Hello all, Yesterday I got my first non-XK Jaguar and it’s a nice Mark IV saloon. Long ago the engine was replaced with an XK120 engine. However, the owner in California kept the original engine. In 1983 it came here to Michigan and I have now bought the car from that owner. This owner HAD the original engine and sold it! Does anyone know the whereabouts of engine. He shrugged his shoulders and thought “why keep it?”. Can anyone help me here? I have another Mark IV engine from a RHD car and it is S4015 that I will modify otherwise. Thanks! Gary
PS below is a link to pics of the car if you might be interested. We call it the “Folgers Coffee Jaguar”. I have a registration in the car from when it lived on the fabulous Folger estate in California (sorry to say my place is quite the downgrade).
Hello Gary, while I have no information on the whereabouts of engine SL2248, here is a tidbit that may help your path. It was common practice in the Mark IV and Mark V era to replace a worn out engine with a previously-rebuilt engine ready for swapping. Then the worn out engine would be rebuilt and available to place in another car when engine rebuild was needed. For example, it is not rare to see Mark IV engines in Mark V cars. There are two motives to seek the original engine that I know people consider.
First, they wish to match the car parts to the car identification plate. This kind of concern extends to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust certificates that some owners treasure.
Second, some states registered cars by engine serial number in the time of Mark IV cars being new. California is such a state, so my 1950 Mark V and 1930 Ford Model A are registered today by their engine numbers. There were less uniform vehicle identification methods in those days. I have seen people nowadays with registrations associated with chassis number or body number (since engine swaps eliminate the ability to use the original engine ID for a car identification purpose). My Mark V retains original engine block and has been registered only in California for its entire existence. My Ford Model A is a “bitsa” car with a swapped block but California Highway Patrol was gracious enough to certify by inspection a new registration with the swapped block number so no additional plate was needed to be added to the car firewall by California (keeping all the “bitsa” at least original to the year of manufacture).
For some there is a particular joy to having matching numbers and associated JDHT certificate. Right now it sounds like you are in the position of experiencing what many people found comfortable in the day when the cars needing first engine rebuilds.
I will post if I see the engine in Southern California. All the engine blocks in my possession are T and Z series.
Hello Gary,
I too had to find an engine for my Mark IV. If you put in the engine from a right hand drive car you will need a oil filter adaptor. This keeps the oil filter from hitting the steering column. I found this part for my car, and also found that Jon Pollock in Reseda California has another one. He is on the internet or 818 701 9044
Best of luck
Gary,
I am putting together a similar car. There are so many details in the body and coachwork. Your car looks to be in great condition.
Regards,
Dennis
