and see there are no filled extra holes where the 3.4 or 3.8 would go. Will post a 340 ad later.

 

Well, may I chip in my 0.02c worth? I own a 1967 small saloon. Its VIN is P181389BW. I believe it was made early in 1967.

I bought it 3 years ago and noted that it had no badge (Mk2 or 340) on the bottom right of the boot lid and furthermore it was clear it had never even been drilled for a badge at this location. I suppose it might have had a replacement boot lid but it really looks to be an original fitment. Maybe it missed a dockside drilling!

The original California title showed it as a Mk2 - and they added a tin tag J67 in front of the VIN stamped on the radiator surround.

Interestingly three years ago the Massachusetts Dept of Motor Vehicles insisted on it being registered as a 340 in spite of my protestations. They said that there were no new MK2's sold in 1967 in the US. I put a Mk2 badge on anyway - the hell with them!



BSM

Boston MA

 

Right.....unless it was a USA market 340.

Cheers
DD

 

George, what was the reasoning behind the US requesting the 340 name ?

 

I believe there were never any production 380’s
Rumour has it that there was at least 1 prototype produced

 

I think you might have a 1968 Model-Year 340, built in 1967, but maybe to be sold as a 1968 model in California. The J67 Tag was added in California when it arrived at the dock, the tag was a California Regulation back then.

I purchased my S type in San Francisco. It has a J64 tin tag too but it was first sold and Registered in San Francisco California in September 1965.

The trick is to find out when the car was first Sold and Registered in California, that will tell you what model year it really is.

A 340 is a MK-2, the differences were minimal, and as I understand it, the 340 had Ambla (vinyl) leather seat tops instead of leather.

The owner of British Autowood in Orlando Florida, (Saul Chaplin), has an original 1967 340 that he inherited from his dad, purchased in Wales in 1968.
It is a Right Hand Drive car, the badge reads "340", not "MK2", at the bottom right corner of the boot lid. It has the slim bumpers introduced in the S type in 1963. The car is in wonderful original condition, with its Ambla interior too.

 

Tilly as said prior Jaguar USA felt there was confusion in the product line. That is not my idea it comes from "Jaguar in America" by Dougdale (marketing vp at the time). This is kind of beat to death so sort of done with this non discussion by some. There are just too many with opinions and anecdotal evidence that this subject continues to be confused when it is very simple. Jaguar US was more than 50% of the Jaguar market in the 60s and if they asked the cars to be marked POS the request would have been taken seriously. distributors during the period would go to Coventry and see the new models and make a "pledge' to purchase XXX of this and that. JAGUAR US asking for the MK10 to be the 420 G and the MK2 a 340 was a no brainer. As far as the slim bumper 240/340 NONE--I repeat NONE were legal for import in 1968. The ONLY Models Jaguar had for the US market in 1968 were the E-TYPE (which had a lot of development to be in compliance) and the XJ 6 which arrived late. Jaguar could sell any 67 MY cars sitting at dealers and in ports/distributors lots but as 67 MY cars. How a DMV registered them is another issue.

 

Perhaps and just perhaps this will serve to enlighten and stop the speculation. revisionist history is useful with new information but anecdotal information in light of "memory" serves little use. These are pics of my son's 340 (primrose) and my old RHD MK2. These cars were built at virtually the same time in Coventry. I have also included the excerpt from "Jaguar in America" which can speak for itself. Finally the US dealers ad flyer for the 340 front and back. Hope this is received as helpful and serves to close this issue.

 

Well thank you for the information George, very interesting.

I am sorry that us lesser mortals have annoyed you by having a healthy discussion, many will have questions regarding this subject as the 340 in the US was basically a con to get around the new regulations, not everyone will have read John Dougdale's book, most would see documentation calling these cars Mk2's so Jaguar themselves and the US authorities have in fact made this confusing.

Whilst I am sure that most here are interested in the information you have provided, it is a shame that you take such an unfortunate tone and have been so dismissive of the posters on this thread having "opinions or anecdotal evidence"

 

I read somewhere that only 12 380 were made in 1968, and because there were no "380" emblems, the boot lids had no emblems at all.

a 380 would have been the same as a 340 or 240, the only difference was that they had a 3.8 liter engine, that's it.

340 = 3.4 liter engine
240 = 2.4 liter engine
420 = 4.2 liter engine
XJ40 = 4.0 liter engine

 

Tilly it is simply that no matter how man times it is covered it keeps returning. Was not citing you for the anecdotal info--read the whole thread. I did take the time to scan all the info in hopes of ending it but that is doubtful. The issue is as it alway has been--the US market vs the ROW. The primrose car in the PIC just won the JcNA IJF in its class. While it was being prepared an English gentleman walked up and said -"well chap that is a MK 2 not a 340. After I shared some of the info here he said "well the AC in the car is certainly not factory!" So I pulled out the build sheet--the AC manual and the Factory AC catalog for Factory AC. He walked away. It is two --or was--two markets.