I’m wondering if anyone has visited the archives in person, and if so, what kind of info do they keep? The couple of times I’ve contacted them with a query I’ve had a short and not very helpful reply. I’m interested to know if there is more info than the bare facts contained in a Heritage Certificate. Surely Jaguar must have made more detailed records for each car? Otherwise, how could they compile the spare parts manuals with all the cut-off points for parts, and lists of chassis numbers of cars which were exceptions to the rule??
The jaguar archive are just the old books where they recorded the build data.
I have seen some pictures, every car is just one line of data, hand written.
I presume spare parts manuals are made during development of cars.
Jaguar archives contain a lot of original technical drawings, specifications etc. However, I’m told that as these are still deemed commercially sensitive (due to the burgeoning replica industry etc.) they are not available to the public. I’ve tried to get dimensional information etc. for restoration purposes from them via my contact at the JDHT but with no success.
For the same reasons, and due to a lot of ‘ringers’ appearing in the classic car world, JDHT heritage certificates will no longer give you extra information. They will merely confirm what you tell the Trust on application, so I’m told.
This preoccupation with “privacy” and political correctness is a great hindrance to historians…
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Tell me about it.
That said, given the number of people trying to pass cars off as what they are not these days, I can see their point. In Cobra world, for example, a lot of individual (and well-documented) chassis numbers now seem to apply to three or four cars. Also I can understand not wanting to share design drawings etc. as there are a lot of cheap knock-off parts manufacturers happy to make a quick profit with poor quality copies.
It’s the same with Bizzarrinis - of the roughly 240 built only about 300 survive… 
Sadly, they are a relatively easy car to fake, as many proprietary parts were used - engine, gearbox, back axle, front suspension, steering box, etc, etc - and with values well north of half a million £ these days, it must be very tempting for the unscrupulous.
A quote used often by Brian Lister to describe the modern proliferation of Lister race cars. And that was 30 years ago.