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As with any car of any value, the value of the car is effected by the originality of its running gear. Its usually easy to verify originality by comparing serial numbers from various components to the car's data plate. However, blank data plates are available and are inexpensive. All a person has to do is get a blank data plate and stamp the serial numbers from the car's components and pass it off as original. Luckily, even the best repo data plate is not an exact replica of the original. But you would still have to know what the differences were. Fortunately, a Heritage Report is available for a reasonable price. This document contains the production record for the car in question. I will post a copy of mine when it arrives.

Since my car has obviously never been restored and the data plate has never been removed, I can be reasonably sure that everything is original since all the numbers agree with the data plate. Upon close examination of the car during taredown, it was pretty obvious that the car is 99% original. The only changes that I could find were the brake pads, distributor cap, rotor, plugwires, spark plugs, radiator hoses, waterpump, leather shift knob, interior door handles and window crank handles. The latter three changes appear to be Jaguar dress-up items. The originality of the dashpad is in question.

What doesn't appear on the data plate is the color of the car or the color of its interior. This makes it possible to change the color of the car and still be considered correct as long as the color was available at that time. This leaves it open as to whether or not I should change the color. I have planty of time to decide, but I do know that it will NOT be painted British Racing Green. I do not see many classic Jaguars where I live, but a majority of the ones I see are British Racing Green.



The Car Number or VIN appears on the Data plate and is also stamped on the right top portion of the picture frame, shown here. The picture is a little blury, but the numbers definitely match.



The Body Number appears on the Data plate and also appears on a metal tag that is pop-rivetted to the left side panel in the boot. Note: The tag is installed in different locations depending on when the car was built.

The Body number is also handwritten multiple locations during the assembly process. I have located this number on the right front firewall, top of picture frame (above the fan), inside of the rear hatch, behind the instrument cluster (which also has the interior color written) and the top of the LH bulkhead (which is unusual). The Body Number is also supposed to appear on the underside of the dashpad. On this car the number was different (3741 instead of 4150). This is an indication that either the pad was changed or the factory installed the wrong one. Using the XKEData Website as a reference, I found that body number 3742 was build in late October 1962, while this car was built in early November 1962. So it is possible that the dashpads were mixed up at the factory.



The Engine Number appears on the Data plate and is stamped on the head at the front, as shown above. The transmission number appears on the Data plate and is stamped on the top of the transmission. It may also appear on the side of the transmission.



While examining the car for markings I found these two marks. One was on the inside of the transmission tunnel (blue) by the left bulkhead. The other was located in the boot and was written on the rear inner arch (yellow). I am not sure what these markings represent, perhaps just inspection marks, but I will faithfully reproduce them after the car is painted. The hard part will be in locating the correct blue crayon.


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