Identification
Identifying an E-Type
Every car left Browns Lane with four numbers recorded against it. Each has its own page here, setting out what the number is, what it can prove and where the authoritative tables live.
4 pages listed
- VINThe seventeen character VIN is a later standard than the E-Type. On almost every car the chassis number is the identifying number, and the word VIN in a registration document usually points at it.Open question recorded
- Chassis numberThe car's identity, allocated in ranges that separate series, body style and drive side. It places a car within a production window, and the factory record settles the rest.Open question recorded
- Engine numberStamped on the block and recorded against the car when it was built. The prefix indicates which family of XK engine it is, and a trailing digit records the compression ratio the engine left with.Open question recorded
- Body numberThe identity of the monocoque tub as it came off the line. On a car whose body is its structure, this is the number that says whether the shell is the one the car was built with.Open question recorded
Common questions
Does a Jaguar E-Type have a VIN?
Not in the modern seventeen character sense. Production ended in 1974, before that standard was in general use, so the chassis number is the car's identifying number and it is what a registration document's VIN field normally carries.
Which number identifies the car?
The chassis number. The engine, body and gearbox numbers identify components, all of which can be and often have been changed. The chassis number is the one quoted on registration documents and the one to protect.
How do I confirm the numbers on a particular car?
Read the stampings on the car rather than only the plate in the engine bay, then compare them against the factory record. A Heritage Certificate from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust states what the factory recorded for that chassis number, and xkedata.com holds the enthusiast register and lookup tables built from the same records.
Do mismatched numbers mean a car is a problem?
Not automatically. Engines and gearboxes were exchanged in period and ever since. What matters is that the chassis number identifies the car correctly, that any change is disclosed, and that the paperwork tells the same story as the stampings.
The numbers should agree with what the car looks like. Where they do not, start with series identification and with the variants pages, which set out what each series and body style should be.