After asking all those questions and getting very good feedback thought I should post what I'm working on. Won't be a show car but all I want is for it to be a reliable driver.

 

the bonnet and boot should have been left dark blue. Otherwise a very nice example. Congratulations.

 

After I get it sorted mechanically the color is what I'm going to work on. I'd prefer all blue myself.

 

yes but it would also look good with the white top and chromed molding finishers to separate the colors. Seen it done in a S type, looks awesome.

 

Hi oxendine
Are you really sure that your car is a 340? That front bumper bar is definitely MK2. The 340 had a much slimmer (in depth) bar. Same thing goes for the rear bar.
It doesn't really make much difference for you but the MK2 is generally considered a more valuable car.
cheers

 

Bill. Some ARMCO bumper 340's went to the US at changeover. Coventry Foundation can gen you up on the chassis numbers. It has the correct hubcaps for the US 340.

 

I too own a US market 1967 Mark 2 that in the USA was branded as a 340. It is indubitably a Mk2 and carries the Mk2 serial number sequence. It was made in April 1967.
Apparently Jaguar USA in their infinite wisdom changed the model number to 340 for marketing reasons.
Real 340's came later starting production in late 1967.

 

AAAHH marketing-don't you love it.
I think they fiddled around just to make we enthusiasts struggle half a century later.

 

i own a '67 340. it's my understanding that there are two versions of the 340, the u.s. version, which is just a rebadged mark2, and the european version, with the narrow bumpers and a few other cost cutting modifications.

why? because u.s. regulations prohibited the european version from being imported. so jaguar simply swapped the mk2 badge for a 340 badge on the trunk of the old mark2 in order to sell them in the u.s.

 

Narrow bumper 340's did finally make their way to the US if CF, Dugdale et al are correct. The front bumper was S Type that sold in the US as did the 420. The rear narrow bumper on the 340 was unique as was it's tin work, but with S Type over riders. I don't think the numbers were very high because US drivers wanted the bigger engines.

 

Huey there was no change in regulations that caused the renaming of the MK2. When US regs. cut in the MK2 and 340 were finished in the US. Instead it was the desire of the US marketing dept. to rationalize their line. The MK 10 became the 420 "G' with the 420 and the 340. The only model that escaped this marketing was the "E". All of this info may be found in "Jaguar in America" by Dougdale.

 

a quick google survey of 340's with narrow bumpers will show that none have been directly imported to the U.S. those that i have discovered for sale or have been sold in the past in the U.S. have been purchased in some other country than the U.S. and then imported at a later date, most likely from canada.

i have made a point of getting to the bottom of this confusion WRT the 340 before i purchased mine. and could not find evidence of any narrow-bumpered jaguar marked with the 340 badge that was initially sold in the U.S. YMMV, of course.

 

There are at least 2 threads here that extensively discuss the 340 and what it is, I may try and dig them up later.
My 2 cents, the hub caps are correct for the 340, and if it has Ambla on the seats, it is a 340.
However, I was told that one could order what they want, for example, yours has the fog lamps instead if grills.
Someone may have added them later though _ the wiring is all there.

 

That could well be the case. The scribes make mistakes. Their books are full of errors. Some of the comments in the books on South African built cars are plain wrong. I own S Type No 4 off of the CDA line in East London, SA. Built Jan 1966 but registered December 1965. Something I have been unable to resolve so I call it a '65.

 

The US 340 carries a MK2 chassis number sequence. This is why the UK archives are no help as the cars are listed as MK2. The 'Slim' bumper 340s have a new sequence number serial--1JXXXX.

Here is the US ad for the 340. Simply a MK2 with as has been said a drastic reduction in leather and options. They were built at Coventry as 340s and not rebadged as some profess. There would have been too many redundant holes in the boot lid and dealers were not going to fix that. Currently we have a NOS boot lid in our E bay store #2 which may be the last one in existing. No holes are present as the lid fit not only MK2 but 340 as well as the Daimler version.

 

Out of interest what date was that ad. That car still has the saucepan lid hubcaps. i.e. a very early US 340. The OP's car at least has the 420/420G hubcap that was standardised across the range over time including the S Type.

 

All of the US 340 ads were for the MY 67 so sometime in 66. We think that is just a stock photo as it has fog lamps and a UK reg, plate as well as amber turn lamps and what looks like split color tail lamps.. There are two all models catalogs published at the same time for MY67. The catalogs are identical except the US edition has the 340 and the ROW has MK2. Perhaps the marketing dept. did not know the final look of the US 340 and were told "they will look the same". At this date who really knows and if it were not for Dougdale's elaboration on the point we may have never known---BTW he was head of Marketing in the US at the time!

 

I know! His book is next to my bed.