I have a 1979 XJ12 Series 2 with VIN JBVLV49C104766 and engine number 7P38509LB. The decode tells me the engine belongs to a XJ12 Series 2 F.I. with compression ratio 7.8:1, just like my car, but I see no corresponding numbers in the VIN that says this is a matching engine. Am I reading that right? Thanks for any clarification.
You probably have an ID plate that looks something like this.
You can compare this engine number with the stamped number in the vee at the rear between the heads.
If they match, then that in the Jaguar world is defined as a matching numbers car.
This implies that the engine is the original to the car.
You can then get a Heritage Certificate from Jaguar Heritage that says so.
Of course this number can be faked, and sometimes is faked with XK120/140/150 and E-Types to boost up the price to the uninformed, in which case matching numbers means only what it says, and does not guarantee that the engine is the original, nor even the correct type, year or configuration.
But that type of fraud seems unlikely with a '79 XJ12.
We put this list together in the early days of jag-lovers.
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-lovers/library/engine_numbers.htm
Thanks, Rob. I used your engine number list to decode the particulars of my engine, but I don’t think that ID plate you show was in use for the later XJs, which still leaves me at a loss for a number match to the VIN. But your point is well-taken – matching numbers means only what it says. Still, it would be good to know if I have the original engine or a replacement from another Series 2 V12 F.I. Thanks, again, Mark
The engine number is not related at all to the VIN (car number).
I just checked my engine and it does have the number stamped at the back end of the vee. It matches the engine number given on the ID plate.
Nigel Thorley’s book Original XJ shows the evolution of ID plates like mine to stickers on the A post which just have VINs on later cars. So if there is no engine number there, it may be that there is no record of the original engine number in your car anywhere, except at the JDHT.
No engine number on the A post sticker. Thanks for taking the time on this. JDHT is my next stop.