i'm afraid the V8 didnt come out until 1997 for the XJ8 , so the 1996 car ( P year plate in the UK ) is a straight six engine xj6( x300 ) . or possibly a very early XK8 engine.....,

so no, it wont fit

the other thing about the V8 engine is the 4ltr has a different transmission than the 3.2 , so they cant even be swapped over

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Actuallly
The V8 for the XJ8 came out in 1998
The V8 also came out in the XK8 in 1997
And NO, the trans will not interchange from a V8 to a Inline 6
Just a clarification:-)

 

to be more accurate,

you need an 'AJ26 ' V8 engine,

the 'AJ27' came out in 1999 and had several revisions, including but not limited to .... electronic throttle advance and 4 wire plug coild over the earlier AJ26 2 wire plug coils , and second generation timing tensioners...

this may not seem a lot, but it means the ecu and engine loom will also be different....and AJ27 will fit, but you will need ALL the ancillaries to go with it

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