Identification
The body number
The 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.
At a glance
- What it identifies
- The body shell, which on a monocoque car is the structure itself
- Where it is
- On the plate in the engine bay, and stamped on the body. Locations vary by series and by body style
- Why it matters
- A replaced tub raises a question about what remains of the original car that an engine swap does not
- Recorded by the factory
- Yes, alongside the chassis, engine and gearbox numbers, and listed on a Heritage Certificate
- Relationship to the chassis number
- Separate sequence. A body number does not read across to a chassis number
The E-Type from the bulkhead back is a monocoque, with a tubular front frame carrying the engine ahead of it. The tub is not a panel bolted to a chassis, it is the car's structure. That is why the body number carries weight that it would not on a separate chassis car.
What it tells you
The factory recorded a body number for each car and a Heritage Certificate lists it. Where the recorded number and the number on the car agree, the shell is the one the car was built with. Where they do not, the car has been reshelled at some point in its life, and that is a fact worth knowing rather than a verdict on the car.
Reshelled and heavily restored cars
- Corrosion and accident damage have taken a great many original tubs, and replacement shells are available new.
- A rebuilt original tub with replacement sections is a different thing from a new shell, and the two are sometimes described in the same words.
- Where a new shell has been used, the honest description says so and says what happened to the original.
- Where the body number is missing, obscured by restoration or does not match, ask for the history before assuming either the best or the worst.
Finding it
Start with the plate in the engine bay, which carries the numbers together. The stamping on the body itself is the confirmation, and its location varies between series and between open and fixed head cars, so work from the workshop manual or a club guide for the exact car rather than from a general description. Paint and underseal hide stampings easily, and absence in the first place you look is not evidence of anything.
Front frames are not part of this number
The bolted tubular front frames are service items and are commonly replaced after corrosion or damage. They are not what the body number refers to, and replacing them does not affect the identity of the shell. The technical section covers what to look for in the frames themselves.
Sources
- Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust public information on its production records and on the Heritage Certificate service for individual cars. The archive has not worked from the Trust's research guides directly.
- xkedata.com, which maintains the enthusiast register, chassis number lookup and change-point tables built from the same production records.
- Owners' club and register guidance on body number stamping locations, which differ by series and body style.
Last reviewed .