Found Jaguar sports engines mysterious

Hello everyone, I’m Marco and I’m a collector of historical cars, usually sport cars.
From a Jaguar collector I have now found three particular sports cars, of two I’m verifying the originality but it isn’t easy with two engines:

A 3.8 with a number where the head is fixed KE 20337 and with a number on the cylinders block that can be: I S734 or S734

A 3.4 (with a number where the particular head is fixed but which I will tell you later not to confuse you) and with a number on the cylinders block EV557, number gear box JDV 550

Can someone help me? Thank you so much.

Marco

Contact The Jaguar Heritage Trust. They should be able to track the numbers. There may be a fee.

Stephen

Thanks Stephen, I also thought I’d contact Jaguar Heritage, but an engine is mounted on a Lister and I’m trying to understand all the details to see what kind of engine is mounted, the other is a sport.

Marco

Head KE2033-7 would be from a 3.4 Litre Mark 1.

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-lovers/library/engine_numbers.htm

I’m drawing a blank on the other numbers because they may be production or inspection numbers, not serial numbers. Pictures would help.

Hello Rob and thanks at all, in attached some photos about two engines:

The first and third photo are from 3.8 lister, the second and fourth are from 3.4 Jaguar but I want to be sure that are correct for a model.

Marco

IS734 and EV537 are what we are calling, for lack of any better information, head production sequence numbers. They had some significance in transactions between Jaguar and the aluminum foundry where the cylinder heads were made. As we accumulate more sightings, they may possibly be interpreted to indicate the year and possibly the approximate month they were made.

KE2033-7 is very definitely from a 3.4 Mark 1. It is the 1033rd engine in the KE series, and there were 8999 engines in the KC series before that in 3.4 Mark 1’s. The 7 indicates that the engine block was originally assembled with 7:1 compression ratio pistons.

E2041-9 is a head from the '55-'56 racing series, although looking through D-Type records I did not find a match to a specific car. It may have been a spare that was later sold to Lister. I found E2040 and E2042 were in D-Types. They all seem to have the suffix -9 indicating the block had 9:1 compression ratio pistons.

You should also look on the blocks for a stamped number on the horizontal shelf where the oil filter is attached. Like this W3962-8:

The third photo is indeed from a MK1 sedan. The forth photo, if i’m reading E 2041-9 is from a C-Type race car, not the commonly called C-type head commonly found on the XK 140. This only my slightly educated guess, as i’ve only ever seen one real C-type engine. Rare indeed. I can’t help with the two numbers at the rear of the heads, but I believe that number series started with a single letter with 3 numbers and ran until they needed 2 letters with 3 numbers. The “EV” prefix might be too late for an early 1950’s head, but the “E” might indicate experimental.

The block numbers that should match the heads are stamped on a small flat horizontal area at the oil filter housing mount.

These look like they’re important parts to very important cars and i’d advise you find a qualified expert to determine authenticity.

Phil.

Marco,
Based on photos you have posted, I am doubt very much that the head stamped E2041.9 is genuine, as per what this E2041 number suggests. This is the head with pictured EV557 Head Sequence Number, if I read your advice correctly.
There are ways and means I can be 100% sure, but need more photos, and can then tell you EXACTLY what this head was originally fitted to.

Roger

Thanks at all,
I’m out on a trip now, I’ll see the owner next week, I’ll ask for more photos to understand other details.

Marco

Weren’t all the D-Type heads wide angle? If only wide angle heads were used and this is not a wide angle head then surely the number would be suspect? From the photo, I don’t think it is a wide angle. The year 55/56 is also a bit puzzling. According to Wikipedia, Lister began using the 3.4 D-Type engines in 1957.
But I think around 57 or 58 Jaguar started to use the 3.8l. But I can’t find anything definitive that Lister used the 3.8. Depending what Lister the engine is in, the Jag engine may have been retrofitted to an earlier Bristol or Maserati engined car… No reference books handy so using the information I can find with caveats…
More questions than answers perhaps…

Regards
Keith

Quite the contrary - majority of D-type heads were just the next ongoing evolution of the C-type head casting, with only the last works D-types and replacement heads/other later customers getting the ‘wide-angle’ head, a totally different head casting. Not hard to turn an original C-type head into an ‘authentic’ D-type head, but need a whole new casting for ‘wide-angle’ head, as per the readily available (at a price) current reproductions.

Whether 3.4 or 3.8 block, doesn’t dictate whether a normal D-type head or a ‘Wide-angle’ head was fitted, but wide-angle not made/available until 1956.

Hello at all, I’m come back from a long travel and yesterday I returned from owner for other checks before of the decision.
The Lister use engine ZA 9078 8 that corresponds to engine and head 3.8 of the Jaguar Mark X '63 and could to be state replaced in years.
The another car, that I will tell you then exactly the model for not confiused, use a 3.4 jaguar (is written in a basament) but without any number stamp on basement next to filter oil, but with a stamp between the basement and the head with number C22250 FF that not I know own to that model corresponds!

Thanks
Marco

C22250 FF sounds like a block casting part number, probably for a 3.4 Mark 2 or a 340 saloon.
If there is no hand-stamped number by the oil filter, look for it on the rear flange where the bell housing is attached.

C22250 is a late 3.8 block.
Peter B

Thanks, in a block it’s write 3.4 but nothing near oil filter and nothing around rear flange (like E type)
Peter, are you scure about late 3.8?

The owner has two another complete engine like spare parts, one 4.2 E type and one W12 E type.

About the C22250 FF I don’t find the history!

Marco

I have some photos but I’m not able to put here!

Marco