What Constitutes a Vehicle's "Year"

XJ
1

List:

Thanks to a List member, I learned that my “73” XJ6 was issued a plate number from the Coventry office of motor vehicles in December 1972.

In this case, a buyer from the USA had ordered the car and traveled to Britain to pick it up. I don’t know when that occurred. So what constitutes a vehicle’s year?

Thanks

Lou

2

Lou:

Does it matter?

Here in CA, you bet. SMOG tests.

Two examples, non Jaguar in my past.

Mustang titled as a 65. Nice fast back with 302 power. Engine issues. Had SMOG stuff of a 66. Air pump!! rebuilt the engine and retrograded to 65.

69 Toyota FJ40 “Land cruiser”. engine issues. Mixed and matched it and made it seem to be a 68. No air pump… Actually had some 74 parts, but got by…

74 car here exempt, 75, lot of stuff needed for SMOG.

Bill to update law to 81 stalled…

Carl

3

Hi Lou, for a 72 or 73 Jag in the US the important thing that differentiates the model year will be the emission and safety equipment. 73 model year (actually post sept 72) was the first year of the mandatory 5 mph crash bumpers in the front. If the car in question has the large rubber-wrapped overriders it’s a 73. Also the presence of a fixed orifice EGR and a an ‘L’ (low comp) suffix engine number points to 73 as well.

My 72 that was delivered in England to a US traveler with a similar story to yours has Federal equipment for 72. Jag would have delivered the car with proper Federal equipment for the date of sale so it could be brought into the country without issue.
~Mike

4

Mike:

Thanks for your comments. I think you might agree that the more you know about mechanical equipment the easier it is to get parts and make repairs, especially as the car ages and fewer persons have first hand experience.

Lou

5

Definitely. My Euro-delivered 72 got it’s Coventry tax disc in May of 72 so it has the pre Sept 72 Federal equipment and other than color it’s identical to my other 72 that came directly into the US.

You’ll find though that other than a couple emissions things that 72’s don’t have there’s nothing that I can think of mechanically from a 72 that won’t fit a Series 1 73. After 10/73 however, metrification of the brake systems starts but that’s another story…

6

**
You may well ask, Lou…:slight_smile:

Obviously; the year it rolled off the assembly line, production year, should be it. But no; when ordering parts it is the model year that is required, sort of - though it may not hit in the gold.

The manufacturers brings out, produces and sells, the new model usually sometimes from sept/oct and name the model year as next year’s. And in Jaguar’s case, at least; next years equipment level was fitted at production, if available - or even fitted on earlier models if they ran out of ‘old’ parts…:slight_smile:

And to complicate matters; in some countries the date presented as model year is the year of first registration…

Of course; chassis/engine number will lead you to Jaguar’s list of when the car was actually rolled off the assembly line - most of the time.

And for ordering parts; there is always the PO machinations. But in all this; Jaguar made most ‘old’ and ‘new’ parts interchangeable…:slight_smile:

Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
**

7
8

I wondered the same issue about my car. It is titled as a 1964, yet was completed in the last week of August in 1963. Most car manufactures would introduce their new year’s offerings in the fall of the previous year. Not an absolute rule, but it seems to hold true for most.

I have found 3 other XKE’s that have VIN numbers later than mine and were also completed a few weeks later, yet were titled as 1963’s. I know it is a trivial matter, but it would be nice that the car be titled the year it actually is. Like I said, not a big deal, but it’s interesting.

9

Interesting to us, but not so much as to the general public and none to the registration folks!!!

Carl

10

Brian:

Keep in mind that most car dealers would want to offer the latest model to the public. Therefore any vehicle in a dealers stock on January 1 would be more desirable if described as a current year vehicle.

And unless the later year vehicles was substantially different from the prior unit, for example the series 1 1/2 e-type, vs. series 1, most buyer might not recognize the difference.